Slenzok: Libertarians Against the American World

by Stephan Kinsella on December 22, 2024

Interesting recent paper, Norbert Slenzok, “Libertarians Against the American World. A Critical Analysis,” Athenæum: Polish Political Science Studies 84, no. 4 (2024): pp. 7–27 (pdf).

Abstract:

The paper deals with the view of contemporary world politics presented by American libertarians. Specifically, it examines the claims of Murray N. Rothbard and his successors with regard to the role of the United States of America in the international arena. The article argues that since the Cold War, the libertarian account of international relations has been staunchly critical of the US, while exhibiting a soft spot for competing powers, particularly the USSR and the Russian Federation. As the article submits, this asymmetry is supported by two flawed theoretical contentions: the liberal imperialism thesis (LIT) and the American hegemony thesis (AHT). Moreover, the article shows how anti-Americanism impinges on libertarian analyses of contemporary Central- Eastern European politics, in particular the war in Ukraine.

This comment, “since the Cold War, the libertarian account of international relations has been staunchly critical of the US, while exhibiting a soft spot for competing powers, particularly the USSR and the Russian Federation,” reminds a bit of Hoppe’s mild criticism of Mises and Rothbard in the Introduction to his Democracy book for having a “soft spot” for democacy:

while they have proven exceptionally perceptive and farsighted in these endeavors (especially in comparison to their empiricist-positivist counterparts), neither Mises nor Rothbard made a systematic attempt to search for a cause of the decline of classical liberal thought and laissez-faire capitalism and the concomitant rise of anti-capitalist political ideologies and statism during the 20th century. Certainly, they did not think of democracy as being such a cause. In fact, although aware of the economic and ethical deficiencies of democracy, both Mises and Rothbard had a soft spot for democracy and tended to view the transition from monarchy to democracy as progress. In contrast, I will explain the rapid growth of state power in the course of the 20th century lamented by Mises and Rothbard as the systematic outcome of democracy and the democratic mindset, i.e., the (erroneous) belief in the efficiency and/or justice of public property and popular (majority) rule.

Also, Footnote 1 states:

In both political and academic discourse, the term “libertarianism” takes on various denotations (cf. Bartyzel 2010; Juruś 2012; Sepczyńska 2013; Zwolinski and Tomasi 2023). Similarly, libertarians of different persuasions vary in their approaches to international relations. This paper focuses on the Rothbardian variety of libertarianism, which is a philosophy committed to private property rights viewed as natural and absolute and to the vision of an anarcho-capitalist society founded upon respect for those rights (Kinsella 2009; Rothbard 2006). In this article, the terms „libertarians” and „libertarianism” refer specifically to the Rothbardian current. In addition to Rothbard himself, other notable proponents of this philosophy include Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Walter Block and Stephan Kinsella, although the latter does not frequently address issues related to international relations. The subsequent analysis of libertarian perspectives on US foreign policy will then largely draw upon the works of Rothbard, Hoppe and Block.

The note is correct to observe that my work “does not frequently address issues related to international relations.” That said, see: