Related:

• Stephan Kinsella, Legal Foundations of a Free Society (Houston, Texas: Papinian Press, 2023) [LFFS]
• A Libertarian Theory of Contract: Title Transfer, Binding Promises, and Inalienability, in LFFS
• Inalienability and Punishment: A Reply to George Smith, in LFFS, esp. Part III.C
• The Title-Transfer Theory of Contract
• Sheldon Richman, “Slaves Contracts and the Inalienable Will,” Libertarian Forum, XI, no. 4 (July-Aug. 1978)

I recently put the Liberty archives online and was browsing through old issues, most of which I had read when I used to subscribe to the print edition. One that caught my eye was Sheldon Richman, “The Absurdity of Alienable Rights” (January, 1989, p. 50). This article was in response to Ethan O. Waters (the pseudonym for R.W. Bradford), ¹ “Reflections on the Apostasy of Robert Nozick” (September-October, 1987), p. 14). ² [continue reading…]

1. See Bradford, “At Liberty” (September, 1997), p.23 n.*; Sheldon Richman’s letter (January, 1989), p. 6 [↩]
2. Bradford revisits this gedankenexperiment in Bradford, “At Liberty” (September, 1997), p.23; see also n.4; and see also Michael R. Edelstein, “Existence Exists, Slavery Enslaves” (letter) (May, 1989), p.6; Andrew B. Lewis, “Ghost Dancing With “Inalienable” Rights” (May, 1989), p. 27. See also Richman’s previous article on this topic, Sheldon Richman, “Slaves Contracts and the Inalienable Will,” Libertarian Forum, XI, no. 4 (July-Aug. 1978). [↩]

Jakub Bożydar Wiśniewski, Libertarian Quandaries (2016). The author was a member of my journal Libertarian Papers‘ Editorial Board. Book description:

Libertarianism is the social philosophy that identifies individual liberty as the most fundamental social value and, by extension, treats voluntary cooperation as the only morally permissible form of social interaction. This succinct work addresses some common doubts about libertarian theory centered around the claim that it has to balance its excessive moral ambition with the requisite degree of „realism”, „practicality”, and “compromising”. To that extent, it addresses subjects ranging from the usefulness of ethical principles, to the feasibility of efficient interventionism, to the stability of libertarian anarchy. In other words, its aim is to suggest that the libertarian philosophy is not only theoretically rigorous and practically relevant, but also eminently feasible in strictly pragmatic terms.

It was reviewed in Aiden P. Gregg, “Book Review: Libertarian Quandaries,” Libertarian Papers 8, no. 2 (2016): 319–327.

Reinterpreting Libertarianism: New Directions in Libertarian Studies, Edited by Łukasz Dominiak, Igor Wysocki, Stanisław Wójtowicz, and Dawid Megger (2026, Routledge). I was just alerted to this book and have not read it yet, but it looks very interesting, from the excerpt and table of contents available here (pdf). It is focused on Polish libertarian scholarship and seems to be influenced by the Rothbardian-Austro-libertarian tradition (Dominiak and Wysocki, two of the volume’s editors, have been published previously in my journal Libertarian Papers, ¹ as has another Polish libertarian (and a member of the journal’s Editorial Board), Jakub Bozydar Wisniewski (not a contributor to this volume), ² and Dominiak and Slenzok, another contributor, have also published in the Journal of Libertarian Studies, revived in the wake of Libertarian Papers. It appears to discuss my work and that of Hans-Hermann Hoppe fairly extensively, if the index is any indication (see screenshot from the Kindle edition), which is a good sign.

From the publisher:

This volume provides a thorough reconsideration of libertarian theory, offering novel perspectives that challenge established assumptions and initiate new directions for philosophical, legal and economic investigation. [continue reading…]

1. Lukasz Dominiak, “The Blockian Proviso and the Rationality of Property Rights,” Libertarian Papers 9 (1) (2017): 114–128. [↩]
2. “Rejoinder to Block’s Defense of Evictionism”; Wiśniewski, J. B. (2010). A critique of block on abortion and child abandonment. Libertarian Papers, 2(16); etc. See also Wiśniewski, Libertarian Quandaries. [↩]

Related:

• Using International Law to Protect Property Rights and International Investment
• International Law, Libertarian Principles, and the Russia-Ukraine War
• KOL250 | International Law Through a Libertarian Lens (PFS 2018)
• Review of Higgins, Problems and Process: International Law and How We Use It (1995)
• Hoppe: Marx was “Essentially Correct”

Fascinating recent lecture by Antonios Tzanakopoulos, Professor of Public International Law at the University of Oxford, ¹ for the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at Cambridge University: “‘Marxist Insights for International Law’ – Prof Antonios Tzanakopoulos, University of Oxford.” (apple podcasts)

See also:

• Antonios Tzanakopoulos, “The Master’s Tools and the Master’s House: Marxist Insights for International Law,” The Oxford Handbook of International Law in Europe, Anne van Aaken, Pierre d’Argent, Lauri Mälksoo, Johann Justus Vasel, eds (Oxford University Press, 2024), pp. 351–375 (summarized below)
• The Right to Be Free from Economic Coercion
• Economic Warfare
• The International Court of Justice and the Concept of Aggression https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2587722
• other papers at his SSRN page.

Summary and transcript below. [continue reading…]

1. Coincidentally, one of my friends, Dan Sarooshi, is as well. [↩]

My elaborations of the Rothbard-Evers title-transfer theory of contract (in “The Title-Transfer Theory of Contract” and  “A Libertarian Theory of Contract: Title Transfer, Binding Promises, and Inalienability,” chap. 9 of Legal Foundations of a Free Society (Houston: Papinian Press, 2023)) are illustrated graphically in A Libertarian Theory of Contract (pdf; images below), prepared by Conza with an AI assist (Google’s NotebookLM I believe).

Re the performance bond solution mentioned on p. 8, see:

• KOL463 | Contracts, Usury, Fractional-Reserve Banking with André Simoni
• The Title-Transfer Theory of Contract, Part IV.A
• LIBERTARIAN ANSWER MAN: Smart Contracts (re escrow)
• KOL338 | Human Action Podcast Ep. 308 with Jeff Deist: Rothbard on Punishment, Property, and Contract (re escrow)

[continue reading…]

A 1987 article in Liberty Magazine, John C. Green & James L. Guth, “The Sociology of Libertarians,” Liberty (September-October, 1987),  p. 5, inspired a poll in the July, 1988 issue, “The Liberty Poll: Who We Are and What We Think” (p. 37) which queried readers on various beliefs and six “moral problems.” That issue also included  comments by Liberty‘s editors, “The Meaning of the Liberty Poll” (p. 49), including a comment by Rothbard, “What’s Wrong with the Liberty Poll; or, How I Became a Libertarian,” Liberty (July, 1998), p. 52. 

This was followed up by a second poll in the February, 1999 issue, “The Liberty Poll” (p. 11), and ten years later in the June, 2008 issue with a third poll. See Mark Rand, “The Liberty Poll Results: Who We Are and What We Think,” Liberty (June, 2008), p. 29.

Ross Overbeek, “Moral Absolutes, Truth, and Liberty,” also writing in the June, 2008 issue, summarized the polls’ six ethical dilemmas: [continue reading…]

As mentioned at Liberty Magazine Archives, I have am now hosting all back print issues of Liberty online. Enjoy! (But only if you oppose copyright!)

Most of us principled, anti-state libertarians are deed admirers of Rothbard. Hoppe has written glowingly of Rothbard’s singular genius, assessment I share. As Hoppe has written,

And there was a certain amount of, I would say, jealousy, because, I mean, Rothbard was enormously bright. I’ve met bright people in my life, but the only person I’ve met whom I would consider to be a genius was Rothbard. He could tell you the the content of every book in his library. And that wasan enormous library. Whenever you would ask him about any strange subject, he could give you some suggestions on what to read. You felt like a little, urn, uneducated person if you talked to him. So jealousy played a big role in explaining why it was that he was not treated like a genius, as he should have been treated. [continue reading…]

From the Property and Freedom Society:

PFS 2026 Annual Meeting—Speakers and Topics

PFS 2026, the Annual Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, hosted by Drs. Gülçin & Hans Hoppe, will be held in Bodrum, Turkey, at the Hotel Karia Princess from Thursday, September 17, 2026 to Tuesday, September 22, 2026. As the inaugural meeting was held in 2006 and the 2020 meeting was canceled due to covid restrictions, this will be the twentieth annual meeting of the PFS held over the past twenty years. [continue reading…]

For years I’ve remembered Woody Allen was rumored to have said he once visited the country but didn’t like it because there was no scenery. But internet searches could not find or verify this.

I just happened to stumble across it in Richard Kostelanetz, “I’ll Take Manhattan,” Liberty (Jan. 1995) (pdf), pp. 43–44. Sub-titled “City air makes men free,” it has the line I’ve been remembering all these years: [continue reading…]

The PFS will publish a collection of tributes to and commentary on Rothbard, on the occasion of his 100th birthday on March 2, 2026, from several longtime PFS members, including many who knew him personally.

The commentary will be published on the PFS website on March 2, and later this year as a small book, Rothbard at 100: A Tribute and Assessment, Stephan Kinsella and Hans-Hermann Hoppe, eds. (forthcoming 2026). Further details here.