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The Myth of National Defense

Essays on the Theory and History of Security Production

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The Myth of National Defense

By: Hans-Hermann Hoppe
Narrated by: George Pickering
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About this listen

With 11 chapters by top libertarian scholars on all aspects of defense, this book edited by Hans-Hermann Hoppe it represents an ambitious attempt to extend the idea of free enterprise to the provision of security services. It argues that "national defense" as provided by government is a myth not unlike the myth of socialism itself. It is more viably privatized and replaced by the market provision of security.

©2011 Ludwig von Mises Institute (P)2019 Ludwig von Mises Institute Freedom & Security Political Science Politics & Government Capitalism Imperialism Socialism Soviet Union Military War Self-Determination Russia Liberalism Economic disparity Taxation Middle East Social justice Latin America Middle Ages Mythology Economic Inequality Interwar Period
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this is a must listen. it will answer all you fundamental questions when it comes to national defence in a stateless society. a must listen for Libertarians, Anarcho-Capitalists, Minarchists or just skeptics

incredible, will make you question everything

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After reading War: The Lethal Custom by Gwynne Dyer and The Shield of Achilles by Philip Bobbit one learns that societies can only evolve towards systems that enable them to win wars. Simply put, if one’s utopia does not give it an edge in defeating neighbouring states, natural selection will take care of it.

The Austrian school of economics has built a respectable body of theory and knowledge. It correctly describes states, markets and their relationships. Producers create wealth through voluntary exchanges. States seize part of that wealth, through intimidation and violence, to fund activities where few people decide how to spend that money.

Anarcho capitalists such as the authors of this book propose to do away with the state. Security and defence would be provided in the market by similarly organised businesses as the ones that now provide insurance.

In this volume I expected work that would blend the strength and depth of both Austrian School of Economics and the Political Economy of Warfare. Instead I found excuses to not describe the future that the authors believe will happen, and an avalanche of adverbs like “surely”, “obviously” and a scarcity of actual historical scholarship. With the saving exception of the chapter on privateers.

I wanted to find a persuasive explanation of the Libertarian proposals for the private production of defence. Instead I found a cult aping a notion that they cannot make convincing to a knowledgeable audience.

I hope new scholarship develops that will bridge this gap in the otherwise solid building of Libertarianism. In the meantime, I’ll look for knowledge elsewhere.

Shallow and unconvincing

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