''The Ethics of Liberty'' is a 1982 book by American philosopher and economist Murray N. Rothbard, in which the author expounds a

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

political position. Rothbard's argument is based on a form of

natural law Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts ...

ethics, and makes a case for

anarcho-capitalism Anarcho-capitalism (colloquially: ancap or an-cap) is a political philosophy and economic theory that advocates for the abolition of centralized states in favor of stateless societies, where systems of private property are enforced by pri ...

Summary

''The Ethics of Liberty'' is divided into five parts, although a previous edition lacked the fifth. Part I is an introduction, which explains the outlines of natural law theory in general and defends it briefly against some objections. Part II is the substance of the work itself, setting forth Rothbard's ethics regarding the use of force. Part III applies his ethical theories to the State, which he viewed as "the inherent enemy of liberty and, indeed, of genuine law". Part IV offers brief reviews of alternative political theories developed by Mises, Hayek,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and Nozick. Part V attempts to set forth a theory of strategy of how to move from the present system to a libertarian

anarcho-capitalist Anarcho-capitalism (colloquially: ancap or an-cap) is a political philosophy and economic theory that advocates for the abolition of Sovereign state, centralized states in favor of Stateless society, stateless societies, where systems of p ...

society.

Hans-Hermann Hoppe Hans-Hermann Hoppe (; ; born 2 September 1949) is a German-American academic associated with Austrian School economics, anarcho-capitalism, right-wing libertarianism, and opposition to democracy. He is professor emeritus of economics at th ...

's ''Introduction'' to the 1998 edition of the book says that it "explains the integration of economics and ethics via the joint concept of property; and based on the concept of property, and in conjunction with a few general empirical (biological and physical) observations or assumptions, Rothbard deduces the corpus of libertarian law, from the law of appropriation to that of

contracts A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

and

punishment Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon an individual or group, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a deterrent to a particular action or beh ...

." Hoppe writes that ''The Ethics of Liberty'' was Rothbard's second magnum opus, the other being '' Man, Economy, and State'' (1962).

Reception

Reception of the book has been positive in libertarian circles. Many praise the book for its incisive analysis of

and its practical applications. Libertarian commentator Sheldon Richman says: "''The Ethics of Liberty'' is a great book that deserves the attention of anyone interested in the good society and human flourishing." The philosopher Matt Zwolinski criticized the book, writing that "Rothbard's discussion of

self-ownership Self-ownership, also known as sovereignty of the individual or individual sovereignty, is the concept of property in one's own person, expressed as the moral or natural right of a person to have bodily integrity and be the exclusive controlle ...

in chapter six rests on a fundamental confusion between descriptive and

normative Normativity is the phenomenon in human societies of designating some actions or outcomes as good, desirable, or permissible, and others as bad, undesirable, or impermissible. A Norm (philosophy), norm in this sense means a standard for evaluatin ...

claims." The philosopher John Hospers wrote a critique containing his various thoughts and criticisms of the book immediately after its publication. His ambiguous stance on the deceptions and frauds described in the book later gave rise to much debate. Anarchist author Iain Mckay has argued that the book is written contradictorily from an anarchist perspective and is not anarchistic.

Release history

* Humanities Press. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: 1982. Hardcover. . *

New York University Press New York University Press (or NYU Press) is a university press that is part of New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 ...

. New York, 1998. Hardcover. . ** With a new introduction by

Audiobook

full text available.
* New York University Press. New York, 2003. Paperback. . ::

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ethics Of Liberty 1982 non-fiction books Books about capitalism Books by Murray Rothbard English-language non-fiction books Ethics books Libertarian books Libertarianism in the United States New York University Press books Political manifestos Political philosophy literature