Author: Walter E. Block

I had once believed that, according to libertarian theory, the non-aggression principle (NAP) could be stated as follows: “It is illicit, and punishable as a crime, to initiate or threaten aggression against an innocent person.” When I did so, I placed threats and the actual initiation of violence against a law-abiding person (according to libertarian law) on the same plane. If it was improper to initiate violence against such a person, then it would also be illegal to threaten violence against him. Turning this around, I also maintained that if it was improper to threaten violence against an innocent person, … Continue reading →

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It is all the government’s fault. It is always the government’s fault. Pretty much every bad thing is the government’s fault. The government mulcts almost half of the GDP if we count federal, state, county, and city taxes and fees. A significant proportion of these funds is then spent on further impoverishing the masses of our people with regulations, permits, licenses, compulsions, prohibitions and other requirements. As a result, our lives are much more miserable than otherwise would be the case. For example, dread diseases such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s might already have been solved if our wealth were … Continue reading →

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Before I begin, let me take note of the fact that I can call all four remaining candidates in the 2016 race for president by their first names. With the possible exception of the latter, and this will prove less and less so as time goes on, there is little chance that anyone who is not a very low information voter will fail to know of the four people of whom I am speaking. Informality seems to have taken hold of our culture. Now to business. I will attempt to offer a libertarian perspective on these four candidates. What is … Continue reading →

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The right to vote I think the “right” to vote (in government elections) should be taken away from women. It should be taken away from men too. (The NYTimes will undoubtedly quote me only on the first of these two preceding sentences).  We should only vote on occasions in which we have all agreed to be bound by the decision of the majority. The next major U.S. election will take place on November 2016. But, have we all agreed to be bound by its results? Hardly. (Anyone who doubts this should read Lysander Spooner’s “No Treason”). In sharp contrast when … Continue reading →

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I had this idea that we libertarians should support Donald Trump for the nomination of the Republican Party for president, not because he was a libertarian, nor, even, because his views were very congruent with our philosophy. My thought, though, was that out of all the Republican candidates, he was the most libertarian on foreign policy. He was the least likely to get us into World War III.  And, thanks to the tutelage I had received over the years from the likes of Murray Rothbard, Ralph Raico and Bob Higgs, I knew that imperialism, foreign aggression, were more of a … Continue reading →

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Dr. Donald Miller (donaldwmiller@gmail.com) and I (wblock@loyno.edu) are starting up a new group to be called Libertarians for Trump. LFT has its work cut out for it in mobilizing massive support for Donald Trump within the libertarian community. For there are some libertarians who oppose supporting any politician for political office, even a 99% pure one such as Dr. Ron Paul. However, I dedicated this book to refuting arguments of that sort: Block, Walter E. 2012. Yes to Ron Paul and Liberty. New York: Ishi Press. (By the way, the forward to that book – not written by me — … Continue reading →

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Below, see the letter I wrote to the President of my university, Loyola New Orleans, on 1/23/16. He has not answered this, nor do I expect him to do so. Let me offer a bit of background on this matter, so that the letter can appear in context. I was interviewed by the NYTimes for the (hit) story they did on Rand Paul. I was trying to explain libertarianism to the person interviewing me. I tried and tried, but did not succeed in getting across to him the basics of this philosophy. Finally, out of desperation, I tried to illustrate … Continue reading →

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Here are some questions that have recently been posed to me. Hopefully, these inquiries, plus my responses, will be of interest. Note to all those who send me questions of this sort: I reserve the right to blog your inquiries and my responses to them, but shall keep your identity anonymous. Q1. Donald Trump (half in jest?) told his guards to confiscate the coats of people who came to one of his speeches to heckle him. Is this compatible with libertarian punishment theory. A1: Yes and no. If he announced this beforehand (and was the owner of the venue, or … Continue reading →

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The U.S. government has just announced that women will be allowed to take on all roles in the military. No longer will they be banned from any of them. This will undoubtedly weaken this institution, as criteria for acceptance will be lowered, as Walter E. Williams has so brilliantly demonstrated. (A similar situation occurred when “firemen” became “firefighters” so that women who could not carry at person weighing 190 pounds up or down stairs to escape from fires were allowed to participate anyway). Then, too, biological imperatives for men to protect women will kick in even the more, instead of … Continue reading →

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Dear Mitch: I hope and trust you don’t mind that I place us on a first name basis. We’re informal in the Big Easy, are we not? This letter will be highly critical of your efforts to radically reduce the murder rate in The Big Easy, particularly that of young black men (YBM) as victims. So I might as well start off on a positive note. I greatly admire you for, and congratulate you for your courage in these politically correct times, for acknowledging that the main source of this tragic loss of life is not (white) policemen shooting YBMs, … Continue reading →

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The Fracas at the University of Missouri by Prof. Walter E. Block I had a dream the other night, that I was president of Loyola University, and faced with the challenges that confronted Tim Wolfe, the now ex-president of the University of Missouri. But don’t get worried: I have no intention of taking up any such office; it would interfere with my research, writing and publication. In any case, I am not sure Loyola is quite ready for a Jewish atheist as its leader. In any case, what would I do if I were in Mr. Wolfe’s shoes?  Here are … Continue reading →

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George Will wrote an interesting column the other day, entitled “Candidates should choose their judicial muse” (October 22, 2015). In this op ed Will cites none other than our old friend, Randy Barnett, based on a lecture the latter recently gave at the University of California, Berkeley entitled “Is the Constitution Libertarian?” At least according to Will, Barnett, now a professor of law at Georgetown, said a few things that were indeed compatible with libertarianism. But Randy also said this: “Regulations are not inimical to liberty if they coordinate individual conduct as do, for example, traffic regulations mandating driving on … Continue reading →

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I write in the aftermath of the horrific tragedy which occurred at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon.  There, some dozen or so innocent people were put to death by a mass murderer. Sadly, this despicable act comes as only one in a far too long series of such campus shootings. I ask, can something despicable like that occur here, at Loyola University New Orleans? Sadly, the answer is Yes; virtually all college campuses are the potential targets of these madmen. What is to be done to prevent such occurrences in future, or at least radically reduce their incidence? According … Continue reading →

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The Cato Institute is now seeking nominations for the Milton Friedman prize for advancing liberty (see below for their announcement which I am delighted to publicize in this manner). I have no objection to this organization offering a prize to the person who, in the opinion of the judges, best exemplifies Professor Friedman’s contribution to libertarianism and thereby “has made a significant contribution to advance human freedom.” Indeed, I applaud their efforts in this regard. I categorize Milton Friedman as a libertarian. By definition, all libertarians, at least on net balance, must be now promoting, or have promoted, liberty. Otherwise, … Continue reading →

My friend Carolyn recently retired as a secretary of the business school at Loyola where I am employed as a professor. She was one of the sweetest and kindest persons I have ever met, and very helpful to me when I first arrived at Loyola in 2001. I didn’t know her husband Rodney all that well, but on the few occasions that I met him, he was the perfect match for her: also a lovely human being (I had a kinship with him as he and I were almost exactly the same age). As Murray Rothbard would have said of … Continue reading →