Anatomy of the State
by Murray N. Rothbard · first published 2013
80% recommend20% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A short, pamphlet-length introduction to anarcho-capitalist critiques of the state. It serves as an accessible starting point for understanding libertarian and Austrian views on government power.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2014–2017Life's Ratchet
Peter M. Hoffmann
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 32 recommend · 3 mention2 recommend · 32 recommend
2016–2022The Slight Edge
Jeff Olson
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 53 recommend · 5 mention3 recommend · 53 recommend
2014–2024The Reason for God
Timothy J. Keller
Recommended by 5 · mentioned by 65 recommend · 6 mention5 recommend · 65 recommend
2014–2020Think Like a Freak
Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 62 recommend · 6 mention2 recommend · 62 recommend
2012–2026Quiet
Susan Cain
Recommended by 43 · mentioned by 5743 recommend · 57 mention43 recommend · 5743 recommend
2008–2025The Law
Frédéric Bastiat
Recommended by 17 · mentioned by 2417 recommend · 24 mention17 recommend · 2417 recommend
2009–2025Collected Fictions
Jorge Luis Borges
Recommended by 13 · mentioned by 1613 recommend · 16 mention13 recommend · 1613 recommend
2008–2025The Naked Ape
Desmond Morris
Recommended by 11 · mentioned by 1811 recommend · 18 mention11 recommend · 1811 recommend
I read an interesting passage lately in Murray Rothbard's _Anatomy of the State_, where he makes a convincing argument that every check, every balance, is immediately repurposed by the State as a means of legitimizing its tyrannical overreach. For example, in the US, the Supreme…
on “Australia's anti-encryption laws used to bypass journalist protections: expert” ↗- Anatomy of the State by Murray Rothbard - Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt then couldn't stop reading all there is to read at Mises.org
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2013?” ↗- Anatomy of the State by Murray Rothbard - What has government done to our money? by Murray Rothbard - For a New Liberty by Murray Rothbard - The Law by Frederick Bastiat The world is a rotten place thanks to politicians,…
on “Ask HN: What books fundamentally changed the way you think about the world?” ↗"For a New Liberty" by Murray Rothbard, not only solidified my understanding of power, politics and the state already explained in "Anatomy of the State" by the same Rothbard, but also opened my mind about the eternal struggle between power and liberty, aggression and defense, the essential traits of life in the whole universe.
on “Ask HN: What was the one book that you read and it actually changed your life?” ↗"Anatomy of the state" by Murray Rothbard. Eye opener about overall politics and why the sheeple is what it is.
on “Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?” ↗"Anatomy of the State" by Murray Rothbard. We live in a world of thieves masqueraded as leaders.
on “Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?” ↗Feels like the perfect time to read the "Anatomy of the State" by Murray Rothbard. It is only 62 pages long. You can find the book here: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Anatomy_...
on “Facebook, WhatsApp Will Have to Share Messages With U.K.?” ↗I highly recommend Rothbard's Anatomy of the State as an excellent starting place. It's really short, practically a pamphlet.
on “Thomas Sowell interview” ↗…sole exercise of most employees in the upper levels of government organizations is to increase their budgets for next year. If you really want to try to understand this way of thinking, I recommend "Anatomy of the State" by Murray Rothbard. You can get a free eBook here: https://mises.org/library/anatomy-state
on “Download the FCC Speed Test App” ↗I encourage you to read Murray Rothbard's Anatomy of the State. https://cdn.mises.org/Anatomy%20of%20the%20State_3.pdf
on “Bad stuff going down at the American Sociological Association” ↗I would suggest you read “Anatomy of the State” by Murray Rothbard. I don’t want to sound rude but your comment is what people say when they haven’t read anything about it. I used to make similar arguments like was at the top of your comment until…
on “A DOGE staffer appears to be posting DOGE work on his public GitHub” ↗…more about Austrian economics / Mises, because despite what their preconceived thoughts may suggest, everyone who thinks this is a bad idea, will like what they will read on Mises' website. Books like "Anatomy of the State" by Rothbard, "Basic Economics" by Sowell, "The Left, The Right, & The State" by L. H. Rockwell, Jr. or "Lessons for the Young Economist" by Bob Murphy are quite nice. Heck, I would even suggest "The…
on “Australia is introducing age checks for search engines like Google” ↗I read a decent amount of books but the ones that stood out are: - Anatomy of the State (Murray N. Rothbard) - Diaspora (Greg Egan) - The Freeze-Frame Revolution (Peter Watts)
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗Anatomy of the State - Murray Rothbard
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite short and concise books?” ↗If you want to understand why Biden and Obama are called socialists, I suggest you do some reading of the Anarcho-Capitalist literature (Anatomy of the State is the most obvious) or maybe listen to someone like Peter Schiff. I don't agree with their philosophy as I believe it to be unrealistic but their criticisms and descriptions of what the state is and…
on “GitHub, fuck your name change” ↗