The ethics of liberty
by Murray Newton Rothbard, Murray N. Rothbard, Hans-Hermann Hoppe · first published 2002
69% recommend19% neutral13% critical
Why HN recommends it
Builds a first-principles case for libertarianism on property rights and non-coercion. It offers the clearest deductive treatment of the ideology and its ethical reasoning.
Common criticism: Some find its base axioms hard to accept and its political conclusions troubling.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…libertarianism) is probably deontological (natural rights) versus consequential (pragmatic) libertarianism. Most of the branch ideologies originate from one of the two. A good read on the subject. The Ethics of Liberty by Murray Rothbard [1]. [1] http://mises.org/rothbard/ethics/ethics.asp
on “FDA Warning Letter to 23andMe” ↗…Elimination of most, if not all, regulations on consumer goods - Sound money and the elimination of fractional reserve banking For the most pure, detailed explanation of libertarianism, check out The Ethics of Liberty[1] [1] https://www.amazon.com/Ethics-Liberty-Murray-N-Rothbard/dp/0...
on “Governor signs bill requiring California corporate boards to include women” ↗…jobs * Conspicuous Signalling Theory * The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn * Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault by Stephen R. C. Hicks * The Ethics of Liberty by Murray N. Rothbard e Hans-Hermann Hoppe * The Red Pill * How a Cultural War works and who is waging it against Western Civilization * Lifting & dieting. The importance of muscle mass for everything…
on “Ask HN: What things do you wish you discovered earlier?” ↗…Spooner, No Treason The Constitution of No Authority https://oll-resources.s3.amazonaws.com/titles/2194/Spooner_1... Frédéric Bastiat, The Law https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44800 Murray N. Rothbard, The Ethics of Liberty https://mises.org/library/ethics-liberty
on “Infection fatality rate of Covid-19 inferred from seroprevalence data [pdf]” ↗…approach, coming up with some general principles that they feel are self-evidently correct. Then they deduce the rules of society that follow from those axioms. A good example of this is Rothbard. His "The Ethics of Liberty" is a wonderful examination of the consequences of a small number of general principles. He follows those principles wherever they lead, and gets to some points where he admits the outcomes can be terrible.…
on “The amusing case of tech libertarians” ↗…http://www.news.com/2010-1028-5226979.html ('Why the FCC should die') To better understand the importance of homesteading and property rights from a 'first-principles' analysis, I would recommend Murray Rothbard's _The Ethics of Liberty_, which you can freely read or download here: http://mises.org/rothbard/Ethics/Ethics.asp In Rothbard's _For a New Liberty_, he addresses specifically the origins of the FCC and how the market approach…
on “What the F***? - Why We Curse” ↗You can take the idea of non-coercion and private property pretty far, without even considering the role of charity. See Rothbard's Ethics of Liberty(1) for ideas of how it might work. Also people are naturally motivated by more than commercial self-interest. This is why charities exist. 1-http://mises.org/rothbard/ethics/ethics.asp
on “Ask HN: How can I do something meaningful?” ↗If you're already at Mises.org you should read Ethics of liberty http://anarcho-capitalist.org/wp-content/pdfs/Rothbard%20%28... For a new liberty https://mises.org/sites/default/files/For%20a%20New%20Libert... If those are to your liking they contain some great…
on “Ask HN: What are your recommended reads that are available for free?” ↗For a New Liberty[1], and Ethics of Liberty[2] by Murray Rothbard [1] https://mises-media.s3.amazonaws.com/For%20a%20New%20Liberty... [2] https://mises-media.s3.amazonaws.com/The%20Ethics%20of%20Lib...
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗There's a book by Rothbard, I think it is his "The Ethics of Liberty", where he describes a set of libertarian principles and then how he thinks a society could be made based on those principles. What makes it interesting is that he tries very hard to not have to compromise…
on “My Body, My Data Act Tackles Online Privacy in Wake of Roe vs. Wade Decision” ↗Ethics of Liberty by Murray Rothbard Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt
on “Ask HN: What books do you keep on your desk?” ↗The Ethics of Liberty by Murray Rothbard
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗…writing on Aristotelian ontology is very good for example. There's also works where I constantly shake my head at the implications and political conclusions but intellectually I still love them. "The Ethics of Liberty" is probably the clearest example of this. Do I think that letting a baby starve to death because it is basically a parasite is morally desirable: no. Do I find the idea of trying to deduce an entire…
on “Why I Am Not an Austrian Economist” ↗This is a very impactful book, but challenging for those new to the topic. I would recommend reading his "The Ethics of Liberty" first.
on “Ask HN: What was the one book that you read and it actually changed your life?” ↗Others have done that very nicely for me, so if you really are genuinely curious I would suggest you read the following two books. Now you can start off with "Ethics of Liberty"[1] if you would like to begin with the Ethical Parts of the reasoning, but if you're more into how / why it would work (which it seems you are), I would suggest starting out with "For a New Liberty"[2].…
on “Should We Tax Robots?” ↗