This collection of essays pays tribute to the pioneering economist and political philosopher Murray N. Rothbard. From his contributions to the Austrian school of economics to his revolutionary ideas on liberty and individualism, the authors examine and extend Rothbard's legacy. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The authoritative text on the libertarian political position In recent years, libertarian impulses have increasingly influenced national and economic debates, from welfare reform to efforts to curtail affirmative action. Murray N. Rothbard's classic The Ethics of Liberty stands as one of the most rigorous and philosophically sophisticated expositions of the libertarian political position. Rothbard’s unique argument roots the case for freedom in the concept of natural rights and applies it to a host of practical problems. And while his conclusions are radical—that a social order that strictly adheres to the rights of private property must exclude the institutionalized violence inherent in the state—Rothbard’s applications of libertarian principles prove surprisingly practical for a host of social dilemmas, solutions to which have eluded alternative traditions. The Ethics of Liberty authoritatively established the anarcho-capitalist economic system as the most viable and the only principled option for a social order based on freedom. This classic book’s radical insights are sure to inspire a new generation of readers.

The era of modern economics emerged with the publication of Carl Menger?s seminal work, Principles of Economics, in 1871. In this slim book, Menger set forth the correct approach to theoretical research in economics and elaborated some of its immediate implications. In particular, Menger sought to identify the causal laws determining the prices that he observed being paid daily in actual markets.4 His stated goal was to formulate a realistic price theory that would provide an integrated explanation of the formation of market phenomena valid for all times and places.5 Menger?s investigations led him to the discovery that all market prices, wage rates, rents, and interest rates could ultimately be traced back to the choices and actions of consumers striving to satisfy their most important wants by ?economizing? scarce means or ?economic goods.? Thus, for Menger, all prices, rents, wage, and interest rates were the outcome of the value judgments of individual consumers who chose between concrete units of different goods according to their subjective values or ?marginal utilities? to use the term coined by his student Friedrich Wieser. With this insight was born modern economics.

Murray Rothbard was not just a remarkable economist and political thinker, but one of the best revisionist historians of the 20th Century. One of his greatest career accomplishments was Conceived in Liberty, a masterful analysis of the libertarian origins of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States. Written with his lens of "Liberty vs. Power", this book demonstrated both his brilliance and originality — deftly handling a huge amount of research including a vast array of hitherto unknown facts. Unfortunately, due to a tragic technological failing, the original print run of Conceived in Liberty only included the first four of a five-volume work. The fifth volume focusing on the adoption of the Constitution and the Washington Administration, sat dormant for decades as a complete, but handwritten, manuscript. Enter Patrick Newman. As a young Research Fellow at the Mises Institute, Patrick Newman has made incredible use of the Rothbard Archives here in Auburn, AL. Some of his early career achievements include unearthing an original chapter of Man, Economy, and State — providing a fascinating look at Rothbard's own growth as an economist — and editing The Progressive Era, another work focusing on a pivotal period of American history. While none of those projects compared to the work required to translate Murray's handwriting into a complete book project, it provided him with the tools he needed to get the job done. The result is the remarkable resurrection of what will become an important work in the libertarian historical canon. The Fifth Volume of Conceived in Liberty highlights the most important battle of the American project — one that continues to this day - the conflict between those that want to centralize power, and those that choose to stand to defend the American heritage of liberty. This book features a forward from Judge Andrew Napolitano, a preface by Dr. Thomas E. Woods, and an introduction from Dr. Patrick Newman.