Books in Brief: Egalitarianism as a Revolt against Nature

Egalitarianism as a Revolt against Nature, by Murray N. Rothbard (Libertarian Review, 151 pp., $2.50). A delightful collection of essays. Most are from defunct journals which failed the market test because a) they promoted a conformist purge of ideologically impure libertarians, and b) they tried to build one-way bridges toward the Left. Despite Rothbard’s irrelevant appeal to historic usage, “Left” today means egalitarian and statist, “Right” means an advocate of laissez-faire meritocracy. That puts Rothbard at the extreme right on most issues, despite his protests to the contrary—a paradigm of the individual against the collective. His definition of conservatism as “hierarchy, statism, theocracy, serfdom, and class exploitation” makes no sense in this country at this time. Rothbard is a little weak on neighborhood effects and defense, but he has great fun with women’s liberation and the fundamental mystique of the state. This is a stimulating, properly optimistic, consciousness-raising exercise in unequivocal laissez-faire.

About the Author

Alan Reynolds

Alan Reynolds, National Review’s economics editor from 1972 to 1976, is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the author of Income and Wealth.

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Egalitarianism as a Revolt against Nature, by Murray N. Rothbard (Libertarian Review, 151 pp., $2.50). A delightful collection of essays. Most are from defunct journals which failed the market test because a) they promoted a conformist purge of ideologically impure libertarians, and b) they tried to build one-way bridges toward the Left. Despite Rothbard’s irrelevant appeal to historic usage, “Left” today means egalitarian and statist, “Right” means an advocate of laissez-faire meritocracy. That puts Rothbard at the extreme right on most issues, despite his protests to the contrary—a paradigm of the individual against the collective. His definition of conservatism as “hierarchy, statism, theocracy, serfdom, and class exploitation” makes no sense in this country at this time. Rothbard is a little weak on neighborhood effects and defense, but he has great fun with women’s liberation and the fundamental mystique of the state. This is a stimulating, properly optimistic, consciousness-raising exercise in unequivocal laissez-faire.