Spring 2024

The Independent Review

A Journal of Political Economy

The Independent Review12 min read
A Vision of a Productive Free Society: Murray Rothbard’s "For a New Liberty"
As Robert Higgs (1995) explained, revolutionaries “need to understand the nature of the beast they aim to bring down, but they need inspiration, too, because lovers of liberty seek not just to destroy unjustified state power but to build a productive
The Independent Review8 min read
"For a New Liberty" after Fifty Years
When For a New Liberty was published in 1973, it soon became one of the key books of the libertarian movement, and it has retained this status ever since. Why is this so? The principal reason is that Murray Rothbard, the book’s author, set forward in
The Independent Review21 min read
Libertarianism, Oversimplified
Fifty years since its initial publication, Murray Rothbard’s For a New Liberty continues to have a transformative impact on readers. For many, the book produces a complete paradigm shift in their thinking about politics. Starting with just a few basi
The Independent Review22 min read
Seeing The State Through "For A New Liberty"
The central chapter of Murray Rothbard’s For a New Liberty is “The State.” The central moment of that chapter is when Rothbard tells us that “if you wish to know how libertarians regard the State and any of its acts, simply think of the State as a cr
The Independent Review16 min read
Privatize the Public Sector: Murray Rothbard’s Stateless Libertarian Society
Murray Rothbard’s For a New Liberty, originally published in 1973, remains one of the most significant books on libertarianism, in large part because he explains how market institutions can replace everything government does, and do it better. After
The Independent Review19 min readAmerican Government
Conservation, Ecology, and Growth in "For a New Liberty"
Published in 1973, Murray Rothbard’s For a New Liberty is one of the earliest and most influential attempts to provide a comprehensive theoretical and philosophical basis for libertarianism. Rothbard worked to apply the principles he outlined to a wi
The Independent Review15 min readCrime & Violence
Murray Rothbard on War and Foreign Policy
For Murray Rothbard, matters of war and foreign policy are central to a free society of equal people. These issues are important because they influence the existence, or absence, of individual autonomy and peaceful social cooperation, both domestical
The Independent Review33 min read
The Political Economy of Rising Defense Costs
Defense costs in the United States have been on the rise for the past several decades. The price index used to measure defense costs has outpaced inflation in the overall economy (as measured by the GDP deflator) by a factor of 1.3 from 1947 to 2020.
The Independent Review38 min readFinance & Money Management
What Is in the Federal Reserve’s Doomsday Book?
The Doomsday Book is a collection of documents and memoranda compiled by the legal department of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY). The book focuses on financial crises that have prompted an operational response such as emergency loans and
The Independent Review14 min read
Yoram Barzel: Property Rights, Political Economy, and the Reorganization of Economic Analysis
It is a distinct privilege, yet one taken with deep regret, to honor the economist Yoram Barzel, who died on December 22, 2022. His impact as both teacher and scholar has been felt by the generations of students who have learned from his work, includ
The Independent Review11 min readWorld
Concepts before Measurement: A Rejoinder to Ryan Murphy on the Developmental State
Ryan Murphy, who is a coauthor of the Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) index, through the use of statistical and quantitative evidence, insists that Singapore does not exhibit a high degree of state intervention, either when “developmental state c
The Independent Review14 min read
"Time On The Cross" At Fifty
A strong case can be made that the golden age for the discipline of economic history occurred in the third quarter of the twentieth century, and that the ultimate manifestation of its importance in the world of ideas and the broader society came with
The Independent Review6 min readDiscrimination & Race Relations
Out Of The Melting Pot, Into The Fire: Multiculturalism In The World’s Past And America’s Future
By Jens Heycke New York: Encounter Books, 2023. Pp. xi, 271. $30.99 paperback. Jens Heycke’s Out of the Melting Pot, into the Fire tells a story of human suffering and survival that I’ll never forget: a woman survives the Rwandan genocide, and yet to
The Independent Review7 min readPolitical Ideologies
Following Their Leaders: Political Preferences and Public Policy
By Randall G. Holcombe New York: Cambridge University Press, 2023. Pp. xv + 200. $34.99 paperback. Some scholars criticize the Public Choice approach for being too pessimistic about government (generally) and democracy (in particular). But James Buch
The Independent Review4 min read
The Monetarists: The Making of the Chicago Monetary Theory Tradition, 1927–1960
By George S. Tavlas Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2023. Pp. xviii, 632. $50 hardcover. There has been a longstanding debate about the existence of a “Chicago school” of economics that emphasizes free markets and limited government (Steven G.
The Independent Review4 min read
Better Money: Gold, Fiat, or Bitcoin?
By Lawrence H. White New York: Cambridge University Press, 2023. Pp. xi, 236. $29.95 paperback. Larry White has written another fine book on monetary economics. Better Money would make a great textbook for an advanced undergrad or master’s class and

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