A Phenomenal, Yet Insufficiently Appreciated Book

Murray Rothbard’s Man, Economy, and State (with Power and Market) is a phenomenal, still insufficiently appreciated book. Together with Mises’ Human Action, it is the definitive statement of economics in the causal-realist tradition, and is actually even more consistent in its rigorous methodological commitments than its great predecessor. In addition, it is probably the last great economic treatise in the history of the discipline. Originally published 55 years ago, it not only hasn’t aged in the slightest, but is, in fact, becoming ever more relevant in a world of progressing economic globalization, capital complexification, and entrepreneurial emancipation.

Thus, it is likely to serve as an increasingly fertile source of inspiration for all those eager to understand the relationship between the perennial workings of economics and the dynamic workings of economies – which is an increasingly pressing task if the latter are to progress uninterrupted. In sum, let us appreciate Rothbard’s masterpiece as an economic milestone in its own right, not just as an extension and clarification of Human Action, with the hope that it will eventually become one of the standard points of reference for seekers of comprehensive economic knowledge in a world that makes it an ever more indispensable asset.

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“You are what you value. I value: individual liberty, economic common sense, logical rigour, clarity of thought, intellectual integrity and quiet charity.”