.jpg) Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | Murray Rothbard |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Libertarianism |
| Publisher | Macmillan Publishers |
Publication date | 1973 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover &Paperback) |
| Pages | 327 (first edition) 338 (second edition) |
| ISBN | 0-02-074690-3 (second edition) 0-945466-47-1 (2006 edition) |
| OCLC | 75961482 |
For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto (1973; second edition 1978; third edition 1985) is a book by American economist and historianMurray Rothbard, in which the author promotesanarcho-capitalism. The work has been credited as an influence on modernlibertarian thought and on part of theNew Right.
Rothbard advocates anarcho-capitalism, a strain of statelesslibertarianism. Rothbard traces the intellectual origins of libertarianism back toclassical liberal philosophersJohn Locke andAdam Smith and theAmerican Revolution. He argues that modern libertarianism originated not as a response tosocialism orleftism, but toconservatism. Rothbard views the right ofself-ownership and theright to homestead as establishing the complete set of principles of the libertarian system.
The core of libertarianism, writes Rothbard, is thenon-aggression axiom: "that no man or group of men may aggress against the person or property of anyone else." He argues that while this principle is almost universally applied to private individuals and institutions, thegovernment is considered above the general moral law, and therefore does not have to abide by this axiom.
Rothbard attempts to dispel the notion that libertarianism constitutes a sect or offshoot of liberalism or conservatism, or that its seemingly right-wing opinions on economic policy and left-wing opinions on social and foreign policy are contradictory.
TheObjectivist authorPeter Schwartz criticized the views Rothbard expounded inFor a New Liberty, writing that like other libertarians, Rothbard cared about neither "the pursuit of freedom nor the exercise of reason" and supported only "the extermination of government and the inculcation of anti-state hostility." Schwartz maintained that Rothbard wrongly viewed the state as "by nature criminal."[1] Libertarian authorTom G. Palmer commented in 1997 thatFor a New Liberty "provides a good overview of the libertarian worldview, although the chapters on public policy issues and on the organized libertarian movement are by now somewhat dated."[2] Libertarian authorDavid Boaz writes thatFor a New Liberty, together withRobert Nozick'sAnarchy, State, and Utopia (1974) andAyn Rand's essays on political philosophy, "defined the 'hard-core' version of modern libertarianism, which essentially restatedSpencer's law of equal freedom: Individuals have the right to do whatever they want to do, so long as they respect the equal rights of others."[3] British philosopherTed Honderich writes that Rothbard's anarcho-libertarianism informed "one messianic part of the New Right".[4]
InRadicals for Capitalism (2007), journalistBrian Doherty writes ofFor a New Liberty, "This book strove to synthesize, in condensed form, the economic, historical, philosophical, and policy elements of Rothbard's vision...the book was meant as both a primer and a manifesto, so Rothbard crammed in as much of his overall theory of liberty as he could ... Rothbard hits the harderanarcho-capitalist stuff, but slips it in so smoothly that many readers might not notice that this 'libertarian manifesto' promotesanarchism."[5]
PhilosopherEdward Feser argued that the central argument at the heart of the book is largely philosophically meaningless.[6] Later, ProfessorGerard Casey wrote a critical article about this,[7] and they replied to each other.[8]
Matt Zwolinski argued that the book's core content fails to make a clear case for freedom.[9]
In 2006 theLudwig von Mises Institute released a new hardbound edition, with a new introduction byLew Rockwell. There were also translations in Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.
