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The public choice theory of murray N. Rothbard, a modern anarchist

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  • H. Frech

Abstract

The case against the State presented by Rothbard is very disquieting. His frustrating misunderstanding of the problems of monopoly and externalities weakens the argument, but one can easily reformulate it in a more elegant way: The costs of State action are so great that they outweigh any possible improvement of efficiency from reducing monpoly or internalizing externalities. Clearly the mass murders and wars and enslavements which have been carried out throughout history by States exceed by a wide margin the ill effects of private enterprise crime. And if we look at government activities within a relatively civilized democracy like the U.S., we see that most government action benefits a small group at the expense of a larger group (e.g. tariffs, subsidies, occupational licensure). The assertion that the net benefits of many government activities are negative is not an easy one to reject, however radical it may sound. However, Rothbard has not demonstrated the possibility of a stateless society. Copyright Center for Study of Public Choice Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 1973

Suggested Citation

  • H. Frech, 1973. "The public choice theory of murray N. Rothbard, a modern anarchist," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 143-154, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:14:y:1973:i:1:p:143-154
    DOI: 10.1007/BF01718450
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    1. George J. Stigler, 1971. "The Theory of Economic Regulation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 2(1), pages 3-21, Spring.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jesse Malkin & Aaron Wildavsky, 1991. "Why the Traditional Distinction between Public and Private Goods Should be Abandoned," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 3(4), pages 355-378, October.
    2. E. Pasour, 1981. "Pareto optimality as a guide to income redistribution," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 75-87, January.
    3. Germain Belzile & Rosolino A. Candela & Vincent Geloso, 2022. "Regulatory capture and the dynamics of interventionism: the case of power utilities in Quebec and Ontario to 1944," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 193(1), pages 35-61, October.

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