Leeson and Stringham make some good points but fail to prove that the state can be abolished. If government is inevitable, then the promotion of libertarian anarchism may distract good minds away from the more practical task of designing, promoting, and implementing mechanisms that limit the scope and power of government.

Randall G. Holcombe is a Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute, DeVoe Moore Professor of Economics at Florida State University, and author of the Independent book Liberty in Peril: Democracy and Power in American History.
EconomyGovernment and PoliticsLaw and LibertyPolitical TheoryPublic Choice
Other Independent Review articles by Randall G. Holcombe
Winter 2023/24 Rethinking Economics as Social Theory
Spring 2023 Generation Gap: Why Baby Boomers Still Dominate American Politics and Culture
Winter 2022/23 Handbook of Alternative Theories of Political Economy
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