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Store: An Independent Institute Book
Co-publisher: Transaction Publishers
6 Figures
© 2007 |
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ANARCHY AND THE LAW
The Political Economy of Choice
Edited by
Edward P. Stringham
Anarchy and the Law assembles for the first time in one volume the most important classic and contemporary studies exploring and debating non-state legal and political systems, especially involving the tradition of natural law and private contracts.
Should markets and contracts provide law, and can the rule of law itself be understood as a private institution? Are the state and its police powers benign societal forces, or are they a system of conquest, authoritarianism, occupation, and exploitation?
From the early works of Gustave de Molinari, Edmund Burke, Voltairine de Cleyre, Benjamin Tucker, David Lipscomb, and Lysander Spooner to the contemporary thinking of Murray Rothbard, David Friedman, Anthony De Jasay and Bruce Benson, Anarchy and the Law features the key studies exploring and debating the efficacy of individual choice and markets versus the shortfalls of coercive government power and bureaucracy. In so doing, the book also features debates involving Roderick Long’s argument against a nationalized military and Robert Nozick’s critique of stateless legal systems, as well as the work of such scholars as Nobel Laureate economist Douglass North, Tyler Cowen, Robert Ellickson, Randall Holcombe, Randy Barnett, Barry Weingast, Terry Anderson, Andrew Rutten, Jeffrey Rogers Hummel, and others.
Whereas liberals and conservatives argue in favor of political constraints, Anarchy and the Law examines whether to check against abuse, government power must be replaced by a social order of self-government based on contracts.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction—Edward P. Stringham
Section I: Theory of Private Property Anarchism
2. Police, Law, and the Courts—Murray Rothbard
3. The Machinery of Freedom: Guide to a Radical Capitalism (excerpt)—David Friedman
4. Market for Liberty (excerpt)—Morris and Linda Tannehill
5. Pursuing Justice in a Free Society: Crime Prevention and the Legal Order—Randy Barnett
6. Capitalist Production and the Problem of Public Goods—Hans Hoppe
7. National Defense and the Public-Goods Problem—Jeffrey Rogers Hummel and Don Lavoie
8. Defending a Free Nation—Roderick Long
9. The Myth of the Rule of Law—John Hasnas
Section II: Debate
10. The State—Robert Nozick
11. The Invisible Hand Strikes Back—Roy A. Childs
12. Robert Nozick and the Immaculate Conception of the State—Murray Rothbard
13. Objectivism and the State: An Open Letter to Ayn Rand—Roy Childs
14. Do We Ever Really Get Out of Anarchy?—Alfred G. Cuzan
15. Law as a Public Good: The Economics of Anarchy—Tyler Cowen
16. Law as a Private Good: A Response to Tyler Cowen on the Economics of Anarchy—David Friedman
17. Rejoinder to David Friedman on the Economics of Anarchy—Tyler Cowen
18. Networks, Law and the Paradox of Cooperation—Bryan Caplan and Edward Stringham
19. Conflict, Cooperation and Competition in Anarchy—Tyler Cowen and Daniel Sutter
20. Conventions: Some Thoughts on the Economics of Ordered Anarchy—Anthony De Jasay
21. Can Anarchy Save Us from Leviathan?—Andrew Rutten
22. Government: Unnecessary but Inevitable—Randall Holcombe
23. Is Government Inevitable? Comment on Holcombe’s Analysis—Peter Leeson and Edward Stringham
Section III: History of Anarchist Thought
24. Gustave de Molinari and the Anti-statist Liberal Tradition (excepts)—David Hart
25. Vindication of Natural Society (excerpt)—Edmund Burke
26. The Production of Security—Gustave de Molinari
27. Individualist Anarchism in the United States: The Origins—Murray Rothbard
28. Anarchism and American Traditions—Voltairine de Cleyre
29. On Civil Government—David Lipscomb
30. No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority (excerpt)—Lysander Spooner
31. Trial by Jury—Lysander Spooner
32. Relation of the State to the Individual—Benjamin Tucker
33. Political and Economic Overview—David Osterfeld
Section IV: Historical Case Studies of Non-Government Law Enforcement
34. Are Public Goods Really Common Pools? Considerations of the Evolution of Policing and Highways in England—Bruce Benson
35. Property Rights in Celtic Irish Law—Joseph Peden
36. Private Creation and Enforcement of Law: A Historical Case—David Friedman
37. The Role of Institutions in the Revival of Trade: The Law Merchant, Private Judges, and the Champagne Fairs—Paul Milgrom, Douglass North, and Barry Weingast
38. Legal Evolution in Primitive Societies—Bruce Benson
39. American Experiment in Anarcho-Capitalism: The Not So Wild, Wild West—Terry Anderson and P. J. Hill
40. Order Without Law (excerpt)—Robert Ellickson
Index Praise for Anarchy and the Law “Finally, a fit rejoinder to people who begin sentences with ‘There ought to be a law . . .’”
—P. J. O’Rourke, author, Parliament of Whores and On the Wealth of Nations
“Anarchy and the Law is an important and very powerful book, and for the open-minded, will do a great deal to persuade them that non-state political systems based on voluntary association and private contracts deserve to be taken very seriously indeed.”
—Jan Narveson, Professor of Philosophy, University of Waterloo, Canada
“As the marvelous book Anarchy and the Law demonstrates, a rich intellectual tradition on the desirability and workings of private-property, non-state legal systems stretches back to the mid-nineteenth century. Henceforth, ignorance will be no excuse.”
—Robert Higgs, author, Crisis and Leviathan, Against Leviathan and Depression, War and Cold War
“Scholars interested in scrutinizing the links between political and legal institutions will find Anarchy and the Law an invaluable resource.”
—Tom W. Bell, Professor of Law, Chapman University
“The dynamics of government growth has proven that no matter how benign the original intent and no matter how limited their scope, government programs will eventuate in abuse and malignancy. Anarchy and the Law assembles in one superb volume key essays that embrace this view and in doing so has done us all a great service.”
—Ronald Hamowy, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Alberta, Canada
“With meticulous scholarship, Edward Stringham offers a splendid collection. Anarchy and the Law is a skillful blend of the philosophy, political theory, history, and economics which constitute the framework of one of the least understood political traditions. The book is quite simply a tour-de-force.”
—Wendy McElroy, editor, Liberty for Women
“Anarchy and the Law is a breakthrough work, one which anyone interested in politics will find intellectually exciting.”
—Ralph Raico, Professor of History, Buffalo State College
“Anarchy and the Law should become the beginning for any serious examination of our most deeply held beliefs about government—a ‘must read’ for anyone open to ideas and interested in the preservation of liberty.”
—Thomas J. Nechyba, Professor of Economics, Duke University
“Anarchy and the Law assembles the very best research—theoretical and empirical—on markets' surprisingly robust capacity to supply law and other public goods.”
—Donald J. Boudreaux, Professor of Economics, George Mason University
“Edward Stringham has assembled an excellent—and much-needed—book. Anarchy and the Law is a welcome addition to the scholarship, teaching, and investigation of politics.”
—James R. Otteson, Professor of Philosophy, University of Alabama
“Much work in political philosophy is conducted on the basis of an uncritically-held assumption that only the state can supply law and public order. Anarchy and the State should shake such writers from their dogmatic slumbers. This book is a must for any college or university library, and I'd strongly recommend it as a gift for any intelligent young (or old!) person whose ideas could do with a shake-up.”
—Jeremy Shearmur, Reader in Philosophy, Australian National University
“Anarchy and the Law is an essential book on the theory and history of 'non-state' legal systems in which law enforcement is privatized, including essays by both proponents and skeptics.”
—Lawrence H. White, Friedrich A. Hayek Professor of Economic History, University of Missouri, St. Louis
“Recent scholarship in political economy exhibits renewed interest in the possibility of stateless order. What was formerly a topic reserved primarily for ‘normative’ political economists interested in defending the free society is now a one dealt with by purely ‘positive’ political economists as well. . . . [In Anarchy and the Law,] Stringham has performed an invaluable service both in advancing the case for private property anarchy, and for making this case accessible to a wider audience.”
—Public Choice
“There is no mistaking the contents from the title of the book. Anarchy and the Law: The Political Economy of Choice collects, by all accounts for the first time on this scale, fundamental writings on non-state legal and political systems. . . . Specialists, certainly, will find it extremely valuable, although they will be familiar with the bulk of its content. It is probably most useful, then, to those with a passing interest in the subject; those who would like to read up on it but do not intend to devote much time to a search for relevant work. Ultimately, however, to find this book interesting (and useful), all one truly needs is an open mind and a willingness to contemplate well constructed arguments. . . . essential and enormously valuable. . . . The material included in the book is chosen with an even hand, thereby making the volume all the more valuable for the non-specialist.”
—Journal of Economic Issues About the Editor Edward P. Stringham is a Research Fellow at The Independent Institute, Associate Professor of Economics at San Jose State University, and President of the Association of Private Enterprise Education.
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