Libertarian Book Reviews

Classical Liberal

The Origins of Poverty and Wealth

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I, like most Americans, remain rationally ignorant of the political currents outside of my own country. Other countries might be better suppliers of opera, cheese, or ancient ruins, but they have had little new to teach us about liberty, at least not since Hayek came to Chicago in 1950. That’s my prejudice and I want to make that clear up front. However, after reading Rainer Zitelmann’s new book, The Origins of Poverty and Wealth, I’ve somewhat revised my views. More on that later.

The title of Zitelmann’s book is an apparent nod to Adam Smith’s pivotal An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, a book which is still highly relevant 249 years after its publication. Why are some nations prosperous while others languish in backwards poverty? The question was timely in Smith’s day and has remained so ever since.

Zitelmann, who comes to the question from the perspective of a sociologist and historian, earlier had commissioned public opinion surveys around the world on perceptions of wealth and capitalism. The results from these surveys featured prominently in two earlier books, The Rich in Public Opinion (which we reviewed here) and The Power of Capitalism.

Zitelmann’s new book is a travelogue of sorts, covering a tour he made of 30 countries he visited over the last couple of years, where he spoke to various liberal groups, at universities and other institutions, and with liberal politicians. Each chapter follows roughly the same course: the author describes the country’s recent political and economic history, tells of the various pro-market groups and individuals he meets with, discusses prospects for the growth of liberalism in those countries, and relates outcomes back to perceptions regarding capitalism. Generally, countries that harbor resentment toward capitalism and the wealthy, like Serbia, are doing poorly, and those who have positive attitudes toward wealth and free markets, like Poland and Vietnam, are doing better.

This is not a deeply analytical book. It is anecdotal and entertaining. I enjoyed it. But did I profit from reading it? I believe I did. The great investor, Warren Buffett, one said, “It’s good to learn from your mistakes. It’s better to learn from other people’s mistakes.” And, one might add, to learn from the successes of others. Any nation has but one timeline, one history, and one path to its future. To the extent we can learn from the successes and failures of other nations, which decisions lead to wealth and which to poverty, we can better guide our own path. That’s the value here, the opportunity to learn about alternative timelines for a society, and perhaps discern warnings signs in our own.

(This review was based on complimentary review copy of the book.)

The Micronation Revolution

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Four hundred years ago an oppressed religious minority, after escaping England and after a sojourn in the Netherlands, arrived on the shores of New England to start a life in the New World.

Certainly there was no shortage of people who were oppressed for their religion in those days. In recent memory, Protestants and Catholics had fought against each for control in England. But there were also the minority sects within Protestantism, the dissenting churches, who faced various legal liabilities for their non-participation in the established Church of England. Among these were the Puritans, who sought to reform the established Church to eliminate what it saw as remnants of Pagan and Popish ritual.

But among the Puritans was an even smaller group, the Separatists, who saw the Church in England as irredeemably fallen. They were a minority of a minority. They wanted to remove themselves from this corruption and start again in a new land. These families were the Pilgrims who settled in Plymouth Colony in 1620, and their separatist colony is a historical metaphor motivating the need for, and the prospects for success for micronations, in William Otey’s new book, The Micronation Revolution: How the Creation of Small, Free and Sovereign Nations Will Peacefully Transform Government on Earth.

Otey’s book is in four parts, the first of which makes the argument for why a divorce is necessary, why the U.S. government is irredeemably fallen, and why no amount of internal reform can fix it.

The second part describes how the liabilities outlined in the first part can be addressed by the “clean sheet” approach of a micronation. Part of the argument is that a micronation, by doing well, would tend to provide a form of competition that might exert pressure on other states to reform.

The third part looks at some specific modes by which a micronation might come about. Seasteading and the purchase of land from a money-poor/land-rich nation are given as the two most promising approaches.

The fourth and final part recapitulates and summarizes the argument.

There is much here to like and agree with, and also much I might want to question. I think this largely comes down to whether you are an optimist or pessimist. I’m the latter, and Otey the former. For example, Otey is optimistic about the ability of the press and public opinion to keep large nations from predatory behavior toward micronations:

[I]f large, violent and corrupt governments want to try and stop seasteading illegally and through brute force, they will have a galaxy of cameras pointed directly at them and the images will be broadcast across the entire globe.

I tend to expect the worst. I’d give even odds that the “free” press is actually the lackey of the state, and that large social media companies can and would bury stories at will. And all a government needs to do is allege (no actual evidence needed) “child abuse” or “sex trafficking” in the micronation and the press will fall in line behind the government. Remember Waco?

And as far as a classical liberal micronation being a beacon to other countries, inspiring their citizens to expect more, and demand more from their own governments, I think this is a double-edged sword. Alexander Dubček was such a beacon in Czechoslovakia in 1968. Many thought his reforms would inspire change in neighboring states. It did motivate change, of a sort. “Prague Spring” ended with tanks in the streets, when Czechoslovakia was simultaneously invaded by the Soviet Union, Poland, Bulgaria and Hungary, and Dubček removed from office. Evidently, not all states welcome competition.

That said, Otey’s argument is worth hearing and making your own judgement about. It is an important topic, one we should be thinking about and debating. For this reason, I’d recommend getting a copy of The Micronation Revolution and giving it a read.

My Passion for Liberty

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This is the first in a series of reviews of relevant books written by candidates for the Libertarian Party nomination for president. By relevant, I mean the book is plausibly related to their political views. So, Vermin Supreme’s iPony: Blueprint for a New America will be reviewed. Although it is irreverent, it is relevant. However, John McAfee’s Computer Viruses, Worms, Data Diddlers, Killer Programs, and Other Threats to Your System is not reviewed, since it is not relevant.

Aside from Vermin Supreme’s learned tome, I’ll be reviewing Adam Kokesh’s Freedom! as well as the subject of the present review, Jacob Hornberger’s My Passion for Liberty. I am not aware of other relevant books written by announced LP candidates. If I missed any, please let me know in the comments.

Now, let’s get to the review…

A candidate book is a genre, like a detective novel or a vampire novel. If you’ve read one you understand the basic formula. It is part autobiography, focusing on the formation of the author’s political views. And it is part political manifesto, outlining his approach to various issues of present concern to voters. In this sense, Jacob Hornberger’s My Passion for Liberty is a conventional exemplar of the genre. He touches all the bases and establishes himself as an earnest libertarian who has spent his time in the trenches.

From his upbringing in Laredo, Texas and education at the Virginia Military Institute, Hornberger seemed destined to a career as a lawyer, like his father. But along the way he discovered an anthology published by Leonard Read and the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). This was the proverbial Road to Damascus moment that set him on a different track. He eventually left his law practice to lead the FEE for a stint, before founding the Future of Freedom Foundation, which he continues to lead.

Hornberger’s political views, as described in this book, are at the vital center of libertarianism, “liberty, free markets, and limited government.” There is no discussion here of esoteric theoretical questions, or shocking “what if” dilemmas. He sticks close to the core, and does it soberly, with a pleasant, direct style.

The one area where Hornberger verges outside of what I’d consider core libertarianism is in his discussion of the JFK assassination, an area that as occupied him (some would say preoccupied) for years. Honestly, I was skeptical of his seeming fascination with the subject, but he does acquit himself well with his explanation, where he shows how he uses this to demonstrate the danger of America’s transformation into a national security state, where the state topples governments around the world, and perhaps even here at home.

The book has short introductions by Ron Paul and Richard Eberling, and closes with a handful of shorter pieces written by Hornberger.

The Inclusive Economy

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If you are like me you already have some strong opinions about poverty. And by “strong” I don’t mean your opinions are particularly loud or obnoxious, but that they are deeply-seated and fundamental to how you see the world. You might think of poverty as being a structural problem, stemming from from systemic racism and sexism. You might think it is a cultural problem, caused, in part, from fatherless homes and substance abuse. You might see it as a moral failing. You might see it as a predictable outcome of a process of globalization and consolidation in industry. These, and several other theories of poverty, arise repeatedly in contemporary debate.

Michael Tanner, Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, does us a great service by dedicating the first half of his book, The Inclusive Economy: How to Bring Wealth to America’s Poor, to a deep dive into the various historical and contemporary views on poverty. He brings data to bear on the question and essentially demonstrates that each of the various theories are incomplete or ineffective from a policy perspective. He certainly challenged some deep-seated views I’ve held on the subject, and for that I am grateful.

The second half of the book is a detailed articulation of Tanner’s policy recommendations. Tanner rejects the pessimistic view that poverty is inescapable, that the only policy discussion worth having is how to design an efficient program for redistribution. Observing that, “The best thing that government can do now, therefore, is to stop doing all the bad things it currently does,” he proposes libertarian reforms in five basic areas: criminal justice, education, zoning and land use, impediments to savings, and taxes/regulations, showing how each one would help the poor. It is a compelling argument.

As mentioned before, this is not an breezy read. If you are like me, you’ll put it down and ponder what you’ve read for a while, as your preconceptions are challenged. But it is an important book, one worth reading, and one I hope more policy-makers read as well.

The Case Against Socialism

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There are several classic books that make the case for individual freedom over the collectivist state. Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom, Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom, and Mises’s Liberalism come to mind. But for all the virtues they have, with the commanding sweep of their vision and their penetrating social analysis, the reader of today often struggles in understanding the argument due to the reliance on examples that today are dated, even obscure. The reader of 2019 reads these classics for their evergreen ideas, but often ends up baffled by discussions of 19th century English politicians, New Deal legislation, the Bretton Woods currency system, or Nixon-era price controls.

Against this background, Rand Paul’s new book, The Case Against Socialism, is a most welcome addition to the literature of freedom. He does not innovate—not need he—on the fundamental arguments in favor of liberty. Instead, Sen. Paul does an admirable job refreshing the argument for a reader of today, with 39 short, conversational chapters discussing topics such as Venezuela, Scandinavia, authoritarianism, economic inequality, climate alarmism and fake news.

The text is organized into six parts, containing 39 short, conversational chapters. The text is well-documented, with hundreds of footnotes citing sources, many of which I’ve copied down for further exploration.

This is a good, easy read, one I recommend heartily. It is the right argument, at the right time.