For a New Liberty

The Libertarian Manifesto

By: Murray N. Rothbard

Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach

Length: 15 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

In For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto, Rothbard proposes a once-and-for-all escape from the two major political parties, the ideologies they embrace, and their central plans for using state power against people. Libertarianism is Rothbard's radical alternative that says state power is unworkable and immoral, and ought to be curbed and finally overthrown. To make his case, Rothbard deploys his entire system of thought: natural law, natural rights, Austrian economics, American history, the theory of the state, and more. Society without the nation-state? Rothbard shows that this is the way for peace, prosperity, security, and freedom for all. In the entire history of libertarian ideas, no book has more successfully combined ideological rigor, theoretical exposition, political rhetoric, historical illustration, and strategic acumen.

Rothbard poured a lifetime of research and all his intellectual energy into this project, and he succeeded in writing a classic. He shows that the state creates social and economic problems and then further intervenes to make these problems worse than ever - while increasing its power at the expense of everyone else. He is particularly good at highlighting who really benefits from government regulation: usually it is the largest corporations who are attempting to rig the game in their favor. The book is still regarded as "dangerous" percisely because, once the exposure to Rothbardianism takes place, no other book on politics, economics, history, or sociology can be read the same way again.

©2006 Ludwig von Mises Institute (P)2006 Ludwig von Mises Institute

I'm a Ron Paul Libertarian but this is a good

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I'm a Ron Paul Libertarian but this is a good listen for anyone wanting to know more about libertarian beliefs. It was first written in 1978 so some material is old but it all still apply today.

Prepare to have your foundations shocked

What did you love best about For a New Liberty?

It opened up my eyes to some key issues in America today. I had never considered taxation in the way Murray Rothbard describes it. He explains how certain government policies violate our freedoms and why. He is very convincing at times. Sometimes he is not, like when he discusses the court system and how it could be done away with (I disagree with him on this point), but this book really causes you to think about some of the things you believe.

I started reading this book as a Tea Party conservative, and now am more libertarian because of it.

If you could give For a New Liberty a new subtitle, what would it be?

Explanations for anarchy

Any additional comments?

I disagreed with his viewpoint on Abortion, I agree with his proteges, Ron Paul and Judge Napolitano, that life begins at conception and that an unborn child has rights that are protected by the 14th amendment.

Best summation of Libertarian thought I have read.

Would you listen to For a New Liberty again? Why?

While I don't agree with 100% of the material, I do agree with almost all of it. What I like most is the fluid way in which the author links all of the seemingly disparate subjects and underlies the libertarian argument with principal rather than prescription. Highly recommend if you are interested in something other than Right vs Left, Conservative vs Liberal, or Republican vs Democrat. Both political parties are just 2 breed of fox trying to raid the hen house...the end result is the same. They only differ (slightly) in their methods.

What was one of the most memorable moments of For a New Liberty?

The discussion of how property rights actually underscore most human and civil rights. A thorough grasp of this concept would fundamentally change almost any society.

Any additional comments?

I do disagree with the author on the point of abortion. The author seems to have a made a logical jump in his presupposition, which seems preposterous if you spell it out, but the author does not address it. Actually, coverage of the subject is quite brief, which may be best as I didn't agree. Nonetheless, the author appears genuine in his reasoning and motivations.

Great Austrian Econimist

Any additional comments?

This was a good libertarian book. I also like Liberty Defined by Ron Paul as it is more up to date same ideas though.

I didn't know I was a libertarian before now

With the exception of the authors view on abortion I find myself agreeing with virtually everything he has to say, although I'll confess I was listening while working so I missed bits of it because of noise. There may have been minor points I would disagree with.

This debate between two libertarians is the most thoughtful conversation about abortion I've ever heard. I'm proud to say I'm now a libertarian. Maybe I always was and I just didn't know it. The path forward will not be easy, but the path we should take as people is clearer to me than it was before listening to this audio book. I don't know if links work in book reviews so I'll mention the title of the debate on YouTube. It's titled "what's the correct libertarian position on abortion a soho forum debate". It's well worth your time.

https://youtu.be/OKU_xutF-eQ

Brilliance

Though I always leaned towards libertarian on civil liberties, for the longest time I had no understanding of basic economics thanks to the United States public school system shilling Keynesianism. Once I learned of legitimate free market economics, full blown Voluntaryism seemed like the logical conclusion, though I wasn’t fully convinced until I heard what I considered the most radical ideas brilliantly presented by Rothbard. It seems now totally ludicrous that anybody would support anything other than Voluntaryism aka Anarcho Capitalism. Everybody needs to read this book.

A masterpiece.

The nature of mankind lies within the text of this book, as does it's salvation. As the author states, the time is ripe for liberty.

Wonderful read!

I was a minarchist until I read this tome. While I have previously read a few Rothbard books ... this one basically changed my view in many ways . wonderfully written and not a hard book to get through..

This is the Way

Seeing the current political theater through the lens of Libertarianism helps cut right through the incessant propaganda of the State. This book helps put words to and refine what I've felt since I was a child, in regards to how we as a society and the State, behaves. Libertarianism and the cause of uncoerced freedom and sovereignty, is The Way.

Everyone needs to read this!

This book details how our society could be fixed from almost all the ills it experiences due to centralized state control