The Machinery of Freedom - Guide to a Radical Capitalism

By: David D. Friedman

Narrated by: David Friedman

This audiobook argues for a society organized by voluntary cooperation under institutions of private property and exchange, with little, ultimately no, government. It describes how the most fundamental functions of government might be replaced by private institutions, with services such as protecting individual rights and settling disputes provided by private firms in a competitive market. It goes on to use the tools of economic analysis to attempt to show how such institutions could be expected to work, what sort of legal rules they would generate, and under what circumstances they would or would not be stable. The approach is consequentialist.

The claim is that such a society would produce more attractive outcomes, judged by widely shared values, than alternatives, including the current institutions of the US and similar societies. The second edition contained four sections; this third edition adds two more. One explores in greater depth some of the ideas already raised, including discussions of decentralized law enforcement in past legal systems, of rights seen not as a moral or legal category but as a description of human behavior, of a possible threat to the stability of the system not considered in the previous editions, and of ways in which a stateless society might defend itself from aggressive states. The final section introduces a number of new topics, including unschooling, the misuse of externality arguments in contexts such as population or global warming, and the implications of public key encryption and related online technologies.

Please note: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©1973, 1978, 1989, 2014 David Director Friedman (P)2019 David Director Friedman

Just when you think no one could be smarter than Milton himself

This was my first David Friedman read. David did was no one else could. He gave detailed, thorough, real world examples of how an Anarcho capitalist society would function. A true hero.

"...others find them peculiar"

as the author writes "my political views seem natural and obvious to me. others find them peculiar"

i feel that brother

In my top 3 favorite books

This book taught me to find spontaneous order in more places than I ever thought possible.

Good, but not Rothbard

The arguments are well made, and I enjoyed the listen. I found the sections on bargaining new and insightful. I still find the writings of Murray Rothbard more insightful, but this book is a valuable addition to the conversation.

Good book

Great primer on anarcho-capitalism and does well diving into a myriad of other topics that ought to be talked about more in this day and age. The narration, however, was a disappointing due to the relatively poor sound quality!