The State, by Franz Oppenheimer
A classic, and still under-appreciated. Murray Rothbard writes:
The great German sociologist Franz Oppenheimer (1864-1943), who wrote this magnificent little book called The State, put the case brilliantly.In essence, he said, there are only two ways for men to acquire wealth. The first method is by producing a good or a service and voluntarily exchanging that good for the product of somebody else. This is the method of exchange, the method of the free market; it’s creative and expands production; it is not a zero-sum game because production expands and both parties to the exchange benefit. Oppenheimer called this method the "economic means" for the acquisition of wealth.
The second method is seizing another person’s property without his consent, i.e., by robbery, exploitation, looting. When you seize someone’s property without his consent, then you are benefiting at his expense, at the expense of the producer; here is truly a zero-sum "game"--not much of a "game," by the way, from the point of view of the victim. Instead of expanding production, this method of robbery clearly hobbles and restricts production. So in addition to being immoral while peaceful exchange is moral, the method of robbery hobbles production because it is parasitic upon the effort of the producers.
With brilliant astuteness, Oppenheimer called this method of obtaining wealth "the political means." And then he went on to define the state, or government, as "the organization of the political means," i.e., the regularization, legitimation, and permanent establishment of the political means for the acquisition of wealth.
In other words, the state is organized theft, organized robbery, organized exploitation. And this essential nature of the state is highlighted by the fact that the state ever rests upon the crucial instrument of taxation.
This book is treasure trove of insight and steely analytics, with an introduction by Paul Gottfried. It is on the must-read list of every libertarian in every generation. $25 in the store.
Comments (8)
iceberg
Jeff,
I don't know if this was already worked out, and please excuse my ignorance if it already was;
Can the Mises staff compile a reading list with [cardinal] rankings (based on a simple vote) of the Mises Book stores' selection, this way the less-read individuals such as myself can better prioritize our reading selection, as to first cover the "must-read" selection.
In other words, I think that producing something like the Modern Library's Top 100 books of the 20th Century will help me make more rational book choices.
Published: February 21, 2006 2:11 PM
jeffrey
Well, David Gordon made a list here, but it is not Austro-centered. It is more on liberalism generally. But I think he is working on a full book that would cover the top 100 from all time, with study questions and discussion. That would just be great, wouldn't it?
As to what to read and in what order, that's a tough call. Something like this Oppenheimer was just a thrill to find at all. It is actually alarming to discover how many of the books in this tradition are hard to come by, which is why we are hoping that Mises Institute publishing can make strides in the coming years.
Published: February 21, 2006 2:41 PM
Kenneth R. Gregg
Looking forward to reading Gottfried's introduction.
Cheers!
Published: February 21, 2006 3:12 PM
George Gaskell
I haven't compiled a formal list, but you would certainly be on the right track if you included these works somewhere in a self-guided intro course on the Austrian School (in no particular order):
Gene Callahan, Economics for Real People
Henry Hazlitt, Economics in One Lesson
Bastiat, The Law and What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen
Rothbard, What Government Has Done to Our Money
Mises, Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle
They are all relatively short, and each has a somewhat different area of focus.
It's a good idea. I'd be very interested in seeing the Mises.org editors' take on such a list.
Published: February 21, 2006 4:30 PM
Justin
Hans-Hermann Hoppe compiled a list on anarcho-capitalist works that is available here:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/hoppe/hoppe5.html
Published: February 21, 2006 5:29 PM
Justin
The other great thing about Franz Oppenheimer is that he received his Ph.D at the age of 45, after a turn as a physician, giving hope to late bloomers and those on their second/third/fourth careers.
Moreover, if it weren't for Oppenheimer we wouldn't have Albert Jay Nock's "Our Enemy, the State."
Published: February 22, 2006 10:42 PM
Tobias Louw
hi, I am from South Africa and have recently read Albert Nock's Our Enemy, the State. Am now looking to obtain a copy of Oppenheimer's The State, as Nock frequently refers to this standard work. Currently compliling a conference paper with the title: The merchant state: friend or foe of the people?
Anyone with some additional pointers and further references -? Woud be much appreciated!
Published: December 6, 2008 1:41 AM
jeffrey
Extremely important book by Boetie: politics of disobedience. on Mises.org in pdf and store.
Published: December 6, 2008 6:31 AM