Block Defends the Undefendable

March 28, 2008 2:56 PM by Mises.org Updates | Other posts by Mises.org Updates | Comments (8)

Professor Block's book is in a new edition from the Mises Institute, completely reset and beautifully laid out in an edition worthy of its contents.

It is among the most famous of the great defenses of victimless crimes and controversial economic practices, from profiteering and gouging to bribery and blackmail. However, beneath the surface, this book is also an outstanding work of microeconomic theory that explains the workings of economic forces in everyday events and affairs.

Murray Rothbard explains why:

"Defending the Undefendable performs the service of highlighting, the fullest and starkest terms, the essential nature of the productive services performed by all people in the free market. By taking the most extreme examples and showing how the Smithian principles work even in these cases, the book does far more to demonstrate the workability and morality of the free market than a dozen sober tomes on more respectable industries and activities. By testing and proving the extreme cases, he all the more illustrates and vindicates the theory."

F.A. Hayek agreed, writing the author as follows: "Looking through Defending the Undefendable made me feel that I was once more exposed to the shock therapy by which, more than fifty years ago, the late Ludwig von Mises converted me to a consistent free market position. ... Some may find it too strong a medicine, but it will still do them good even if they hate it. A real understanding of economics demands that one disabuses oneself of many dear prejudices and illusions. Popular fallacies in economic frequently express themselves in unfounded prejudices against other occupations, and showing the falsity of these stereotypes you are doing a real services, although you will not make yourself more popular with the majority."

The contents of this book include:

* Foreword by Murray N. Rothbard
* Commentary by F.A. Hayek
* Introduction
* Sexual
o The Prostitute
o The Pimp
o The Male Chauvinist Pig
* Medical
o The Drug Pusher
o The Drug Addict
* Free Speech
o The Blackmailer
o The Slanderer or Libeler
o The Denier of Academic Freedom
o The Advertiser
o The Person Who Yells "Fire!" in a Crowded Theatre
* Outlaw
o The Gypsy Cab Driver
o The Ticket Scalper
o The Dishonest Cop
* Financial
o The (Non-Government) Counterfeiter
o The Miser
o The Inheritor
o The Moneylender
o The Non-Contributor to Charity
* Business and Trade
o The Curmudgeon
o The Slumlord
o The Ghetto Merchant
o The Speculator
o The Importer
o The Middleman
o The Profiteer
* Ecology
o The Stripminer
o The Litterer
o The Wastemakers
* Labor
o The Fat Capitalist-Pig Employer
o The Scab
o The Rate Buster
o The Employer of Child Labor