''For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto'' (1973; second edition 1978; third edition 1985) is a book by American economist and historian
Murray Rothbard
Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School, economic historian, political theorist, and activist. Rothbard was a central figure in the 20th-century American libertarian m ...
, in which the author promotes
anarcho-capitalism
Anarcho-capitalism (or, colloquially, ancap) is an anti-statist, libertarian, and anti-political philosophy and economic theory that seeks to abolish centralized states in favor of stateless societies with systems of private property enforce ...
. The work has been credited as an influence on modern
libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
thought and on part of the
New Right
New Right is a term for various right-wing political groups or policies in different countries during different periods. One prominent usage was to describe the emergence of certain Eastern European parties after the collapse of the Soviet Uni ...
.
Summary
Rothbard advocates anarcho-capitalism, a strain of stateless
libertarianism
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
. Rothbard traces the intellectual origins of libertarianism back to
classical liberal
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, economic ...
philosophers
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...
and
Adam Smith
Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
and the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
. He argues that modern libertarianism originated not as a response to
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
or
leftism
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
, but to
conservatism
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
. Rothbard views the right of
self-ownership
Self-ownership, also known as sovereignty of the individual or individual sovereignty, is the concept of property in one's own person, expressed as the moral or natural right of a person to have bodily integrity and be the exclusive controller ...
and the
right to homestead
The homestead principle is the principle by which one gains ownership of an unowned natural resource by performing an act of original appropriation. Appropriation could be enacted by putting an unowned resource to active use (as with using it ...
as establishing the complete set of principles of the libertarian system.
The core of libertarianism, writes Rothbard, is the
non-aggression axiom
The non-aggression principle (NAP), also called the non-aggression axiom, is a concept in which aggression, defined as initiating or threatening any forceful interference (violating or breaching conduct) against either an individual, their propert ...
: "that no man or group of men may aggress against the person or property of anyone else." He argues that while this principle is almost universally applied to private individuals and institutions, the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
is considered above the general moral law, and therefore does not have to abide by this axiom.
Rothbard attempts to dispel the notion that libertarianism constitutes a sect or offshoot of liberalism or conservatism, or that its seemingly right-wing opinions on economic policy and left-wing opinions on social and foreign policy are contradictory.
Reception
The
Objectivist
Objectivism is a philosophical system developed by Russian-American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. She described it as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement ...
author
Peter Schwartz criticized the views Rothbard expounded in ''For a New Liberty'', writing that like other libertarians, Rothbard cared about neither "the pursuit of freedom nor the exercise of reason" and supported only "the extermination of government and the inculcation of anti-state hostility." Schwartz maintained that Rothbard wrongly viewed the state as "by nature criminal." Libertarian author
Tom G. Palmer
Tom Gordon Palmer (; born 1956, Bitburg-Mötsch, West Germany) is an American libertarian author and theorist, a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute and Vice President for International Programs at the Atlas Network.
Professional life
Palme ...
commented in 1997 that ''For a New Liberty'' "provides a good overview of the libertarian worldview, although the chapters on public policy issues and on the organized libertarian movement are by now somewhat dated." Libertarian author
David Boaz
David Boaz (; born August 29, 1953, Mayfield, Kentucky) is the executive vice president of the Cato Institute, an American libertarian think tank.
He is the author of ''Libertarianism: A Primer'', published in 1997 by the Free Press and described ...
writes that ''For a New Liberty'', together with
Robert Nozick
Robert Nozick (; November 16, 1938 – January 23, 2002) was an American philosopher. He held the Joseph Pellegrino University Professorship at Harvard University, 's ''
Anarchy, State, and Utopia
''Anarchy, State, and Utopia'' is a 1974 book by the American political philosopher Robert Nozick. It won the 1975 US National Book Award in category Philosophy and Religion, has been translated into 11 languages, and was named one of the "100 m ...
'' (1974) and
Ayn Rand
Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...
's essays on political philosophy, "defined the 'hard-core' version of modern libertarianism, which essentially restated
Spencer's law of equal freedom: Individuals have the right to do whatever they want to do, so long as they respect the equal rights of others." British philosopher
Ted Honderich
Ted Honderich (born 30 January 1933) is a Canadian-born British professor of philosophy, who was Grote Professor Emeritus of the Philosophy of Mind and Logic, University College London.
Biography
Honderich was born Edgar Dawn Ross Honderich on ...
writes that Rothbard's anarcho-libertarianism informed "one messianic part of the New Right".
In ''
Radicals for Capitalism
''Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement'' is a 2007 book about the history of 20th-century American libertarianism by journalist and ''Reason'' senior editor Brian Doherty. He traces the e ...
'' (2007), journalist
Brian Doherty writes of ''For a New Liberty'', "This book strove to synthesize, in condensed form, the economic, historical, philosophical, and policy elements of Rothbard's vision...the book was meant as both a primer and a manifesto, so Rothbard crammed in as much of his overall theory of liberty as he could ... Rothbard hits the harder
anarcho-capitalist
Anarcho-capitalism (or, colloquially, ancap) is an anti-statist, libertarian, and anti-political philosophy and economic theory that seeks to abolish centralized states in favor of stateless societies with systems of private property enforce ...
stuff, but slips it in so smoothly that many readers might not notice that this 'libertarian manifesto' promotes
anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...
."
Publishing history
In 2006 the
Ludwig von Mises Institute
Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics, or Mises Institute, is a libertarian nonprofit think tank headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, United States. It is named after the Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973).
It wa ...
released a new hardbound edition, with a new introduction by
Lew Rockwell
Llewellyn Harrison Rockwell Jr. (born July 1, 1944) is an American author, editor, and political consultant. A libertarian and a self-professed anarcho-capitalist, he founded and is the chairman of the Mises Institute, a non-profit dedicated t ...
. There were also translations in Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.
;English
*
Ludwig von Mises Institute
Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics, or Mises Institute, is a libertarian nonprofit think tank headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, United States. It is named after the Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973).
It wa ...
. 2006. Hardcover.
*
Fox & Wilkes. 1989. Paperback.
* University Press of America. Paperback. 1986.
*
Libertarian Review Foundation, New York, 1985, 1989 2nd Printing.
* Revised edition, Collier Books, 1978. Paperback
* Collier Macmillan. 1973. Hardcover.
;Spanish
* ''Hacia una Nueva Libertad: El Manifiesto Libertario''. Grito Sagrado. 2006. Paperback.
;Italian
* 2004 ''
Per una nuova libertà''. Liberilibri, Macerata. 2004. Paperback.
* 1996 ''
Per una nuova libertà''. Liberilibri, Macerata. 1996. Paperback.
;Portuguese
* ''Por Uma Nova Liberdade O Manifesto Libertário.'' Instituto Ludwig von Mises do Brasil. 2013. Paperback.
;Ukrainian
* Ротбард, Мюрей. До нової свободи. Лібертаріанський маніфест / пер. з англ. Олександр Гросман, ред. Володимир Золотарьов, К. : Інститут вільної економіки, Wellbooks, 2023. — 420 c.
References
External links
PDF of the 1978 edition(complete)
Review of the 2006 editionMises Institute edition, published in 2006Online text of 1978 editionOnline Audio book
{{Libertarianism
1973 non-fiction books
American non-fiction books
American political books
Books about capitalism
Books by Murray Rothbard
Books in political philosophy
English-language books
Libertarianism in the United States
Libertarian books
Macmillan Publishers books
Political manifestos
Sociology books