Against the State: An Anarcho-Capitalist Manifesto [Kindle Edition]

Llewellyn Rockwell (Author)

Book Description

Against the State: An Anarcho-Capitalist Manifesto diagnoses what is wrong with the American political system and tells us what we need to fix things. The cure is a radical one because, as the book incontrovertibly shows, the many problems that confront us today are no accident. They stem from the nature of government itself. Only peaceful cooperation based on the free market can rescue us from our present plight.

Against the State is written by Lew Rockwell, the founder of the Mises Institute and LewRockwell.com, and the closest friend and associate of Murray Rothbard, the leading theorist of anarcho-capitalism. Rockwell applies Rothbard’s combination of individualist anarchism and Austrian economics to contemporary America. The book shows how the government is based on war, both against foreign nations and against the American people themselves, through massive invasions of our liberties. Fueled by an out-of-control banking system, the American State has become in essence fascist. We cannot escape our predicament through limited government: the government is incapable of controlling itself. Only a purely private social order can save us, and Rockwell succinctly sets out how an anarcho-capitalist order would work.

Product Details

• File Size: 3705 KB
• Print Length: 171 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Rockwell Communications LLC (May 21, 2014)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00KN0K6EM
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray:
  Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,320 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #2 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Ideologies & Doctrines > Radical Thought
  • #4 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Ideologies & Doctrines > Anarchism
  • #28 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > United States > Federal Government

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Packed with wisdom June 1, 2014

By Alexander E. Paulsen

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

This is a short book considering the subject matter. There is no doubt that Lew could have filled thousands of pages on this topic, but the genius of this work is the distilling down to this size, it is basically concentrated wisdom.

This is the book that will have statists quaking in their boots. There is not a single major statist argument that Lew does not shred and scatter to the winds while at the same time showing them to be empty of any logic and reason.

This book starts with the U.S. war machine and Lew handily carpet bombs the pro war side into so much rubble.
The book is a great resource for quotes and Lew leans heavily on work from all the greats, Rothbard, Mises, Higgs and of course indomitable Ron Paul with Lew adding his own observations and conclusions.

If you ever wished you could have a good resource to help you win debates or to change minds, this is the one.
Buy several and give them as gifts, Lew's writing style is concise and accessible to anyone and one by one he destroys the statist's arguments for why we even need a state. It is hard to imagine anyone reading this book and not wanting to force themselves to reexamine their assumptions about what they think is the proper role of any state. The answer will surprise many.

All states become parasitic and oppressive even the ones started with the best intentions (See the USA as Exhibit A).

This book is an Anarchists manifesto and maybe one of the most important books of the century simply because the case is distilled down to it's essence and presented in a simple logical format.

You have to read this to truly appreciate it. Even if a reader is not inclined to pure anarchism I think they will be prompted to take a fresh look at the state and perhaps they will force themselves to question a few of their cherished assumptions. This is always a mind expanding experience.

Note: Anarchism means "without a ruler". It doesn't mean "without rules" and it is NOT a synonym for 'chaos', Statism is actually the chaotic and murderous system whereas anarchism is the system of peace and liberty and only that truly supports the natural human need for self actualization.

As Lew demonstrates the state is just too dangerous to allow to exist and has no real and defensible justifications for its existence. Here is the case. Read it if you dare, and if you do not dare read it anyway. Read more ›

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A scathing critique of the U.S. government and the idea of limited government. June 2, 2014

By ES

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

The book's title states that it is an anarcho-capitalist manifesto, so I was expecting more of an explanation of how free market anarchism would work in the real world and what the common man should do in order to get these ideas implemented. However, only the very last chapter is a brief survey of that topic

To Lew's credit, he often refers the reader to Murray Rothbard, and that is precisely who one should read if one is looking for that kind of a book. Specifically, one should read For A New Liberty and The Ethics of Liberty.

What Against the State does is argue for anarchism by arguing... against the State. 90% of its contents are a scathing critique of the U.S. government and the idea of limited government. It leaves the reader with no logical alternative other than to embrace anarchism.

The book has a couple of shortfalls:

First, the author casually mentions enough names and concepts to lose beginners. For example, it would help to slow down and explain what the Austrian business cycle theory is if one is going to bring it up in the first chapter. To the author's credit, he does come back and touch on advanced concepts like this in later chapters, but too late in my opinion.

Second, I would like to have seen the final chapter - the one entitled "How Would Anarchy Work?" - fleshed out a bit more. Although Lew suggests a lot of great authors, I feel as though the author of this book didn't personally do enough to advise his newly convinced anarchist as to where he/she should go from here.

Against the State is a highly compelling read from the founder of the Mises Institute, and at the price of a comic book ($3.99), it is a must-read for libertarians, especially those who are toying with the idea of anarchism but haven't quite made the leap.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read! June 8, 2014

By bluelight

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Lew walks the neophyte reader through a broad but easily digestible set of topics of importance related to the argument of state vs freedom. The author has rubbed shoulders with many of the great libertarian thinkers of our time and is one of the devoted carriers of the banner for individual liberty.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A free society is a peaceful prosperous society June 21, 2014

By Ralph Harrison

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

Lew Rockwell has in 7 chapters described anarchism and its companion a free and prosperous society. In addition, he has debunked limited government and more especially the fallback
assumption that constitutional government or a republic is any kind of option.
By opposing the "State", he reveals the source of the evils of the world, especially war and
national security which rightfully is his lead chapter.

This book is a great primer for anyone on the fence pertaining to the issue of freedom,
democracy, intervention and anarchism.

If only this book can be read far and wide and especially adopted.

4.0 out of 5 stars The Bibliography Alone is Well Worth the Cover Price August 13, 2014

By Gravity's Gone

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

This book is quite short and interesting, as well as a great value considering a price under five dollars. I am biased towards the underlying philosophy, so my rating is skewed in that direction. The book does hold a bit of a middle ground in that it does not delve quite deeply enough into the Non-Aggression Principle or the basics underlying Austrian Economic theory to be a great primer for those with no previous experience in libertarian literature; nor does it expand greatly on libertarian thought for readers fluent in Rothbard. A quick read through some of the Amazon reviews and comments is proof positive in this point that many after reading the book still lacked even a fundamental understanding of the Non-Aggression Principle, wrongly asserting that a belief in this principle somehow requires a belief in the inherent morality of individuals (instead of libertarianism’s opposite contention which is that because men are not angels then we cannot expect them not to abuse the authority given to them to legitimize violence and coercion when done in service to the state). That being said, this book does cover a large swath efficiently in a very small package. The use of "Manifesto" in the subtitle could be misleading if the reader expects a thorough conceptual formualtion as found in Murray Rothbard's "Libertarian Manifesto", being as "Against the State" is really a collection of expounded essays that cover several topics in an attempt to demonstrate the validity of anarcho-capatialism as a societal alternative (and more so the culpability of the nation state in the murder and suffering of milllions). At times Rockwell’s tone seems much harsher than that of his mentor’s, but overall Rockwell has a fine writing style all to his own. I found his writings on the environmental movement to be very interesting, although I could see how the tone in his coverage of this topic could be very off-putting to some. (Murray Rothbard’s discussion of environmentalism in his Libertarian Manifesto was much more from a positive stand point of the solutions to modern environmental problems which would be realized through property rights and full liability inherent in anarcho-capitalism; whereas, Rockwell turns the table in negatively exposing the nature of the origins and intentions of the statist environmental movement). All in all, I recommend reading the book as a valuable investment, especially considering the short duration of time and small price required. He also does a tremendous job of including recommended reading to further expound on the topics explored within this work.

I should also note to the prospective reader that some of the criticisms found in these reviews are misleading. Criticism that this book is filled with “jingoism” is completely ridiculous to my understanding of the term. “Jingoism” insinuates a hyper-nationalism, such as that required to gin up patriotic vigor to encourage imperialism and war-mongering. Being as the fundamental theme of the book is anti-imperialism (anti-intervention) to promote peace and the well-being of individuals at the expense of the nation state, then I think it is self-explanatory why this would be an odd and totally ridiculous criticism. Criticisms of the religious aspects of the book are equally curious. Rockwell is advocating ultimate freedom, which would entail each individual’s ability to believe and worship as they wish (as long as they do not harm others or infringe on the rightful property of others). I do see how Rockwell’s characterization of the modern environmental movement as having pagan origins could be off-putting, but I don’t think his inclusion of this need imply religous necessity to support his thesis, in as much as he is pointing out the flaws and inconsistencies within that movement’s supporters. Another portion of the book’s criticisms stem from a complete misunderstanding of the concept of a human individual’s natural rights. Belief in the concept of Natural Rights is ambivalent to religion. Many libertarians arrive at the concept through personal religious beliefs, but Rothbard adequately described the concept using observation of the nature of man without any religious underpinning necessary. If the prospective reader wishes to explore the philosophical concepts of liberty, then please do not be put off by misleading implications that this work advocates some type of ultra-conservatism. Furthermore, I also see how some readers would find Rockwell’s characterization of some foreign powers to be objectionable in that he seemingly portrays some totalitarian regimes as rather benign. In the context of this book, that criticism could be justified from a certain perspective, because in the interest of brevity he focuses mostly on the likelihood of these nations being a direct threat to the United States. One would not have to look very far, though, to find Rockwell’s condemnation of these regimes in other writings, especially with respect to their murderous tendencies to their own people. His discussion of these regimes with respect to their effect in balancing the power of other possibly even worse regimes should not be viewed as condoning them in any way, and was intended to display the unintended effects of our foreign interventionism. Read more ›