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Defending the Undefendable

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In the classic Defending the Undefendable, Austrian School economist Dr. Walter Block makes both moral and utilitarian cases for completely laissez-faire capitalism -- no exceptions! The premise of the book is, if freedom to choose can be defended and even celebrated when it comes to the prostitute, the pimp, the drug user, and other social pariahs, then certainly that same freedom should be afforded to everyone else. These supposedly "undefendable" figures, Dr. Block shows, are not only "defendable" but actually heroic.

For example, the drug dealer: He is only providing a product that is in demand to a customer who demands it. It isn't the drugs themselves that promote crime, says Block (with supporting evidence included), but the high cost of the drugs -- and that high cost is a direct result of the drugs' prohibition. To the extent that the drug dealer braves the dangers of the black market to supply drugs to willing customers, he is putting downward pressure on the substances' prices, thereby reducing the likelihood of drug-related crimes against people and property. In this sense, the drug dealer is not only not a bad guy, but indeed a hero.

Libertarians are already very familiar with arguments (moral and utilitarian) for the legalization of drugs and prostitution. But what about blackmailers, slanderers, and libelers? Block takes up their cause. My favorite chapter features Block's analysis of "crooked" cops actually being superior to "honest" cops. After all, the crooked cop gives non-violent "criminals" (i.e. drug dealers, drug users, prostitutes, johns, etc.) the choice of paying a bribe or going to jail, while the honest cop gives them no such choice and instead kidnaps and confines them for their non-crimes. The crooked cop might park his car in an alley and go to sleep on the clock -- wasting taxpayer money, to be sure -- but not as much as the cop who actually "does his job" destroying liberty and property.

Another interesting thing about the book is how the public dialogue has changed since Defending was first published in 1976. For example, while America has drifted even deeper into socialism in the past 32 years, today's statists are not so brazen as to make arguments against the very existence of the profit system! But Block felt compelled to write a chapter defending the profiteer, as well as chapters defending the advertiser and the middle-man.

One final thought on this great book: I never cease being amazed at how thoroughly statism has been ingrained on my mind through the public schooling system, etc. For example, even as a staunch libertarian, I always supported the idea that you couldn't yell "fire" in a public theater -- this is where laws against "free speech" were sensible, right? Well, obviously, there's no need for such laws: "free speech" does not exist on private property, and the theater owner has every reason and right to make a rule against yelling "fire" -- there's no need for a government law. Duh! Block devoted an entire chapter to this concept, and it was ink and paper well spent.

Definitely a book to challenge one's worldview either economically or ethically. One wonders if Walter Block is in the "nihilo" or "modal" libertarian category of which Murray N. Rothbard has written. Regardless, out of 33 chapters, I found only 5 arguments I believe to be unsound:

1. Denial of carte blanche abortion is denial of self ownership and a throwback to slavery for women,
2. The Judicial & Executive branches of any government are in the business of social justice, not legal justice,
3. Private charity perpetuates heritable characteristics that are undesirable,
4. Unborn children may be aborted because they are undeserving of the caretaking afforded born children,
5. Counterfeiting counterfeit money steals not from the merchant when spent, but from the initial counterfeiter.

Regardless, Block has produced an effective primer that demonstrates why non-aggressive and non-violent "crimes" should be legalized. While they may be destructive to the individual, they are not destructive to society so long as they remain legal. In some cases, these "crimes" prove to improve materially the lot of some even if it does not improve their ethical lot. Nevertheless, it is the liberty of each to make the cost-benefit analysis for oneself.

This work by Dr. Walter Block makes full use of applying the cornerstone of libertarian philosophy, the non-aggression axiom, to those who are viewed as the dregs of our society.
The author's introduction gives a quick summary of the libertarian view that as long as there is no initiation of aggression (violence, coercion, etc); anything we do amongst ourselves cannot be considered unjust. He applies this view to the profession of the prostitute, the oft-vilified drug user and drug pusher, the "typical" fat capitalist pig, and many others in a who's who of vile people, and shows through exemplary examples and illustrations how these people often end up contributing to society in ways that the public, which despises them most often, takes for granted and fails to notice.
The tone of this book is very fun to read, and the ease of it's use is reminiscent of Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics, while it's philosophical insight and rigorous defense and application of the non-aggression axiom makes it seem almost as if it were an epilogue to The Ethics of Liberty, by Murray Rothbard.
I recommend this book to any student of economics, seeker of liberty, or any open minded individual ready to see the unseen, and maybe take up the case for defending the undefendable

I hope everyone appreciates the cheesy way I ended this review.

A little dated in places (for example, a NYC cab Medallion now costs over $100,000 versus $30,000 when this was written) but still completely relevant today. In fact, I would argue that it is even more relevant today than when it was written, considering all the personal liberties that have been lost in this country in the last decade. This is a must read for all lovers of liberty. It is guaranteed to open your ideas to a more logical way of thinking about freedom and economics and the relationship between them, and it will remove the veils from your eyes that have been placed there by decades of cultural and governmental conditioning.

Do you have an open mind? If so, this CD is for you. But if you are someone who KNOWS what is right and wrong and don't want to hear another viewpoint, then you will not enjoy this book. Personally, I don't think that blackmail is a good thing. But hearing Mr. Block's opinion makes me at least see a different side.

If you really believe in individual freedom you must read this book and face the consequences. It's a very enjoyable reading, with very controversial topic and some strong arguments. The book will take you by surprise and shake lots of your misconceptions about some topics that are taken from granted.

An absolute must read. This book is the most rational, systematic refutation of the common misconceptions about various members of society. This book only takes a couple days to read but I can promise that it is so
irresistible it will be read more than once. I read it every year just to keep everything fresh. Dr. Block is an absolute genius!