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The Machinery of Freedom: Guide to a Radical Capitalism Paperback – August 19, 1989

by David D. Friedman (Author)

35 customer reviews

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This book argues the case for a society organized by private property, individual rights, and voluntary co-operation, with little or no government. David Friedman's standpoint, known as 'anarcho-capitalism', has attracted a growing following as a desirable social ideal since the first edition of The Machinery of Freedom appeared in 1971. This new edition is thoroughly revised and includes much new material, exploring fresh applications of the author's libertarian principles.

Among topics covered: how the U.S. would benefit from unrestricted immigration; why prohibition of drugs is inconsistent with a free society; why the welfare state mainly takes from the poor to help the not-so-poor; how police protection, law courts, and new laws could all be provided privately; what life was really like under the anarchist legal system of medieval Iceland; why non-intervention is the best foreign policy; why no simple moral rules can generate acceptable social policies -- and why these policies must be derived in part from the new discipline of economic analysis of law.

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Product Details

Paperback: 267 pages
Publisher: Open Court; 2nd edition (August 19, 1989)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0812690699
ISBN-13: 978-0812690699
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,049,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

(35)

4.5 out of 5 stars

5 star		25
4 star		6
3 star		1
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See all 35 customer reviews

Friedman convincingly shows how his system is the ideal one.

J. Cazares

Overall, Friedman is a real thinker capable of presenting his major ideas concisely and in a readable fashion.

Zachary Gochenour

The book is a quick read and accessible to anyone and is well worth the read.

Blah

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 80 people found the following review helpful

Anarcho-capitalism for everyone!

By Kari Sullivan on December 17, 1999

Format: Paperback

While I am more of a rights based anarchist, I can appreciate utilitarian arguments against government. No one does a better job at presenting a utilitarian case for anarchism than David Friedman does in this masterpiece. Not only is Machinery of Freedom intellectually acute and persuasive, it is also a humorous and easy read for the lay person interested in libertarian thought.
This book touches quite a bit on the issues that most libertarian anarchists find difficult to deal with, such as national defense and polycentric law. A good critique of government education is also offered as well as a two part section on monopolies. As a seasoned libertarian, I most enjoyed the postscript, which focuses on more advanced topics like private currency, law and econ, and anarchist politics.
In sum, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in anarcho-capitalism, from those new to political philosophy to well versed freedom fighters.

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46 of 51 people found the following review helpful

Probably the best book on anarcho-capitalism there is

By Ananda Gupta on June 24, 1998

Format: Paperback

Once in a while, one reads a truly extraordinary book. The Machinery of Freedom qualifies for a variety of reasons: its intellectual rigor and honesty, and its fearlessness in asking tough questions.
Friedman's distrust of intellectual orthodoxy and his distaste for complacency come through everywhere, as he systematically sketches out his ideas about the society he thinks would leave the vast majority of the world's inhabitants better off. Not infinitely better off -- there are no utopian dreams here -- but materially and spiritually better off.
Central to Friedman's thought is the notion that governments are finite, constrained institutions like any others -- hardly the infallible entities for which we simply design outcomes. Whenever someone says 'There's a case for government intervention here,' the implicit assumption is that the intervention will be done flawlessly and properly. That's not always, or even often, the case -- intervention has to be viewed as a tradeoff. If it makes little sense to assume that there are perfect markets, then it makes even less sense to assume that there are perfect governments. Friedman makes a convincing case that we should rarely, if ever, expect government to produce better outcomes than the market does, simply because of the different incentives those two processes present individuals.
I am not entirely persuaded by Friedman's argument, but I would be hard-pressed to give a good reason therefor. That means I am not thinking clearly, which is hardly Friedman's fault. At the risk of sounding redundant, I can't recommend this book highly enough.

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32 of 35 people found the following review helpful

Entertaining systematic treatise on a government free world.

By A Customer on April 11, 1997

Format: Paperback

So what would happen if we threw an election and nobody came? That is the central theme of David Friedman's book The Machinery of Freedom." While it not hard to find libertarians shooting the wounded by attacking easy targets like the post office or the sugar quota, it is rare to find someone who advocates dismantling all government functions. It is even rarer to find someone who does it coherently. Friedman is both of these things.

Friedman presents a utilitarian case for anarchy, or as he refers to it, "anarcho-capitalism." Anarcho-capitalism is essentially a society that not only respects property rights, but has no government. If the two seem to be mutually exclusive, you have not read the book. Friedman slaughters the fallacy that since certain government services (police, fire department, etc) are essential, they must be provided by the government. As a teacher of mine once put it "he throws a monkey wrench into the sacred cow."

After reading the Machinery of Freedom, you will wonder why you didn't think like this all along.

Steve Frenc

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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful

Uncommon Sense

By John Hall on May 16, 2000

Format: Paperback

David Friedman has an uncommon ability to illustrate complex topics in Economics, Law, and Liberty. Yet while he skewers the collectivists, he also points out that some Libertarian positions are overly simplistic. His book helps you think, even when you have reservations about a few of his positions.
The book has 4 parts. Part 1 is devoted to defending Human Rights in property. Part 2 is devoted to ideas for reducing the influence of goverment. The chapter "Buckshot for a Socialist Friend" is precious. Part 3 is an exploration of how a society might exist without a state, along with an admission that this might not always be possible. Finally, Part 4 is addressed to Libertarians in general.

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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

An Anarcho-capitalist Classic

By Zachary Gochenour on May 30, 2003

Format: Paperback

The Machinery of Freedom has been called the Bible for anarcho-capitlism and radical libertarianism (among other things, some not as flattering) but it isn't the definitive work. What it is, however, is a really great book that outlines many of the popular utilitarian/efficiency arguments for anarchy and puts it in a way accessible to everyone. David Friedman is probably the greatest living "father" of anarcho-capitalism, and this book is the main treatise available to a wide audience. The book bleeds logic and doesn't pull any punches - it is matter-of-fact and does what it purports to do: shows, briefly, how "public goods" could be privately provided and that Statism, especially welfare statism, is grossly inefficient.
David Friedman, a physicist by training, is the son of Nobel laureate and Chicago economist Milton Friedman. Don't let his natural science background turn you away - David Friedman understands economics very well. Maybe it was destiny. His writing style is good, and his insights are some of the best, as a whole, in the history of anarchist thought. This book is a great introduction to anarchy as well, but don't expect too much hand holding - the book is fast paced.
Friedman, while a "radical capitalist," does not go on tangents about the "revolution" or bringing down the system. The book is a scientific and philosophical inquiry, and as such is well thought out, well constructed, and well presented. The chapter on Iceland is well-researched, even if seemingly out of place. Overall, Friedman is a real thinker capable of presenting his major ideas concisely and in a readable fashion. Most educated readers will find it accessible, and I believe you will find it interesting if not completely eye-opening.Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

A refreshing utilitarian approach to market anarchism

Let me first note, that the writing style of this book was very entertaining. Written in a conversational tone, as if sitting with a friend debating the subject over a couple of... Read more

Published 23 days ago by KoalaFace

Five Stars

Great book!

Published 4 months ago by Fabian Baehrendtz

Insightful Analysis but is his Anarchy at the expense of reality?

Review by Jeff Graubart

At several points in his essays, Friedman acknowledges that libertarianism and land ownership have some degree of contradiction, but he fails to... Read more

Published 7 months ago by QuantumWill

This book is excellent.

This book is excellent. It's a great way to describe the functions and intricacies of a free, capitalist system. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Patrick Kernan

Intriguing, well written support of Anarcho-capitalism, but dated and...

David Friedman, son of hugely influential economist Milton Friedman, takes his fathers anti government, pro market views to the extreme with this book. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Brian

The Sprout by Which My Present Views Flourished!

This book is one of a trio of books that appeared during the 70's that made the case for a Libertarian society with the complete absence of government. Read more

Published 23 months ago by RJ Miller

Short, lovely book detailing the arguments for greater freedom and...

I would recommend this book to people of a wide variety of political persuasions if you want to convince them the government is not helpful to human flourishing. Read more

Published on December 3, 2012 by LemonMonkey

Robust and sophisticated arguments

I really like David Friedman, and this book is excellent. The arguments are precise and clear, and it's obvious reading it that rigorous thought has gone into each point made. Read more

Published on September 20, 2012 by Alex

A CLASSIC OF MODERN LIBERTARIAN PHILOSOPHY AND ECONOMICS

David Director Friedman (born 1945) is an American economist and anarcho-capitalist theorist. He has written other books such as Law's Order: What Economics Has to Do with Law and... Read more

Published on February 27, 2012 by Steven H Propp

Mind Altering in the Best Way

This book starts off where Milton Friedman stopped and then goes ballistic. It contains some of the most innovative ideas I've ever come across. Read more

Published on September 27, 2010 by Studio Hayek