Murray Rothbard

Unlike the days of the gold standard, it is impossible for the Federal Reserve to go bankrupt; it holds the legal monopoly…

— Murray Rothbard

Modern economics is a set of formal models and equations purporting to fully determine human behaviour, at least in the economic realm.…

— Murray Rothbard

The picture of the free market is necessarily one of harmony and mutual benefit; the picture of State intervention is one of…

— Murray Rothbard

In the market, the fittest are those most able to serve the consumers; in government, the fittest are those most adept at…

— Murray Rothbard

The General Theory was not truly revolutionary at all but merely old and oft-refuted mercantilist and inflationist fallacies dressed up in shiny…

— Murray Rothbard

Governments have persistently tried their best to promote, encourage, and expand the circulation of bank and government paper, and to discourage the…

— Murray Rothbard

Investment bankers do much of their business underwriting government bonds, in the United States and abroad. Therefore, they have a vested interest…

— Murray Rothbard

All interstate wars intensify aggression – maximize it … some wars are even more unjust than others. In other words, all government…

— Murray Rothbard

Of all the numerous forms that governments have taken over the centuries, of all the concepts and institutions that have been tried,…

— Murray Rothbard

To those advocates of independent paper moneys who also champion the free market, I would address this simple question: "Why don't you…

— Murray Rothbard

Having examined the nature of fractional reserve and of central banking, and having seen how the questionable blessings of Central Banking were…

— Murray Rothbard

If we look around, then, at the crucial problem areas of our society - the areas of crisis and failure - we…

— Murray Rothbard

Essentially, I mean the almost self-evident fact that individuals, ethnic groups, and races differ among themselves in intelligence and in many other…

— Murray Rothbard

Just as no one is morally required to answer a robber truthfully when he asks if there are any valuables in one’s…

— Murray Rothbard

Throughout history governments have been chronically short of revenue. The reason should be clear: unlike you and me, governments do not produce…

— Murray Rothbard

Since the State necessarily lives by the compulsory confiscation of private capital, and since its expansion necessarily involves ever-greater incursions on private…

— Murray Rothbard

The more these readjustments are delayed ... the longer the depression will have to last, and the longer complete recovery is postponed.

— Murray Rothbard

It is in war that the State really comes into its own: swelling in power, in number, in pride, in absolute dominion…

— Murray Rothbard

Cops must be unleashed, and allowed to administer instant punishment, subject of course to liability when they are in error.

— Murray Rothbard

Only individuals have ends and can act to attain them. There are no such things as ends of or actions by 'groups,'…

— Murray Rothbard

Keynes eliminated economic theory's ancient role as spoilsport for inflationist and statist schemes, leading a new generation of economists on to academic…

— Murray Rothbard

I want to make it clear what I am not saying. I am not saying that fiat money, once established on the…

— Murray Rothbard

The State has invariably shown a striking talent for the expansion of its powers beyond any limits that might be imposed upon…

— Murray Rothbard

What is so terrible about transaction costs? On what basis are they considered the ultimate evil, so that their minimization must override…

— Murray Rothbard

Absolute freedom need not be lost as the price we must pay for the advent of civilization; men are born free, and…

— Murray Rothbard

It is important to realize that gold and silver are international commodities and that, therefore, when not prohibited by government decree, foreign…

— Murray Rothbard

Positivism eliminates any kind of natural law principle - for example, that there are economic laws which can be transgressed only at…

— Murray Rothbard

The State provides a legal, orderly, systematic channel for the predation of private property; it renders certain, secure, and relatively 'peaceful' the…

— Murray Rothbard

Money is the general medium of exchange. It is the thing for which all other goods are traded, the means of final…

— Murray Rothbard

While deficits are often inflationary and always pernicious, curing them by raising taxes is equivalent to curing an illness by shooting the…

— Murray Rothbard

Gold was not selected arbitrarily by governments to be the monetary standard. Gold had developed for many centuries on the free market…

— Murray Rothbard

The proper governmental policy in a depression is strict laissez-faire, including stringent budget slashing, and coupled perhaps with positive encouragement for credit…

— Murray Rothbard

I think one of the most important directions to be pursued in the 'sciences of human action' is to develop a natural-law…

— Murray Rothbard

There can be no truly moral choice unless that choice is made in freedom; similarly, there can be no really firmly grounded…

— Murray Rothbard

On the free market, everyone earns according to his productive value in satisfying consumer desires. Under statist distribution, everyone earns in proportion…

— Murray Rothbard

As Ludwig von Mises conclusively demonstrated in 1912, money does not and cannot originate by order of the State or by some…

— Murray Rothbard

The contemporary political scientist believes that he can avoid the necessity of moral judgments and that he can help frame public policy…

— Murray Rothbard

The important desideratum is freedom of the market; a country or region will often best develop, depending on conditions of resources or…

— Murray Rothbard

Absolute freedom need not be lost as the price we must pay for the advent of civilization. Man may achieve liberty and…

— Murray Rothbard

Reagonomics - a blend of monetarism and fiscal Keynesianism swathed in classical liberal and supply-side rhetoric - is in no way going…

— Murray Rothbard