For a New Liberty

Rothbard’s systematic statement of anarcho-capitalism: a non-aggression axiom, self-ownership and property in what one has homesteaded or traded for, and from there an argument that every state function — courts, police, defence, roads, education, welfare — is either unnecessary or better supplied by voluntary arrangement. The second half is applied, working through specific policy areas to show what the principle implies rather than leaving it abstract.

Why it’s on the list: It is the anchor of the Anarcho-Capitalism section, which the curriculum keeps separate from its liberalism and conservatism sections because the argument is not for a better state but against the category.

Where I saw it: Brendan McCord’s Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List, in the section on Anarcho-Capitalism. A structured curriculum shared March 9, 2026 and saved to Kyle’s Apple Note “Books To Read”; the full 211-entry transcription is on The Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List.

Connections

• Government — the institution the book argues is unnecessary.
• Capitalism — the voluntary order proposed in its place.
• Liberalism — the tradition Rothbard pushes to its limit.
• The Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List — the curriculum this came from.