From: K
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2018 9:17 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Question about cultural conservative libertarianism
Hello Block. I am libertarian, living in Korea, and member of Students for Liberty Korea. I sent you a email because I have a question about cultural conservative libertarianism. I was very interested about your book, “Defending the Undefendable”, but cultural conservative libertarians such as Hoppe, would oppose your statement. So my question is, what’s your thought about cultural conservative libertarian’s opinion, like Hans Hoppe? Sorry for my English ability, and thank you. I was very impressed about your argument!
Dear K: I think that my very good friend Hans Hoppe is one of the leading libertarian theorists who have ever paced the earth. I am fond of characterizing him in terms of one of my favorite composers, JS Bach. Both are logical, magnificent technicians, inexorable, brilliant, write beautifully, passionate. I, too, am a cultural conservative, in that I am a heterosexual, married, with children and grandchildren, and my tastes are traditional. I am a student of Hans’s in many ways, and agree with his views on political economy, oh, 99.99% of the time. In fact, there are only a few issues on which we disagree: one of them is immigration. Another point of contention involves indifference, a rather technical matter in Austrian economics. See this material below on our disagreements.
As to my books Defending the Undefendable I and Defending the Undefendable II, I have never heard or read anything from Hans that leads me to believe that he disagrees with me on anything in these two volumes
Block, 1998, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011A, 2011B; Block and Barnett, 2010; Block, Barnett and Salerno, 2006; Block and Callahan. 2003; Gregory and Block. 2007.
Block, Walter E. 1998. “A Libertarian Case for Free Immigration,” Journal of Libertarian Studies: An Interdisciplinary Review, Vol. 13, No. 2, summer, pp. 167-186; http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/13_2/13_2_4.pdf
Block, Walter E. 2004. “The State Was a Mistake.” Book review of Hoppe, Han-Hermann, Democracy, The God that Failed: The Economics and Politics of Monarchy, Democracy and Natural Order, 2001May 25. http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=1522
Block, Walter E. 2007. “Plumb Line Libertarianism: A Critique of Hoppe.” Reason Papers, Vol. 29, Fall, pp. 151-163; http://www.reasonpapers.com/pdf/29/rp_29_10.pdf; http://www.academia.edu/1425340/Plumb_Line_Libertarianism_A_Critique_of_Hoppe
Block, Walter E. 2009. “Rejoinder to Hoppe on indifference” Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics; Vol. 12, No. 1: 52–59; http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae12_1_4.pdf
Block, Walter E. with William Barnett II. 2010. “Rejoinder to Hoppe on indifference, once again.” Reason Papers, Vol. 32, pp. 141-154; http://reasonpapers.com/pdf/32/rp_32_9.pdf
Block, Walter E. 2010. “Libertarianism is unique; it belongs neither to the right nor the left: a critique of the views of Long, Holcombe, and Baden on the left, Hoppe, Feser and Paul on the right.” Journal of Libertarian Studies; Vol. 22: 127–70; http://mises.org/journals/jls/22_1/22_1_8.pdf; http://www.mises.org/journals/scholar/block15.pdf; https://mises.org/library/libertarianism-unique-and-belongs-neither-right-nor-left-critique-views-long-holcombe-and
Block, Walter E. 2011A. “Hoppe, Kinsella and Rothbard II on Immigration: A Critique.” Journal of Libertarian Studies; Vol. 22, pp. 593–623; http://mises.org/journals/jls/22_1/22_1_29.pdf
Block, Walter E. 2011B. “Rejoinder to Hoppe on Immigration,” Journal of Libertarian Studies Vol. 22: pp. 771–792; http://mises.org/journals/jls/22_1/22_1_38.pdf
Block, Walter E., William Barnett II and Joseph Salerno. 2006. “Relationship between wealth or income and time preference is empirical, not apodictic: critique of Rothbard and Hoppe,” Review of Austrian Economics, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 69-80; http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11138-006-6094-8
Block, Walter E. and Gene Callahan. 2003. “Is There a Right to Immigration? A Libertarian Perspective,” Human Rights Review. Vol. 5, No. 1, October-December, pp. 46-71
Gregory, Anthony and Walter E. Block. 2007. “On Immigration: Reply to Hoppe.” Journal of Libertarian Studies, vol. 21, No. 3, Fall, pp. 25-42; http://mises.org/journals/jls/21_3/21_3_2.pdf; http://www.academia.edu/1360109/On_Immigration_Reply_to_Hoppe; https://mises.org/system/tdf/21_3_2.pdf?file=1&type=document
Indifference:: indifferent::
Debate between Walter Block and Hans-Hermann Hoppe on Nozick’s methodology and indifference::
1. Block, Walter E. 1980. “On Robert Nozick’s ‘On Austrian Methodology’.” Inquiry, Vol. 23, No. 4, Fall, pp. 397-444; http://www.walterblock.com/publications/on_robert_nozick.pdf;
http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/on_robert_nozick.pdf; Spanish translation, Libertas, Vol. 14, No. 26, May 1997, pp. 71-131
2. Hoppe, Hans Hermann. 2005. “Must Austrians Embrace Indifference?” Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 8 (4): 87–91; online at: http://www.Mises.org/story/2003.
3. Block, Walter E. 2009. “Rejoinder to Hoppe on indifference” Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics; Vol. 12, No. 1: 52–59; http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae12_1_4.pdf
4. Hans-Hermann Hoppe. 2009. “Further Notes on Preference and Indifference: Rejoinder to Block,” Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 12, no. 1, pp. 60-64, http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae12_1_5.pdf.
5. Block, Walter E. with William Barnett II. 2010. “Rejoinder to Hoppe on indifference, once again.” Reason Papers, Vol. 32, pp. 141-154; http://reasonpapers.com/pdf/32/rp_32_9.pdf
9:02 pm on January 31, 2018
