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For March Madness, we held a “tournament” of libertarian minds. The question asked was: “Who contributed more to libertarian theory?” A few of the figures would not necessarily be classified as libertarians, but their work still contributed to the development of libertarianism. Over a couple of weeks, we held polls on our Facebook page, which were open to the public to vote on.
If you decide to purchase any books from these authors, please consider going through this link: Amazon. Sales made from this link give us a small commission (at no additional cost to you).
This is the complete list of people we included.
Ludwig von Mises
Mises developed a whole new methodology for analyzing economics (praxeology), which, while value free, provides a basis for free market libertarianism. From praxeology, various economic laws can be deduced, giving one who desires freedom an intellectual grounding in both philosophy and economics. Both Rothbard and Hoppe drew on praxeology for their own theories of rights. His work on economic calculation proved that a completely centrally planned economy cannot exist due to the lack of vital information signals that result from market activity. His Magnum opus is Human Action.
Murray Rothbard
At one point referred to as Mr. Libertarian, Rothbard authored countless articles and over 20 books on political philosophy, history, and economics, and is still publishing books posthumously. His book Man, Economy and State is widely regarded as the most comprehensive text on Austrian economics. He coined the term “anarcho-capitalism”, and developed the most widely accepted theory of libertarian property rights, as well as further developing Austrian ideas on money, banking, and monopolies. His ideas on radical idealism as a political strategy and historical revisionism being a necessary means for viewing history are gaining traction and becoming more popular among libertarians. Co-founder of the Cato Institute and the Ludwig von Mises Institute, his antiwar views and coalitions have inspired much of the current antiwar movement.
Friedrich von Hayek
Hayek developed spontaneous order into a coherent theory of social progress, providing the intellectual foundation for the idea that the private sector generally does things better than the state. He improved the capital theory of Böhm Bawerk to the current understanding accepted by both the Mises Institute and most of the Virginia School of Political Economy, reinforcing Austrian Business Cycle Theory as the greatest refutation of Keynes on monetary policy. In his debates with Keynes he slammed the door on the idea of demand driven economic growth in the aggregate, showing that macroeconomics is mostly fluff.
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman is perhaps the most recognizable proponent of free market libertarianism. As an advisor to two presidents and the host of his own TV program (based on his book Free to Choose) he spent a large part of his career in the public eye, being able to reach many. He was a gifted speaker who could make complex concepts understandable to the layperson with relatively few words, making him one of the few people libertarians mention as an initial influence. His stature in the public sphere helped to end the draft and popularize the idea of school choice while keeping the Keynesians at bay with the Fed setting a low target rate for inflation instead of a floating rate. He also incorporated Menger’s subjective theory of value and marginal utility into his own price theory that is widely accepted among neoclassical economists.
John Locke
Locke was the most influential of the classical liberals on modern day conceptions of property rights and governance in the West, and his theory of natural rights is one of the most widely adopted theory of rights among libertarians. He also laid much of the groundwork for classical economics.
Plato
Plato was the teacher of Aristotle. He was one of the first in the West to develop a theory of liberty. While most modern day libertarians reject many of his ideas, he was instrumental in the common acceptance of freedom as a good and decentralization as a means of maintaining freedom.
Adin Ballou
A prominent abolitionist, Ballou argued Christianity was incompatible with worldly governments. He co-founded the Hopedale commune, a community that embraced women’s rights, abolitionism, and what he called “Practical Christianity”. He was also a pacifist who was the greatest antiwar voice of his time.
David Friedman
Friedman is sometimes thought of as the founder of the consequentialist version of anarcho-capitalism. He provides a robust case for ancap in his book The Machinery of Freedom, and has contributed to the theoretical and historical body of knowledge of non-state legal systems.
Leonard Read
Founder of the Foundation for Economic Education, Read has written close to 30 books advancing and promoting libertarian thought. Most well-known, is his book I, Pencil, which highlights the complex mechanisms and interactions the free market is capable of.
Eugen Böhm von Bawerk
His greatest contribution may have been his criticism of Marxism, particularly exploitation theory and the labor theory of value. He was also instrumental in developing the Austrian theory of money and credit. His transition from lawyer to economist gave him a unique ability to provide legal justification as well as convincing arguments for his economic views.
Richard Epstein
Epstein is a legal scholar who has likely gained more ground than any other in pointing the United States’ legal system in a libertarian direction. The current direction of reducing eminent domain can be credited to his influence.
Samuel E. Konkin III
Konkin developed a completely unique political strategy called “agorism.” His greatest insight, however, is not that it is a worthwhile strategy; it is that most people already unknowingly practice it in their daily lives. His followers tend to be the most passionate in the liberty movement.
Henry David Thoreau
He was an agorist before Konkin coined the term. His book “Civil Disobedience” is foundational to libertarian ideas about resisting unjust laws. He was also an ardent abolitionist.
Bruce Benson
Benson is a leading figure in libertarian anarchist law, writing numerous works arguing for a privatized criminal justice system. He his perhaps best known for his book The Enterprise of Law: Justice Without the State.
David Gordon
He is the primary reviewer for most publications coming from the Rothbardian strand of libertarianism. His critiques lead to more advanced development of ideas. Many of the greatest libertarian authors credit him for helping to develop their own ideas. Even among his critics he is widely considered to be the most knowledgeable person in the subject of philosophy alive.
Robert Higgs
Considered by most in the Austrian tradition to be the greatest living economic historian. His book “Crisis and Leviathan” provides the historical causation for the rapid expansion of American government and has influenced while confirming many of the claims of the Austrian school. His refutations of many historical economic fallacies have also reinforced the Austrian tradition.
Thomas Woods
One of the most popular of the popularizers of libertarian theory, his podcast covers such a wide range of topics that he does far more to educate now than he ever did as a college professor. His unique contribution is in cementing the historical link between Christianity and liberalism in the West and making the ideas of liberty palatable to Christians.
David Hume
He developed the theories of Locke into a coherent political philosophy. While Locke is often referred to as the “father of liberalism,” it may be more accurate to call him the “grandfather” and to reserve the “father” moniker for Hume. He also held a great influence over Adam Smith’s ideas on economics and his views on ethics and empiricism are paramount to great libertarian thinkers such as Hayek and Milton Friedman.
Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine was the greatest communicator of liberal ideals of his time. His writings inspired a great number of Americans to join the fight against the British and to endure under the harshest conditions. He made the Lockean view of natural rights a common principle among Americans, which has allowed the nation to remain relatively free through massive expansions of government, as these rights are ingrained into the culture.
Robert Murphy
Murphy has contributed unique insights toward the theoretical workings of an anarchist society with his book Chaos Theory. As an economist he specializes in climate change, writing numerous articles and papers. He has also helped the ideas of Mises and Rothbard reach a broader audience with works such as his book Choice, which is based off Human Action.
Frédéric Bastiat
Bastiat made economics understandable to the layman. His book The Law remains one of the most recommended works to beginners and advanced students alike. He was a prominent member of the classical liberal school, in particular, championing free trade.
Llewellyn Rockwell
Rockwell co-founded the Ludwig von Mises Institute and has been its primary benefactor over its entire existence. Through the Mises Institute he has made much of the literature on Austrian economics available electronically for free while also educating numerous college students on Austrian economics through the annual summer Mises University program. He has also provided much guidance to the fellows and scholars who contribute to the institute.
Ayn Rand
Her epic tome, Atlas Shrugged was her crowning achievement and is her most know work. Her philosophical system was one of the first and most controversial iterations of what would eventually become American libertarianism: Objectivism. Although she rejected both libertarianism and anarchism, her positions tended to be radically libertarian, and even quasi-anarchist. She championed individualism, selfishness, unabashed capitalism, and “objective morality” above all else.
Aristotle
Many of the most prominent libertarian thinkers can be described as “Aristotelians.” Many have adopted his rationalist epistemology and first principle of “flourishing” as a foundation for rule utilirarianism and deontological ethics supporting nonaggression.
Henry Hazlitt
A prominent journalist, Hazlitt was denied a number of prestigious jobs because he was adamant about continuing to write from a principled position defending free markets. Economics in One Lesson is an enduring classic, and in total he authored over 20 books defending liberty and the laissez faire economy.
Benjamin Tucker
A prominent voice for individualist anarchism, Tucker is known for translating and publishing many other notable anarchist writers. He wrote extensively in defense of liberty, and against communism, Georgism, and state imposed monopolies, and differentiated between state socialism and libertarian socialism.
Rose Wilder Lane
Known as a founder of the early American libertarian movement, Rose was a journalist and novelist who campaigned against taxation, social security, wartime rationing, restrictions on free speech, and was a staunch opponent of communism. Her writings would influence many later libertarian thinkers.
Auberon Herbert
Known as the orginator of voluntaryism, he argued government should never initiate force and should be funded voluntarily. Perhaps his most important work is The Right and Wrong of Compulsion by the State.
Walter Block
Boasting numerous books and over 500 peer-reviewed scholarly articles, Block has written extensively on libertarian theory and economics. One unique contribution is his theory of Evictionism, which is a unique take on the libertarian theory of abortion. His most well-known book is Defending the Undefendable, wherein he champions many victimless crimes.
Baron de Montesquieu
He is the first known scholar to question the validity of laws that do not improve the quality of life for the people that are subject to them, which influenced (both directly and indirectly) Bastiat and many of the individualist anarchists of the 19th century. His ideas on separation of powers form the basis of most constitutions of liberal governments and heavily influenced many of the United States’ founding fathers.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Emerson is considered by many to be the greatest abolitionist of his time. He helped inspire much of Thoreau’s work and contributed much to the concept of individualism that is foundational to the modern libertarian movement.
Thaddeus Russell
Thaddeus is noteworthy for merging the ideas of libertarianism with postmodernism. He has also argued the cultural fringes of society are crucial for the advancement of liberty. He celebrates those fringes in his book A Renegade History of the United States.
Kinsella has been most influential in his work on intellectual property from a libertarian perspective. He has also contributed work in legal theory. His theory of Estoppel, for instance has bolstered libertarian rights theory and developed the concept of proportionality.
Gustave de Molinari
A pioneer of what would later come to be known as anarcho-capitalism, his 1849 article The Production of Security is praised by modern thinkers as groundbreaking and influential. During his time, Molinari was the leading French voice of classical liberalism. He was campaigning against protectionism, statism, militarism, colonialism, and socialism into his 90s.
Lysander Spooner
The 19th century American individualist anarchist and lawyer was known for taking radical positions among his contemporaries, opposing slavery, taxation, and arguing for the abolition of government. The adage arguing that “taxation is theft” can be traced in part to his work No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority, and other writings in which he argued against social contract theory, and that initiatory coercion against individuals and their property, was criminal.
Carl Menger
Known as the Father of the Austrian School of Economics, Menger’s contribution of marginalism overturned the prevailing cost-of-production and labor theories of value held by classical economists, denying Adam Smith and Karl Marx at once. This subjective theory of value now informs the core of libertarianism today, that both sides gain from free exchanges in the market.
Voltaire
Voltaire was the most influential French Enlightenment thinker, and a literary genius who was able to encapsulate his philosophy within his plays and fictional writings. He heavily influenced Thomas Jefferson and many prominent anti-federalists in the development of the Bill of Rights. His most unique contribution is making the freedom of religion a pillar of liberty.
Nozick is perhaps the most well known libertarian academic and, indirectly, is one of the most influential. He refuted the widely held, among liberals, Rawlsian theory of justice from a libertarian perspective in his book Anarchy, State and Utopia. Arguing from a natural rights perspective, he concluded a minimal state is the most compatible with libertarianism. His work provides a foundation for what is now known as minarchism.
Adam Smith
Known as the Father of Economics, Smith was able to take various economic theories within classical liberalism and put them together in a coherent justification for free market capitalism as a means for ensuring maximum prosperity. His Wealth of Nations is one of the most read non religious texts in history and directly influenced the adoption of capitalism as the preferred system of liberal governments of the West.
Patrick Henry was the leader of the anti-federalist movement leading up to the adoption of the US Constitution. He strongly opposed increased centralization, believing that the President would become no different than a king. His combination of charisma, rhetoric, and strong reasoning nearly prevented ratification, and forced the federalists to make concessions that have helped maintain our freedoms today through the ever expanding federal government. His famous quote, “…give me liberty or give me death!” sums up the American spirit prior to the Progressive Era.
Socrates
The Father of Philosophy, Socrates was the first known person in the West to argue that happiness is obtainable through our own efforts. This laid the foundation for much of Western philosophy, in that the pursuit of happiness is what makes life worth living. Most libertarian traditions are based on an ideal including the pursuit of happiness, or Aristotle’s adaptation of flourishing. Nearly every great Western philosopher can trace the foundation for many of their ideas back to Socrates.
Jeffrey Herbener
Highly regarded among libertarians as one of the top economic historians, Herbener holds the mantle as the leading expert on Austrian economics within the Misesian/Rothbardian tradition. He fully developed Rothbard’s theory on welfare economics into a fully coherent one. His testimonies in congress have made the idea of auditing the Federal Reserve become increasingly popular among congressmen.
Jean-Baptiste Say
Say’s Law, also known as the law of markets, is one of the most fundamental economic theories adopted by the various schools libertarians adhere to. He was also possibly the first classical economist to widely oppose economic protectionism while diving into ideas about the subjectivity of value that Menger fully developed.
Walter Williams
Williams has written ten books and numerous articles championing laissez-faire capitalism. One major area of focus has been minimum wage laws and affirmative action, which he argues have harmed those who the policies are intended to help. In his work, Williams is known for emphasizing the harms exacted upon African Americans by anti-liberty policies.
C.S. Lewis
Lewis, throughout his works, carried the theme that due to the sinful of mankind, no one is fit to rule over others and that it is the corrupt who seek to rule. He provided the Christian justification for libertarianism: that a powerful state, even a Christian theocracy, will require others to worship how they see fit rather than how the creator demands.
Immanuel Kant
Kant’s epistemology provided the basis for Mises’ development of praxeology as well as Kierkegaard’s existentialism. His greatest contribution to the classical liberal tradition was the idea that the primary responsibility of government is to protect freedom.
Tolstoy is among the most influential Christian anarchists in history and perhaps the most influential pacifist. His writings on non-violence greatly inspired Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., and the non aggression principle. He is also the most famous advocate of Georgism, doing more to popularize it than anyone else.
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
Proudhon was the first known person to call himself an anarchist and is considered by many to be the “father of anarchism.” He often stated that all government is tyranny. His philosophy is known as mutualism, which proposes that in a true stateless society, capital can only be controlled through mutual organizations such as workers’ collectives, mutual aid societies, and local communities. Mutualism is becoming increasingly popular among libertarians who view equality as the central principle of social justice.
Isabel Paterson
Called one of the founding mothers of American libertarianism, Paterson was a journalist, novelist, and political philosopher. Her 1943 book The God of the Machine, was the preeminent individualist manifesto of the time. Other notable writers, such as Ayn Rand and Rose Wilder Lane, acknowledged the influence of Paterson in their work.
In recent years Hoppe has emerged as one of the more controversial figures in the liberty movement. However, his contributions to libertarian theory are hard to surpass. While other epistemological frameworks have remained relatively static, Hoppe has been able to take the Misesian/Rothbardian framework and provide further justification and clarification. His application of argumentation ethics to the human action axiom has become fundamental to the natural rights tradition while also making a distinction between natural and normative concepts of ownership. He is also the most influential living critic of democracy from a libertarian perspective.
Ron Paul
Dr. Paul, through his principled consistency as both a congressman and presidential candidate has likely done more to reach the masses and convert them to adopt the ideas of liberty than any other. His success in this regard has also made political activism a tenable strategy for those who generally detest state power and eschew politics. His influence has helped place economics back at the forefront of libertarian thought with an emphasis on sound money as the Federal Reserve remains the greatest enabler of an ever expanding government beyond an ignorant public.
John Stuart Mill
J.S. Mill is one of the most influential philosophers of his time. He proposed a crude version of the NAP long before it was adopted by the modern libertarian movement and wrote extensively about how individual liberty and state power are at odds with each other. His greatest contribution may be his concise definition of tyranny and all the forms it takes, with his example of “tyranny of the majority” serving as the basis for most valid criticisms of democracy.
Aquinas is known best for his contribution to Catholic doctrine. However, much of his focus was on free will and how freedom is essential to one’s salvation. He basically made the case that coercion prevents the exercise of one’s will, making the good they do under coercion not their own good. Many of his ideas on the will apply in a secular (Aristotelian) framework as well and have highly influenced atheists like Rothbard and Rand.
Thomas Sowell
Sowell is the author of over 30 books. A defender of free market capitalism, most notably he has argued extensively of the harms that big government has wrought upon minorities, the mistakes of the intellectual class, and the interpretation of statistics. His books are some of the most widely read on this subject, making him one of the most often cited free market economists.
Thomas Jefferson
Other than his time as the third president of the United States, Jefferson is most famous for writing the Declaration of Independence. He was well versed in the classical liberal tradition and incorporated many of the ideas of Hume, Montesquieu, and Voltaire into his own philosophy, which contributed to the writing of the Bill of Rights as well as the Virginia state constitution. Along with Thomas Paine, he helped popularize the Lockean concept of natural rights from a rationalist perspective.
Lao-Tzu
Also known as Laotze, Rothbard refererred to him as “the first libertarian intellectual.” He professed many of the ideas of classical liberalism nearly a thousand years before Locke and the ideas of the Greeks over 200 years before Socrates. Had he influenced the Western tradition, he would have easily been our top seed and favorite to win it all.
Jeff Deist
Deist is the current president of the Mises Institute and directs the organization’s strategy and goals. His primary focus has become “radical decentralization,” where only through decentralization to the lowest level can we prevent our philosophical differences from causing us to use the state against one another. In the past he has served as an advisor and chief of staff to Ron Paul.
H.L. Mencken
Mencken is perhaps the most quotable entry in this tournament, having critiqued nearly everything he could. Most important to libertarians are his skepticism and criticism of government. As a journalist through the Great Depression, he was there along with Rose Wilder Lane opposing FDRs policies along the way, and joking that bad books written at the time had more to do with ending the Great Depression than the government did. He was a strong opponent of both world wars and used his prestige and fame to try and advance the cause of freedom.
Michael Huemer
A philosopher, Huemer has argued that by starting from moral premises almost everyone accepts the reasonable conclusion is libertarianism, and ultimately anarchism. He has championed ethical intuitionism, and his book The Problem of Political Authority is one of the most important contemporary contributions to libertarian thought.
Powell is a highly respected economist who devotes much of his work to highly controversial issues where people tend to abandon markets. His primary focus has been in areas that effect the poor such as sweatshops, child labor, and immigration. On all these issues he makes both the Austrian and empirical case for markets providing the greatest benefit, making him one of the greatest advocates for market based anarchy. He also showed how the quality of life improved in Somalia after collapse of the state, making the joke on those who tell libertarians they should move there if they disagree with the government.
Alexis de Tocqueville
Tocqueville was an avid observer and analyst of political systems who sought to make sense of post-revolutionary France. In his travels to the United States he noted how political and economic freedom both led to a greater prosperity. He also showed how the lack of a previous aristocracy developed the culture to highly value hard work, independence, and money making. He was a staunch critic of democracy who, like Mill, recognized the tyranny of the majority. Seeing how slaves were treated in the New World helped cement him as a fierce opponent of slavery.
DiLorenzo is an economist, but his contributions are mostly in the realm of historical justifications for capitalism and decentralization. With decentralization being core to libertarian theory, he has centered much of his work and career around refuting the myth that the Civil War was a necessary evil, and that Lincoln was a champion for slaves.
Max Stirner
Stirner’s case for freedom is rooted in rational egoism, which has had a great influence on many 19th century anarchists and modern libertarians who oppose normative concepts of property. Mutualists tend yo have a particular affinity for him and hid ideas. His theory is that it is irrational for one to not act in his own self interest, therefore one’s acquisition and maintenance of property can only come through force. In other words, he says there is no moral justification for property and that it is simply the result of “might is right.” He strongly opposed all institutions, especially the state as he saw them as the greatest barriers to one pursuing his self interests.
Stefan Molyneux
There is likely no one with a more love/hate relationship with the liberty movement than Molyneux. However, his influence on the liberty movement is clearly visible, from peaceful parenting to the arguments many use to take down government interventionism. His videos on basic philosophy have inspired many to embrace philosophy. He has become one of the most popular content creators in the movement, and his followers mostly accept his theory on rational morality known as Universally Preferred Behavior.
If you decide to purchase any books from these authors, please consider going through this link:
Amazon. Sales made from this link give us a small commission (at no additional cost to you).
