52 Murray Rothbard Quotes for You to Enjoy

Murray Rothbard

American Economist

Born: Mar 2, 1926

Died: Jan 7, 1995

Depression Free Government Man Money Will

Related authors: Alan Greenspan Herbert A. Simon John Kenneth Galbraith Milton Friedman Paul A. Volcker Richard Thaler Robert Reich Thomas Sowell

Since the State necessarily lives by the compulsory confiscation of private capital, and since its expansion necessarily involves ever-greater incursions on private individuals and private enterprise, we must assert that the State is profoundly and inherently anticapitalist. Murray Rothbard

State Enterprise Must Compulsory Individuals Since Involves Private Private Enterprise Expansion Confiscation Capital Inherently Assert Lives Necessarily Profoundly

Of all the numerous forms that governments have taken over the centuries, of all the concepts and institutions that have been tried, none has succeeded in keeping the State in check. The problem of the State is evidently as far from solution as ever. Murray Rothbard

It is important to realize that gold and silver are international commodities and that, therefore, when not prohibited by government decree, foreign coins are perfectly capable of serving as standard moneys. Murray Rothbard

Government Important Coins Prohibited Silver Perfectly Foreign Commodities Gold Capable Realize Decree Standard International Therefore Serving

Apart from medieval China, which invented both paper and printing centuries before the West, the world had never seen government paper money until the colonial government of Massachusetts emitted a fiat paper issue in 1690. Murray Rothbard

Out of the bitter experiences of the panic of 1819 emerged the beginnings of the Jacksonian movement, dedicated to hard money, the eradication of fractional reserve banking in general, and of the Bank of the United States in particular. Murray Rothbard

Money Panic States Bitter Out Emerged General Particular Beginnings Bank Banking Movement Experiences Hard Dedicated Reserve United United States

As 'Austrian' business cycle theory has pointed out, any bank credit inflation sets up conditions for boom-and-bust; there is no need for prices actually to rise. Murray Rothbard

Business Inflation Sets Out Rise Pointed Prices Conditions Up Any Bank Cycle Theory Credit Actually Need

In order to institute action, it is not sufficient that the individual man have unachieved ends that he would like to fulfill. He must also expect that certain modes of behavior will enable him to attain his ends. A man may have a desire for sunshine, but if he realizes that he can do nothing to achieve it, he does not act on this desire. Murray Rothbard

Man Sunshine Behavior Achieve Will Nothing Action Must Would Individual Attain He Institute Like Also Him Enable Does His Expect May Ends Order Modes Fulfill Certain Act Sufficient Desire

All action is an attempt to exchange a less satisfactory state of affairs for a more satisfactory one. Murray Rothbard

Action State More Exchange Attempt Affairs Less Satisfactory

On the market, all is harmony. But as soon as intervention appears and is established, conflict is created, for each may participate in a scramble to be a net gainer rather than a net loser - to be part of the invading team instead of one of the victims. Murray Rothbard

Praxeology - economics - provides no ultimate ethical judgments: it simply furnishes the indispensable data necessary to make such judgments. Murray Rothbard

Economics Data Indispensable Simply Make Judgments Ultimate Provides Ethical Necessary

The natural law is, in essence, a profoundly 'radical' ethic, for it holds the existing status quo, which might grossly violate natural law, up to the unsparing and unyielding light of reason. Murray Rothbard

Natural Law Light Radical Status Status Quo Existing Up Essence Quo Holds Which Might Ethic Reason Violate Profoundly

The avoidance of explicit ethical judgments leads political scientists to one overriding implicit value judgment - that in favor of the political status quo as it happens to prevail in any given society. 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 new garb, replete with newly constructed and largely incomprehensible jargon. Murray Rothbard

Old Dressed General Constructed Merely New Truly Shiny Up Replete Revolutionary Newly Jargon Theory Largely Incomprehensible

Where did Keynes stand on overt fascism? From the scattered information now available, it should come as no surprise that Keynes was an enthusiastic advocate of the 'enterprising spirit' of Sir Oswald Mosley, the founder and leader of British fascism, in calling for a comprehensive 'national economic plan' in late 1930. Murray Rothbard

Leader National Oswald Late Enterprising Enthusiastic Spirit Comprehensive Scattered Economic Come Calling Advocate Surprise Sir Did Where Information Available Plan Should Stand Fascism Now Founder British

Gold and silver are always in demand, regardless of clime, century, or government in power. But public confidence in and, hence, demand for paper money depends on the ultimate confidence - or lack thereof - of the public in the viability of the issuing government. Murray Rothbard

Government Confidence Money Power Paper Silver Demand Always Ultimate Viability Lack Gold Depends Regardless Public Century Thereof Hence

One grave and fundamental Keynesian error is to persist in regarding the interest rate as a contract rate on loans instead of the price spreads between stages of production. The former, as we have seen, is only the reflection of the latter. Murray Rothbard

Investment bankers do much of their business underwriting government bonds, in the United States and abroad. Therefore, they have a vested interest in promoting deficits and in forcing taxpayers to redeem government debt. Murray Rothbard

The important desideratum is freedom of the market; a country or region will often best develop, depending on conditions of resources or the market, by concentrating on one or two items and then exchanging them for other items produced elsewhere. Murray Rothbard

I do not go so far as the extreme male 'sexists' who contend that women should confine themselves to the home and children and that any search for alternative careers is unnatural. On the other hand, I do not see much more support for the opposite contention that domestic-type women are violating their natures. Murray Rothbard

Home Women Other Extreme Unnatural See More Support Contend Alternative Contention Go Opposite Male Hand Women Are Any Confine Children Far Themselves Much Should Natures Who Search Violating Careers

I think one of the most important directions to be pursued in the 'sciences of human action' is to develop a natural-law ethics based on nature rather than, or at least to supplement, ethics based on theological revelation. Murray Rothbard

Nature Ethics Important Action Think Rather Directions Pursued Supplement Develop Most Sciences Revelation Least Than Human The Most Important Theological Based

Famine emerges from a lack of interlocal trade; when one locality's food crop fails, since there is virtually no trade with other localities, the bulk of the people starve. It is precisely the permeation of the free market throughout the world that has virtually ended this scourge of famine by permitting trade between areas. Murray Rothbard

Food People World Free Other Starve Virtually Market Locality Crop Emerges Area Free Market Throughout Between Fails Since Trade Bulk Scourge Ended Precisely Lack Famine

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