Defending the Undefendable

4 April 2008 at 2:23 pm Peter G. Klein Leave a comment

| Peter Klein |

One of the greatest influences on my intellectual development (such as it is) was Walter Block’s Defending the Undefendable: The Pimp, Prostitute, Scab, Slumlord, Libeler, Moneylender and Other Scapegoats in the Rogue’s Gallery of American Society. Yes, you read that right. It’s a brilliant polemic on the benefits of peaceful, voluntary exchange, using the most outrageous and provocative examples to illustrate the gains from trade. And oh, the cartoons! My favorite, appearing in the chapter on saving, shows a half-crazed, miserly sort running his fingers through a large pile of gold coins, shouting to his wife, “Lip up, will ya’, Edith? You knew I wasn’t a Keynesian when you married me!”

First published in 1976, the book has just been reissued by the Mises Institute. Get one today and give yourself the same experience as Hayek:

Looking through Defending the Undefendable made me feel that I was once more exposed to the shock therapy by which, more than fifty years ago, the late Ludwig von Mises converted me to a consistent free market position. . . . Some may find it too strong a medicine, but it will still do them good even if they hate it. A real understanding of economics demands that one disabuses oneself of many dear prejudices and illusions. Popular fallacies in economic frequently express themselves in unfounded prejudices against other occupations, and showing the falsity of these stereotypes you are doing a real services, although you will not make yourself more popular with the majority.

See also Block’s 1994 article, “Libertarianism and Libertinism,” which clarifies some misconceptions about the argument. It appeared in the Journal of Libertarian Studies back when yours truly was assistant editor.