The Market for Liberty
Cover of the hardback edition
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| Author | Linda and Morris Tannehill |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English, Spanish |
| Subject | Anarcho-capitalism, natural law |
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Publication date
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1970 |
| Media type | Hardback, paperback, PDF |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 69269 |
The Market for Liberty is an anarcho-capitalist book written by Linda and Morris Tannehill, which according to Karl Hess has become "something of a classic." It was preceded by the self-published Liberty via the Market in 1969. Mary Ruwart credits the Tannehill's book with winning her over to anarcho-capitalism.Doug Casey was also converted to anarcho-capitalism after reading the book at the behest of Jarret Wollstein. According to the Ludwig von Mises Institute, it was written just following a period of intense study of the writings of both Ayn Rand and Murray Rothbard. It was the first significant anarcho-capitalist work to hit the libertarian movement, coming into print a year before Rothbard's Power and Market although Rothbard's book had been written earlier.
Like Rothbard's Man, Economy, and State, The Market For Liberty opposes statutory law and advocates natural law as the basis for society; however, unlike Man, Economy, and State, which explains what sort of libertarian legal code the market would create in an anarcho-capitalist society, The Market for Liberty points out that society would not be lawless in the absence of the state. Conversely, The Market for Liberty spends a great deal of time outlining how different businesses and organizational structures would interact in a laissez-faire society and how these interactions would create checks which would ultimately keep the tendency for crime low. In keeping with radical free-market principles, the book is skeptical about the potential for violent anarcho-capitalist revolution to bring about good outcomes.
Chapter 1, If We Don't Know Where We're Going..., notes the growing dissatisfaction among youth, the many problems society faces, and the need for a clear goal rather than just an adversary (e.g. the state). It claims that the authors are not advocating any type of utopia that depends on the infallibility of man in order to function. It contends that if the present system is brought crashing down without valid ideas having been disseminated about how society can function without governmental rule, people will demand a strong leader, and a Hitler will rise to answer their plea.
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