Angelo Codevilla on the "pipe dream" of spreading democracy

How, indeed, does one government transform the alien culture of a whole region on the other side of the globe? . . . Building viable new governments in foreign lands is extraordinarily difficult, and building wholly new regimes near impossible. Native regimes may change culture over generations, but the notion that foreigners who cannot even speak the language can do it in a few years is a pipe dream. Is anything sillier than the notion that American secularists can convince Muslims about what true Islam commands?" (p. viii). ~Angelo Codevilla, quoted in Mises Review editor David Gordon's review of his book No Victory, No Peace.

Making Anarchy Believable - David Gordon - Mises Daily

Chartier's book is vital reading for libertarians. It manifests the author's wide-ranging knowledge of philosophy, ethics, history, and contemporary politics.

Making Anarchy Believable - David Gordon - Mises Daily

Gary North on Rothbard's Devastating Criticisms

From the speech Murray Rothbard as Academic Role Model:

Murray, however, was more like Samson in the biblical motif. He wasn’t using the jawbone of an ass; he was using Human Action – intellectually speaking devastating anyone he challenged. Rothbard’s challenges—when you’re done reading a Rothbard critique of somebody, you almost feel sorry for the victim. I mean he will start at the kneecap—those go immediately. Then he starts working on the arms and coup de grâce is when the head goes off.

Now this is completely different from David Gordon’s materials. Of course, he does it with this unbelievable slicing stiletto that the guy doesn’t know he’s got three or four mortal wounds in him and then they find the body drained of blood 20 minutes after the review is finished. You don’t see the guy being hammered to death, you just see at the end “you know I think he’s dead.”

With Rothbard you knew he was dead. You knew he was finished halfway through the review, but you just stuck around to see how the cou de gras would go.