REJOINDER TO HOPPE ON REACTIONARY LIBERTARIANISM

Walter E Block, Allen Gindler, Alan G Futerman

Abstract


Professor Hans-Hermann Hoppe gave a public speech that is filled with errors, misrepresentations, and fallacies. He takes on several main subjects: monarchism, Israel, the Frankfurt School, Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Javier Milei. This author views all three through the eyeglasses of libertarianism and misunderstands them all. Is he an anti-Semite? He makes many statements that can be construed as such. Read what he has to say and decide for yourself. It cannot be denied Hoppe is regarded by some as a world class libertarian theoretician. His work in democracy and monarchism; in defense of private property rights; his contribution to argumentation ethics; his arguments in behalf of anarcho-capitalism, are usually presented to sustain this stance. Those who support him do so on the grounds of his views on Austrian economics in general, and praxeology in particular. However, when many of this author’s premises are analyzed, they do not pass rigorous tests. The subjects treated in the present work are an example of this phenomenon.

Keywords


Israel; genocide; anti-semitism; federalism; monarchism; libertarianism; patents; egalitarianism;

Full Text:

PDF

References


Al Jazeera English. (2024). German chancellor Olaf Scholz warns Netanyahu against Rafah attack. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bUUqJPD-jQ

American Jewish Committee. (2024a, December 5). Israel is not committing genocide. https://www.ajc.org/news/israel-is-not-committing-genocide

American Jewish Committee. (2024b, December 5). 5 reasons why the events in Gaza are not ‘genocide.’ https://www.ajc.org/news/5-reasons-why-the-events-in-gaza-are-not-genocide

Anti-Defamation League. (2023, October 25). Allegation: Israel commits genocide. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/allegation-israel-commits-genocide

Block, W. E. (2014, October 9). Part 8, Block versus Wenzel on intellectual property. Target Liberty. http://www.targetliberty.com/2014/10/part-8-block-versus-wenzel-on.html#more

Block, W. E. (2020, January 16). The US is targeting China for intellectual property theft, but is the fight really worth it? South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3046129/us-targeting-china-intellectual-property-theft-fight-really-worth

Block, W. E. (2023). Argentine anarcho-capitalist hero Javier Milei cites Walter Block part II. LewRockwell.com. https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/argentine-anarcho-capitalist-hero-javier-milei-cites-walter-block-part-ii/

Block, W. E. (2024a, February 14). Hamas is guilty of genocide. Israel Hayom. https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/hamas-is-guilty-of-genocide/

Block, W. E. (2024b, June 1). Israeli genocide? The Postil. https://www.thepostil.com/israeli-genocide/

Block, W. E. (2024c, December 21). Israel has the lowest proportion of civilians killed in war compared to soldiers; is it time for a change? Israpundit. https://www.israpundit.org/israel-has-the-lowest-proportion-of-civilians-killed-in-war-compared-to-soldiers-is-it-time-for-a-change/

Block, W. E. (2025a, February 3). Do the Jews control the U.S. government? The Jerusalem Report, 35–37, 51–53. https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-838805

Block, W. E. (2025b, March 24). Federalism or anti-federalism—That is the question. The Savvy Street. https://www.thesavvystreet.com/federalism-or-anti-federalism-that-is-the-question/

Block, W. (2025c, March 21). Tariffs are awful, but the income tax may be worse: Navigating the choice between two bad policies. Foundation for Economic Education. https://fee.org/articles/tariffs-are-awful-but-the-income-tax-may-be-worse/

Block, W. E., & Futerman, A. (2021). The classical liberal case for Israel. Springer.

Block, W. E., & Futerman, A. G. (2024). Rejoinder to Hoppe on Israel versus Hamas. MEST Journal, 12(12), SE04. https://doi.org/10.12709/mest.12.12.SE.04

Block, W. E., & Kinsella, S. (2005, May 24). Federalism. LewRockwell.com. http://archive.lewrockwell.com/block/block48.html

Boldrin, M., & Levine, D. K. (2008). Against intellectual monopoly. Cambridge University Press. http://www.dklevine.com/general/intellectual/against.htm

Boundless World History. (n.d.). Ch. 21 enlightened despots. Lumen Learning. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory2/chapter/the-treaty-of-paris-1763

Bourne, R., & Falcone, M. (2025, March). Javier Milei ended rent control. Now the Argentine real estate market is coming back to life. Reason. https://reason.com/2025/02/08/the-end-of-rent-control-in-argentina

Brattström, R. (2024, October 24). Javier Milei's economic reforms are already paying off in Argentina. Reason. https://reason.com/2024/10/24/javier-mileis-economic-reforms-are-already-paying-off-in-argentina/

Britannica Editors. (2025, October 11). Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Aix-la-Chapelle

Britannica Editors. (2026, January 23). Peace of Westphalia. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Peace-of-Westphalia

Britannica Editors. (2026, February 13). Hundred Years’ War. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Hundred-Years-War

Britannica Editors. (2026, February 16). Thirty Years’ War. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Thirty-Years-War

CNN. (2012, July 7). Germany Hitler reprieve. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2012/07/07/world/europe/germany-hitler-reprieve/index.html

Buenos Aires Times. (2025, April 1). Expert reports say Argentina's poverty rate has fallen to 36.8%. https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/expert-reports-say-argentinas-poverty-rate-has-fallen-to-368.phtml

De Wachter, J. (2013, June 6). IP is a thought crime. TEDxLeuven. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5BOBs3Nmbw

Downey, K., & Maypole, J. (2023, November 21). Treaty of Utrecht overview & aftermath. Study.com. https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-1713-treaty-of-utrecht-definition-summary.html

Dumont, E., Solis, J., & Zaleski, L. (2023). Profile of media ownership and potential foreign influence channels in Ukraine. AidData. https://docs.aiddata.org/reports/media-resilience/Ukraine-Profile-of-Media-Ownershp-and-Potential-Foreign-Influence-Channels.html

Ebeling, R. (2005, March 1). Ludwig von Mises and the Vienna of his time (Part 1). Foundation for Economic Education. https://fee.org/articles/ludwig-von-mises-and-the-vienna-of-his-time-part-1/

Florida Holocaust Museum. (2024, May 10). No, protesters, Israel is not committing genocide. https://www.thefhm.org/pressroom/no-protesters-israel-is-not-committing-genocide/

Freedom House. (n.d.). Scores. https://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-world/scores

Fridman, L. (2024). Javier Milei: President of Argentina—Freedom, economics, and corruption [Podcast #453]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NLzc9kobDk

Futerman, A. G., & Block, W. E. (2023, December 28). The mental mechanics of anti-Zionism. Israel Hayom. https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/the-mental-mechanics-of-anti-zionism/

Gindler, A. (n.d.). Refining the NAP: A formal approach to bystander intervention. OSF Preprints. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/s8wdm_v3

Gryvnyak, N. (2021, November). Volodymyr Zelensky and the Jews of Eastern Ukraine. Jewish Quarterly, 246. https://jewishquarterly.com/articles/extract/2022/02/volodymyr-zelensky

Hall, K. (2025, April 2). Javier Milei's free market reforms are starting to pay off. Reason. https://reason.com/2025/04/02/javier-mileis-free-market-reforms-are-starting-to-pay-off

Heinz, M., Friebel, G., Pasch, S., & Sabet, N. (2023). The 30 years' war and violent crime in the late 19th century. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 208, 191–202. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167268123000446

Hoppe, H.-H. (2001). Democracy – The god that failed: The economics and politics of monarchy, democracy, and natural order. Transaction Publishers.

Hoppe, H.-H. (2024, January 31). An open letter to Walter E. Block. LewRockwell.com. https://www.lewrockwell.com/2024/01/hans-hermann-hoppe/breaking-up-is-hard-to-do-but-sometimes-necessary/

Hoppe, H.-H., & Block, W. E. (2002). Property and exploitation. International Journal of Value-Based Management, 15(3), 225–236. http://www.mises.org/etexts/propertyexploitation.pdf

Hoppe, H.-H., Hulsmann, G., & Block, W. E. (1998). Against fiduciary media. Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, 1(1), 19–50. http://www.mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae1_1_2.pdf

Hungary Today. (2022). Ihor Surkis, Dinamo Kyiv owner, football, Ukrainian oligarch. https://hungarytoday.hu/ihor-surkis-dinamo-kyiv-owner-football-ukrainian-oligarch-hungarian-border-crossing-control-police

Kinsella, N. S. (2001). Against intellectual property. Journal of Libertarian Studies, 15(2), 1–53. http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/15_2/15_2_1.pdf

Kinsella, N. S. (2008). Against intellectual property. Auburn, AL: Mises Institute. https://mises.org/library/against-intellectual-property-0

Kinsella, N. S. (2012). Economic freedom of the world rankings and intellectual property: The United States’ bad ranking is even worse than reported. http://c4sif.org/2012/09/economic-freedom-of-the-world-indexes-and-intellectual-property-the-united-states-bad-ranking-is-even-worse-than-reported/

LewRockwell.com. (2025, March). Considerations and reflections of a veteran reactionary libertarian. https://www.lewrockwell.com/2025/03/hans-hermann-hoppe/considerations-and-reflections-of-a-veteran-reactionary-libertarian/

Liphshiz, C. (2022, July 27). Zelensky said to strip 3 Jewish oligarchs of citizenship; all hold Israeli passports. The Times of Israel. https://www.timesofisrael.com/zelensky-reportedly-strips-3-jewish-oligarchs-of-ukrainian-citizenship/

Long, R. (1995). The libertarian case against intellectual property rights. Formulations, 3(1). http://freenation.org/a/f31l1.html

Ma, J. (2025, January 25). Javier Milei’s free-market shock therapy to transform Argentina’s economy gets huge endorsement. Fortune. https://fortune.com/2025/01/25/javier-milei-free-market-shock-therapy-argentina-economy-moodys-upgrade-gdp-growth-outlook/

Marx, K. (1859/1977). A contribution to the critique of political economy. Preface. https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1859/critique-pol-economy/preface.htm

Mashtaler, O. (2021). The 2019 presidential election in Ukraine: Populism, the influence of the media, and the victory of the virtual candidate. In C. Kohl, B. Christophe, H. Liebau, & A. Saupe (Eds.), The politics of authenticity and populist discourses (pp. 145–168). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55474-3_7

Menell, P. S. (2007a). Intellectual property and the property rights movement. Regulation, 30(3), 36–42. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1000061

Menell, P. S. (2007b). The property rights movement’s embrace of intellectual property: True love or doomed relationship? Ecology Law Quarterly, 34(2), 713–754. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24114639

Middle East Eye. (2024, October 22). War on Gaza: Poll reveals most Germans oppose continued Israel arms sales. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/poll-reveals-majority-germans-oppose-israel-arms-sales

Mukherjee, J., & Block, W. E. (2012). Libertarians and the Catholic Church on intellectual property laws. Journal of Political Philosophy Las Torres de Lucca, 1, 59–75. http://www.lastorresdelucca.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=93

Navabi, A. (2015, June 23). To Taylor, love freedom. Mises.ca. https://mises.ca/posts/blog/to-taylor-love-freedom/

Ostrovsky, A., & Pavlovschi, S. (2024, January 4). Israel is not committing genocide — but Hamas is. The Hill. https://thehill.com/opinion/international/4388533-israel-is-not-committing-genocide-but-hamas-is/

Palmer, T. (1989). Intellectual property: A non-Posnerian law and economics approach. Hamline Law Review, 12(2), 283–314.

Pletka, D., & Soleimany, S. (2024, April 20). Israel is not committing ‘genocide’ in Gaza. National Review. https://www.aei.org/op-eds/israel-is-not-committing-genocide-in-gaza/

Polianska, I. (2019, August 15). Oligarch interests in the new Ukrainian parliament. Euromaidan Press. https://euromaidanpress.com/2019/08/15/oligarch-interests-in-the-new-ukrainian-parliament/

Pollard, S. (2024, May 10). No, Israel isn’t committing genocide. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/10/israel-isnt-committing-genocide/

Rullo, D. (2024, January 23). Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza, some Jewish scholars stress. Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/israel-is-not-committing-genocide-in-gaza-jewish-scholars-say/

Transparency International. (2024). Corruption perceptions index. https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2024

United Nations. (1951). Convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide. https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.1_Convention%20on%20the%20Prevention%20and%20Punishment%20of%20the%20Crime%20of%20Genocide.pdf

Ventura, L. (2025, January 2). Milei ends Argentina’s deficit after 123 years. Global Finance. https://gfmag.com/economics-policy-regulation/argentina-milei-administration-eliminates-deficit/

Voitovych, O., Pennington, J., Lockwood, P., & Chen, H. (2023, September 3). Ihor Kolomoisky Ukraine fraud investigation. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/03/world/ihor-kolomoisky-ukraine-fraud-investigation-intl-hnk/index.html

von der Burchard, H. (2024, May 25). Israel’s actions are ‘incompatible with international law,’ says Germany’s Habeck. Politico. https://www.politico.eu/article/israels-actions-incompatible-with-international-law-says-germanys-habeck/

Weinthal, B. (2024, September 21). Why is Germany blaming Israel for Hamas’s war against the Jews? Ynet. https://www.meforum.org/middle-east-forum-online/why-is-germany-blaming-israel-for-hamass-war-against-the-jews

Williams, M., & Zinets, N. (2019, April 21). Comedian faces scrutiny over oligarch ties in Ukraine presidential race. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/comedian-faces-scrutiny-over-oligarch-ties-in-ukraine




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12709/mest.14.14.02.06

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.