Twentieth Century American Economic History

Murray N. Rothbard is well-known among intellectuals as an economist and libertarian theorist, but in terms of sheer bulk, by far the greatest amount of his writing has been in history, even though most of it has not yet been published. This new and perhaps even most impressive aspect of Rothbard’s versatility will soon burst upon the public consciousness, however, and in a most impressive manner, for within the next year, the first three volumes of his multi-volume history of America are scheduled to be published. Totaling nearly 4000 manuscript pages, the finished portion carries the history of America only up to the adoption of the Constitution!

Whether Rothbard—an indefatigable scholar if ever there was one— decides to press on with this project remains to be seen. But for 10 days last summer, at Cornell University, 40 people (including myself), were privileged to hear Rothbard deliver a series of lectures on American economic history since the progressive era. For many years, some of us who have been interested in American history have wondered what an integrated history of that period would look like, if it were written by a libertarian with full knowledge of free market economic theory and libertarian political theory. At these lectures, we found out.

For nine days, Rothbard delivered lecture after lecture, speaking nearly impromptu for hours on end. The pace was dizzying: facts, names, dates, theories, connections flew by at a dazzling rate of speed. Digressions, scholarly references to obscure books and articles, evaluations, causal connections all hit the ecstatic audience one after another, producing the most intellectually exciting 10 days many of us had ever experienced. Forrest MacDonald delivered a daily lecture paralleling Rothbard, but from a different perspective. Nights we spent picking each others’ minds—particularly Rothbard’s—until the wee hours of the morning. When it was over, we all knew we had had an experience we would never forget.

Part of that intellectual excitement is captured here. For the lectures, and portions of the lengthy question-and-answer periods, were taped and are now available from BFL as six lectures (on 10 cassettes).

The lectures cover a vast range of territory, and any attempt to summarize the content would be superficial. Rothbard begins by discussing “Economic Determinism and the Conspiracy Theory of History,” and ends with a discussion of the prospects for liberty given our present historical context.

But in between are many hours of Rothbard discussing everything from “The Rise of Big Business: The Failure of Trusts and Cartels” to “The New Deal and the Post-War International Monetary System.” Rothbard surveys the rise on Big Business following on the heels of the Civil War and shows how big business—helped by the Civil War to gain its size and dominance—began to crumble under the onslaught of competition. Faced with competition, big business first turned to voluntary cartel agreements, which could not hold up. Failing that, spurred on by the “Progressive” ideology—taken from the Weltanshauung of Bismarck’s Germany—big businessmen turned to mergers, trusts and, eventually, to State regulation. But Rothbard’s economic history is not concerned with business alone. Following his own “methodologically individualistic” variant of class analysis to the letter, he shows how religious groups, labor unions, intellectuals, corporate lawyers, and politicians all united with big businessmen to produce a system of “corporate statism” which thrived on war and peace alike. The Wilson regime and those of the Republicans during the 1920s are seen as fully continuous with the framework set down by a “ruling class” in the progressive era—a framework which was fully articulated and rationalized by intellectuals and religious leaders alike.

ECONOMIC DETERMINISM AND THE CONSPIRATORIAL THEORY OF HISTORY, Tape 211/145 Min., $14.95 THE RISE OF BIG BUSINESS: THE FAILURE OF TRUSTS AND CARTELS, Tape 212/110 Min., $14.95 THE PROGRESSIVE ERA TRIPLE ALLIANCE: GOVERNMENT AS CARTELIZER, Tape 213/156 Min., $15.95 THE INFLATIONARY BOOM OF THE 1920s, Tape 214/ 132 Min., $14.95 THE NEW DEAL AND POST-WAR INTERNATIONAL MONETARY SYSTEM, Tape 215/85 Min., $9.95 THE FUTURE OF LIBERTARIANISM, Tape 216/85 Min., $9.95

While the Great Depression resulted in the partial collapse of the system articulated during this period, the New Deal was its total victory— and participation in World War II its partial result. The collapse of the international monetary system and of free trade produced the conflict leading up to the war. And even then, many people learned to profit from the consequences of statism.

In broadest outlines, this is what is covered here: the nature and structure of the evolution of our present political system. But “broadest outlines” are not enough. For the true hallmark of these lectures is their wealth—a really staggering wealth of detail. This is no “overview” or abstract discussion; it is a condensation of details upon details and an integration of facts according to Rothbard’s individualist-free-market perspective and methodological precepts. “Business” is not treated as a monolith or as an abstraction. The most exciting feature of the lectures is that Rothbard focuses on who and why.

In a century or so, Murray N. Rothbard may well be recognized as one of the greatest historians of the twentieth century. This series of lectures is thus a multiple bonus: a historic document, a vast contribution to the libertarian ideology, a detailed representation of how our present system evolved, a brilliantly integrated compendium of facts, and a milestone in contemporary historiography. Don’t miss it!

Reviewed by R.a. Childs, Jr. / Cassette Recordings / Entire Set $69.50