Rothbardian Mug
Taxation is theft, purely and simply even though it is theft on a grand and colossal scale which no acknowledged criminals could hope to match. It is a compulsory seizure of the property of the State’s inhabitants, or subjects.
– Murray Rothbard, The Ethics of Liberty
Who was Murray Rothbard? He was arguably the best choice for a body double if Henry Kissinger had ever decided to star in his own action movie. But more importantly, Mr. Rothbard was the founder and foremost theoretician of anarcho-capitalism, as well as a prominent figure in last century’s libertarian movement.
Mr. Rothbard was apparently incapable of saying something with which we disagree – unless he ever expressed a fondness for Hawaiian pizza. He argued that any service which the state has taken upon itself to monopolize would be much better provided by the private sector. Have you ever felt your brain putrify into brown goo during hour two of your three hour wait at the DMV? Have you ever felt your car’s leaf springs grind away into metal filings while driving over a pothole so deep that you could hear Cantonese echoing out of it? Have you ever reported a broken window to the police, only to have the responder recommend the best dustpan for collecting shards and then leave? Well, it is Mr. Rothbard’s simple assertion that you could have dealt with the problem far better than some callous bureaucrat suckling at the public dole.
We also especially like Mr. Rothbard’s case against intervening in foreign countries’ affairs, whether by military, political, or economic means. Unless Canada ever suffers from a suffocating overabundance of maple syrup, we say let other nations deal with their own problems while we attend to ours.
Most people you run into won’t recognize your Rothbard merch. They’ll probably just assume you’re a fan of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” But to those precious few who share your anti-state, anti-war, and free-market values, your Rothbard gear will show that you are a kindred spirit. They’ll want to share the cupcake their mom packed them for lunch with you.
