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[[File:Walter_block-teaching.jpg|thumb|right|Walter Block]]
[[File:Walter_block-teaching.jpg|thumb|right]]
'''Walter Edward Block''' (born 21 August 1941) is a [[free market]] economist and [[anarcho-capitalist]] associated with the [[Austrian School|Austrian School of economics]].  He earned his PhD in Economics at Columbia University. He is an author, editor, and co-editor of many books, including ''[[Defending the Undefendable]]; Labor Economics from a Free Market Perspective; Lexicon of Economic Thought; Economic Freedom of the World 1975-1995; Rent Control: Myths and Realities; Discrimination, Affirmative Action, and Equal Opportunity; Theology, Third Word Development and Economic Justice; Man, Economy, and Liberty: Essays in Honor of Murray N. Rothbard; Religion, Econonomics, and Social Thought; and Economic Freedom: Toward a Theory of Measurement''.
'''Walter Edward Block''' (born 21 August 1941) is a [[free market]] economist and [[anarcho-capitalist]] associated with the [[Austrian School|Austrian School of economics]].


==Personal history and education==
Dr. Block has written more than 500 articles for various non-refereed journals, magazines and newspapers, and is a contributor to such journals as ''The Review of Austrian Economics, Journal of Libertarian Studies, The Journal of Labor Economics, Cultural Dynamics'', and the ''Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics''. He is currently a professor and chair of economics, college of business administration, at Loyola University. You can reach him at wblock@loyno.edu. See also [http://www.walterblock.com WalterBlock.com]
Block was born in [[Brooklyn]], [[New York]] to Abraham Block, a [[certified public accountant]], and Ruth Block, a paralegal, both of whom Block has described as "liberals."<ref name="autobiography">[http://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block21.html] Walter Block. "On Autobiography." ''LewRockwell.com''. 4 December 2002.</ref> He earned his undergraduate degree in [[Philosophy]] [[summa cum laude]] from [[Brooklyn College]], where he was a member of the varsity swimming team. Block earned his [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] degree in [[economics]] from [[Columbia University]] and wrote his dissertation on [[rent control]].


Block self-identifies as a "devout atheist".<ref>Block, Walter. "Open Letter to Ron Paul by Walter Block." ''LewRockwell.com''. 28 December 2007. [http://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block94.html]</ref>
==Bibliography==
 
=== Books (as author) ===
==Professional career==
Block now holds the Harold E. Wirth Endowed Chair in Economics at [[Loyola University New Orleans|Loyola University]] in New Orleans. From 1979 to 1991, he was the Senior Economist with the [[Fraser Institute]]. In addition to his faculty position at Loyola, Block is also a Senior Faculty member of the [[Ludwig von Mises Institute]] for Austrian Economics. His most famous work is ''Defending the Undefendable'', of which [[John Stossel]] said, "Defending the Undefendable... opened my eyes to the beauties of libertarianism. It explains that so much of what is assumed to be evil--is not."<ref>[http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/opinion/halfpagebooks/s_514090.html "Personal Reason." Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. 24 June 2007]</ref> [[Lew Rockwell]] of the Mises Institute said this about Walter Block's active role in modern libertarianism:
<blockquote>[[Murray Rothbard]], in his life, was known as Mr. Libertarian. We can make a solid case that the title now belongs to Walter Block, a student of Rothbard's whose own vita is as thick as a big-city phonebook, and as diverse as Wikipedia. Whether he is writing on economic theory, ethics, political secession, drugs, roads, education, monetary policy, social theory, unions, political language, or anything else, his prose burns with a passion for this single idea: if human problems are to be solved, the solution is to be found by permitting greater liberty.''<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/block-hotseat.html] Lew Rockwell. "Putting Opponents on the Hot Seat." ''LewRockwell.com''. 3 May 2006.</ref></blockquote>
 
==Introduction to libertarianism==
Block's early thinking life was characterized by [[egalitarian]] thought. In an interview by the ''Austrian Economics Newsletter'', Block stated, "In the fifties and sixties, I was just another commie living in Brooklyn."<ref>[http://www.mises.org/journals/aen/aen19_2_1.asp]"Radical Economics: An Interview with Walter Block." ''Austrian Economics Newsletter''. Summer 1999.</ref> Block credits his "conversion" to [[libertarianism]] to personal meetings with [[Ayn Rand]] while he was an undergraduate student. [[Alan Greenspan]] was in attendance at some of these meetings.<ref name="autobiography" /> As Block describes it, "In 1963, when I was a senior at Brooklyn College, Ayn Rand came there to give a lecture. I attended, along with about 3,000 of my fellow mainly leftish students, in order to boo and hiss her, since she was evil incarnate…Not having had enough booing and hissing at Ayn in her formal lecture, I decided to…to further express my displeasure with her and her views."<ref name="autobiography" />
 
Block thereafter attended a luncheon with Rand, [[Nathaniel Branden]], and [[Leonard Peikoff]]. After Block's challenging of several luncheon attendees to demonstrate capitalism's superiority, Branden forged an agreement with Block: "Nathan very graciously offered to come to the other end of the table with me for this purpose, but he imposed two preconditions: first, I would be honor bound not to allow this conversation to lapse with this one meeting, but would continue with it until we had achieved a resolution: either he would convince me of the error of my ways, or I would convince him of his. Second, I would read two books he would later recommend to me (''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'' by Ayn Rand and ''[[Economics in One Lesson]]'' by [[Henry Hazlitt]]).<ref name="autobiography" />
 
Although Block credits Ayn Rand, Branden, and other Objectivists with his initial interest in ''[[laissez faire]]'' theory in general, he says of [[Murray Rothbard]] that,
<blockquote>After I met Murray, it took him probably all of 15 minutes to convert me to the same anarcho-capitalist position I have held ever since.... In retrospect, before I had met Murray, I was nine tenths of the way toward embracing laissez faire [[capitalist anarchism]]; all I needed was a little push in the same direction I had already been going for some time.<ref name="autobiography"/></blockquote>
 
==Slave contracts==
Block, along with [[Robert Nozick]], is one of the leading libertarian defenders of voluntary [[slave contract]]s, arguing that a slave contract is "a bona fide contract where consideration crosses hands; when it is abrogated, theft occurs".  He critiques other libertarians who oppose voluntary slavery as being inconsistent with their shared principles.  Block seeks to make "a tiny adjustment" which "strengthens libertarianism by making it more internally consistent." He argues that his position shows "that contract, predicated on [[private property]] [can] reach to the furthest realms of human interaction, even to voluntary slave contracts."<ref>"Towards a Libertarian Theory of Inalienability: A Critique of Rothbard, Barnett, Smith, Kinsella, Gordon, and Epstein." pp. 39-85, ''[[Journal of Libertarian Studies]]'', vol. 17, no. 2, p. 44, p. 48, p. 82 and p. 46</ref>
 
==Endorsement==
On February 17, 2006, Dr. Walter Block publicly expressed his support for the [[Free State Project| Free State Project (FSP)]]. He is quoted as saying,
 
<blockquote>You people are doing the Lord's work. The FSP is one of the freshest practical ideas for promoting liberty that has come out of the libertarian movement in the past few decades. May you succeed beyond your wildest dreams, and thus demonstrate in yet another empirical way the benefits and blessings of liberty.<ref>[http://freestateproject.org/about/endorsements#block] Walter Block's endorsement of the Free State Project. ''FreeStateProject.org.'' 17 February 2006.</ref></blockquote>
 
==Books==
=== As author ===
*''[http://mises.org/books/defending.pdf Defending the Undefendable]'' (1976; translated into Chinese, Dutch, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian languages) ISBN 0-930073-05-3
*''[http://mises.org/books/defending.pdf Defending the Undefendable]'' (1976; translated into Chinese, Dutch, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian languages) ISBN 0-930073-05-3
*''A Response to the Framework Document for Amending the [[Combines Investigation Act]]'' (1982)
*''A Response to the Framework Document for Amending the [[Combines Investigation Act]]'' (1982)
Line 39: Line 15:
*''[http://mises.org/books/roads_web.pdf The Privatization of Roads and Highways: Human and Economic Factors]'' (2006)
*''[http://mises.org/books/roads_web.pdf The Privatization of Roads and Highways: Human and Economic Factors]'' (2006)


=== As editor ===
=== Books (as editor) ===
*''Zoning: Its Costs and Relevance for the 1980s'' (Ed.; 1980)
*''Zoning: Its Costs and Relevance for the 1980s'' (Ed.; 1980)
*''Rent Control: Myths & Realities'' (Ed. with [[Edgar Olsen]]; 1981)
*''Rent Control: Myths & Realities'' (Ed. with [[Edgar Olsen]]; 1981)
Line 54: Line 30:
*''Libertarian Autobiographies'' (Ed.; forthcoming)
*''Libertarian Autobiographies'' (Ed.; forthcoming)


==Articles==
===Articles===
*"Katrina and the Future of New Orleans" [http://www.telospress.com Telos] 139, Summer 2007.
*"Katrina and the Future of New Orleans" [http://www.telospress.com Telos] 139, Summer 2007.
*[http://mises.org/journals/jls/12_2/12_2_6.pdf "Hayek's Road to Serfdom"]. [[Journal of Libertarian Studies]] ([[Center for Libertarian Studies]]) 12 (2): 339–365 (1996).
*[http://mises.org/journals/jls/12_2/12_2_6.pdf "Hayek's Road to Serfdom"]. [[Journal of Libertarian Studies]] ([[Center for Libertarian Studies]]) 12 (2): 339–365 (1996).


==See also==
== Links ==
* [[Free State Project]]
 
==Notes==
<references/>
 
== External links ==
*[http://www.walterblock.com WalterBlock.com]
*[http://www.walterblock.com WalterBlock.com]
*[http://mises.org:88/Block Commentary by Walter Block for CNBC]
*[http://mises.org:88/Block Commentary by Walter Block for CNBC]

Revision as of 18:58, 20 December 2010

Walter Block

Walter Edward Block (born 21 August 1941) is a free market economist and anarcho-capitalist associated with the Austrian School of economics. He earned his PhD in Economics at Columbia University. He is an author, editor, and co-editor of many books, including Defending the Undefendable; Labor Economics from a Free Market Perspective; Lexicon of Economic Thought; Economic Freedom of the World 1975-1995; Rent Control: Myths and Realities; Discrimination, Affirmative Action, and Equal Opportunity; Theology, Third Word Development and Economic Justice; Man, Economy, and Liberty: Essays in Honor of Murray N. Rothbard; Religion, Econonomics, and Social Thought; and Economic Freedom: Toward a Theory of Measurement.

Dr. Block has written more than 500 articles for various non-refereed journals, magazines and newspapers, and is a contributor to such journals as The Review of Austrian Economics, Journal of Libertarian Studies, The Journal of Labor Economics, Cultural Dynamics, and the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. He is currently a professor and chair of economics, college of business administration, at Loyola University. You can reach him at wblock@loyno.edu. See also WalterBlock.com

Bibliography

Books (as author)

Books (as editor)

  • Zoning: Its Costs and Relevance for the 1980s (Ed.; 1980)
  • Rent Control: Myths & Realities (Ed. with Edgar Olsen; 1981)
  • Discrimination, Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity (Ed. with Michael A. Walker; 1982)
  • Taxation: An International Perspective (Ed. with Michael A. Walker; 1984)
  • Economics and the Environment: A Reconciliation (Ed.; 1985; translated into Portuguese 1992) ISBN 0-88975-067-X
  • Morality of the Market: Religious and Economic Perspectives (Ed. with Geoffrey Brennan, Kenneth Elzinga; 1985)
  • Theology, Third World Development and Economic Justice (Ed. with Donald Shaw; 1985)
  • Reaction: The New Combines Investigation Act (Ed.; 1986)
  • Religion, Economics & Social Thought (Ed. with Irving Hexham; 1986)
  • Man, Economy and Liberty: Essays in Honor of Murray N. Rothbard (Ed. with Lew Rockwell; 1988)
  • Breaking the Shackles; the Economics of Deregulation: A Comparison of U.S. and Canadian Experience (Ed. with George Lermer; 1991)
  • Economic Freedom: Toward a Theory of Measurement (Ed.; 1991)
  • Libertarian Autobiographies (Ed.; forthcoming)

Articles

Links

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