List Books Toward Defending the Undefendable
| Original Title: | Defending the Undefendable |
| ISBN: | 0930073053 (ISBN13: 9780930073053) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Walter Block
Paperback | Pages: 232 pages Rating: 3.97 | 1090 Users | 80 Reviews
Identify Epithetical Books Defending the Undefendable
| Title | : | Defending the Undefendable |
| Author | : | Walter Block |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 232 pages |
| Published | : | June 1st 1991 by Fox & Wilkes (first published 1976) |
| Categories | : | Economics. Philosophy. Politics. Nonfiction |
Chronicle In Pursuance Of Books Defending the Undefendable
In the first couple of sections, Sexual & Medical, he presents some good arguments in favor of less government interference & that's not surprising, given his Libertarian stance that he warns about in the introduction. His arguments are somewhat thin, but not too bad.I found that the third section on free speech lost some cohesiveness of argument. His arguments for not regulating blackmail, slander & libel were very thin. His comparisons against 'academic freedom' aren't particularly valid. He presupposes rationality & responsibility on the part of businesses that I don't believe exist, especially in his case for free speech against the yelling of, "Fire!" in a movie theater. This is an unfortunate habit of Libertarians.
He puts up a fair defense for advertising & overall brings up some good points, but they lack the conviction & depth of his earlier arguments supporting sex & drugs. His arguments for unregulated cab drivers are OK, immediately followed by poor arguments supporting ticket scalping. Over & over he does this. He makes valid points & then weak ones usually due to faulty premises, not the logic inherent to his argument until he gets to 'The Dishonest Cop' & here his logic & premises fall apart.
He takes his theories over the top into absurdity in his discussions about counterfeiting money, saying that only gold & silver are real money, again showing his premises are incorrect. He forgets (or ignores) that currency is a consensus of worth. Precious metals, jewels & even seashells were historically used because they were not counterfeitable, fairly rare & ornamental. They had no use in industry, yet everyone wanted them & agreed on their worth. The current global consensus is not to base money on any specific goods since there isn't enough of anything that would make sense & their value would affect significant industries. He shows that he understands debasement, inflation & other ills that can befall a currency, yet makes specious arguments for allowing counterfeiting on the grounds that the government already does it. Silly.
The book gets worse, if possible, after this in sections V, VI & VII, Finaces, Business & Ecology, respectively. Several categories don't need any defense; inheritors & speculators. Others, profiteers, stripminers & litterers, are improperly defined, poorly defended & a waste of time to read. He goes out of his way to make completely improper comparisons in his rant against the establishment & its departure from his Libertarian values.
He gets somewhat back on track with section VIII, Labor, & his discussion on the minimum wage law, but fails to take into account the growth of technology, which undermines one of his major arguments. That's the pattern - make a somewhat convincing argument & then blow it through neglect or diatribe.
He follows this near success with the most specious & horrible arguments for child labor. I guess he doesn't read much history, as he actually writes, "Moreover, the institution of child labor is an honorable one, with a long and glorious history of good works." Abortion wasn't legal when this book was written, so one of his main arguments against parental responsibility is void.
Basically, the book was a waste of time. If it teaches anything, it's to watch what you spend time reading.
Rating Epithetical Books Defending the Undefendable
Ratings: 3.97 From 1090 Users | 80 ReviewsCritique Epithetical Books Defending the Undefendable
In the first couple of sections, Sexual & Medical, he presents some good arguments in favor of less government interference & that's not surprising, given his Libertarian stance that he warns about in the introduction. His arguments are somewhat thin, but not too bad.I found that the third section on free speech lost some cohesiveness of argument. His arguments for not regulating blackmail, slander & libel were very thin. His comparisons against 'academic freedom' aren't particularlyVery provocative and refreshing
These are the party-line libertarian arguments against banning various kinds of "bad" activities; basically arguing that anything which isn't a violation of the non-aggression principle and property rights shouldn't be prohibited by government. The problem is that it doesn't argue that these bad things are "good", only that banning them is "bad", and a lot of people don't accept this argument.To many people, government banning "bad" things is desirable. To a smaller number of people, it's still
author is a fucking psychopath and his thesis is peak mental illness
This book makes your head spin (just like "The Ethics of Liberty"). It argues in favor of "all consentual transactions and against all unconsentual transactions".For those trying to figure out where the proper role of government is and is not, and what the moral basis of a free society is, this is an important book to consider.I can't say more than that because I am still thinking it about it.
I listened to this via Mises Institute podcasts a few years ago. Give this book to someone if you want to make sure they never become a Libertarian. By and large, Block is right in his defense of these unpopular/politically incorrect roles. However, I get a bit of the vibe that he is being politically incorrect for the sake of being politically incorrect. Block is just such a provocateur, this is his shtick, you have to expect it out of him. Also, if you already have a passing familiarity with
This book was so bad, it inspired me to institute a new way of taking notes so that I could collect the material that I knew I was going to post on this 1-star review. Blocks 2 biggest enemies are evidence-based theory and probabilistics.Let me start off my saying that I'm heavily biased against libertarians and libertarian viewpoints. I have many objections to it on the basis both of theoretical flaws, observation of common deficiencies among its adherents and fault with it's its distribution
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