Rothbard, Murray

Abstract

Murray Newton Rothbard (2 March 1926 in New York City–7 January 1995 in New York City) was a libertarian philosopher and one of the most influential adherents to the Austrian School of economics in the recent past. Building on the economic theory of his mentor Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973), he made major contributions in different areas of economics, especially in the fields of marginal utility theory, welfare economics, monetary theory, business cycle theory, and the history of economic thought. Rothbard’s economic theory is comprised in his opus magnum Man, Economy and State, published in 1962. The addendum Power and Market contains an economic theory of the state. He also made notable contributions in libertarian ethics and anarchist philosophy. He launched and spearheaded the modern libertarian and anarcho-capitalistic movement in the United States and attracted many intellectual followers worldwide, such as Walter Block (born 1941), Gary North (born 1942), Hans-Hermann Hoppe (born 1949), Joseph T. Salerno (1950), and Jörg Guido Hülsmann (born 1966).