Murray N. Rothbard vs. the Philosophers - Ludwig von Mises Institute

REVIEWS AND COMMENTS BY MURRAY N. ROTHBARD 95
this, for he includes in this an admixture of modern “progressivism”:
for he also believes that we don’t really find the
truth, the important thing being only to seek it (why bother
seeking if it can never be found?), and he praises political
philosophers for, yes, lying to their readers for the sake of
the “social good”—i.e., to keep unpalatable truths from
their readers because they believe that lies are necessary to
the social fabric. I must say that this is an odd position for
a supposed moralist to take. But then, this is one of the
great weaknesses of the Kirkian-neo-Thomist approach to
politics: its constant falling back upon the “prudential” as a
great moral force, instead of an unfortunately necessary
expediency of the moment. It is an approach that stems precisely
from their refusal to be rationalist, “deductive,”
abstract, etc., in their approach to moral principle.
Intrinsically valueless as this book is, it has performed
one service for me: the heavy downgrading of Leo Strauss
in my estimation.
Cordially,
Murray