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

MURRAY N. ROTHBARD VS. THE PHILOSPHERS: UNPUBLISHED WRITINGS
50 ON HAYEK, MISES, STRAUSS, AND POLYANI
promptly “reorganize,” “meaning simply that the recent (and
forthcoming) accretions of State power are here to stay . . .
and that . . . they are preparing to dispose themselves most
advantageously in a contest for their control and management.”
3
In 1952, we shall be treated to a “contest” between a
Douglas-Bowles or Humphrey-Bowles ticket versus a
Stassen-Saltonstall ticket, if indeed Stassen is not considered
by that time as an “ultrareactionary.” 4 The New Dealish
voters will all vote for Douglas-Bowles while the substantial
minority of true liberal voters will “go fishing” in
disgust. The consequence will be a thumping Democratic
landslide and four more years of even more socialism.
In l956 . . . well who knows whether elections themselves
may not be “outmoded” by that time?
As for Dr. Cutten’s speech, I found it very interesting,
particularly since it is the first document I’ve received from
the foundation with which I find myself in almost complete
disagreement.
The philosophy of rugged individualism has always seemed
to me to be not only a useless but also a pernicious outgrowth
or variant of individualism. Rugged individualism, also
known as social Darwinism, is inhumane and illogical; it is
based on a completely false use of analogy and an absurd
theory of ethics.
The theory is originally based on an unwarranted extension
of Darwinism to the history of man. Supposedly, man develops
continually struggling against nature—i.e., struggling to
3Rothard notes, A.J. Nock, Our Enemy, the State (New York:
William Morrow, 1935), p. 20.
4Paul Douglas (1892–1976) was a U.S. senator (Democrat);
Chester Bowles (1901–1986) was a U.S. congressman (Democrat)
and diplomat; Hubert Humphrey (1911–1978) was vice president of
the United States from 1965 to 1969; Harold Stassen
(1907–2001) was a U.S. senator (Republican). In 1948 and many
times thereafter, Stassen ran for the Republican presidential nomination,
but he was always defeated; Leverett Saltonstall was a U.S.
senator (Republican).