Murray N. Rothbard vs. the Philosophers - Ludwig von Mises Institute
Murray N. Rothbard vs. the Philosophers - Ludwig von Mises Institute
Murray N. Rothbard vs. the Philosophers - Ludwig von Mises Institute
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
REVIEWS AND COMMENTS BY MURRAY N. ROTHBARD 57<br />
role indeed. It is “<strong>the</strong> broadest possible application of sterilization”<br />
to prevent “<strong>the</strong> pollution of <strong>the</strong> racial stream.” 10<br />
In o<strong>the</strong>r words, rugged individualism really turns out to be<br />
rugged collectivism. It is difficult to take this monstrous proposal<br />
seriously if not for <strong>the</strong> fact that o<strong>the</strong>r people advance it<br />
seriously. The example of a successful large-scale carrying out<br />
of this principle has been that of one A. Hitler. Do Hitler’s<br />
experiments seem to be an inhuman, perverse process of extermination?<br />
Oh no, <strong>the</strong> rugged philosopher would say; he simply<br />
cleansed <strong>the</strong> “racial stream.”<br />
Of course, Dr. Cutten’s “scientific” program of “cleansing”<br />
would, I hope, be based on slightly different standards<br />
than Hitler’s. But what standards? And who is to decide<br />
<strong>the</strong>m? Who is going to sterilize whom? Let <strong>the</strong> State get<br />
hold of this mighty instrument and we are going to see <strong>the</strong><br />
greatest “cleansing” process in history: Negroes, Jews, Asiatics,<br />
Catholics, Germans, Russians, Communists, capitalists,<br />
Republicans, redheads, people under six feet in height,<br />
all people with freckles, non-unionists, etc. Yes, I think that<br />
sterilization applied on “<strong>the</strong> broadest possible” basis can<br />
perform a process of “cleansing” that will make <strong>the</strong> old-fangled<br />
glaciers, floods, plagues, and <strong>the</strong> new-fangled atom<br />
bombs and germ warfare look like kindergarten games.<br />
Dr. Cutten may well remonstrate that his sterilizing will<br />
be directed by a group of “impartial” expert eugenists. Quis<br />
custodes custodiet? 11 (Aristotle’s great comment on Plato’s<br />
fascist-eugenist state run by wise, expert guardians: Who<br />
will guard <strong>the</strong> guardians?)<br />
Even if this sterilization were studiously restricted to<br />
drunkards, etc., <strong>the</strong> entire <strong>the</strong>ory is based on <strong>the</strong><br />
unfounded assumption that <strong>the</strong> children of <strong>the</strong> “unfit” are<br />
also “unfit”—and similarly for <strong>the</strong> “fit.” Heredity is not that<br />
simple. How many sons of mighty kings have turned out to<br />
be morons? How many sons of great self-made industrialists<br />
10Cutten, “Rugged Individualism,” p. 70.<br />
11This is a shortened version of Juvenal, Satires VI, line 347:<br />
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?