Abstract
We ask the following actors in the space race, whether or not they on the side of the angels: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Peter Diamandis, United Launch Alliance (ULA) (a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Boeing Defense, Space & Security), Burt Rutan, Paul Allen, and Orbital ATK. As per usual, our litmus test consists of the libertarian principle of non-initiation of aggression and private property rights. Musk, for example, has done yeoman work in lifting mankind off the planet. But he has done so with massive government subsidies, based on compulsory taxation, a no-no for libertarianism. Read this chapter to find out our assessment of these people and organizations from a libertarian perspective. We draw a sharp distinction between crony capitalism and laissez-faire capitalism. (Spoiler: Musk does not make the grade.)
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
- 2.
In David Nolan’s words: “I hereby certify that I do not believe in or advocate the initiation of force as a means of achieving political or social goals.” Source: http://int.search.myway.com.
- 3.
Happily, the budget for this state-run agency has been on the decline; all men of good will must look upon this decrease in compulsion favorably.
- 4.
This was based on the labor theory of value. Workers produced the entire product in this view, and any subtraction from GDP other than wages (rent, profits , etc.) was in effect a theft from them. For a critique of this malicious and fallacious viewpoint, see Block CitationRef CitationID="CR0105">2006</CitationRef>; Bohm-Bawerk 1884, 2011; Cantillon 2011; Gordon 1991; Hoppe 1989; Maltsev 1993; Von Mises 1981; Murphy 2006, 2011; Reisman 2006; Steele 1981, 1992; Stigler 1958; Vaughn 1978. The theory is also based on the perverse belief that all members of a class necessarily have identical beliefs. All laborers must believe the same thing regarding wages. All women must hold identical interests. All members of a particular race must think alike. Libertarians and , indeed, all those with any modicum of common sense, reject this deterministic babel.
- 5.
For further reading on this see Block CitationRef CitationID="CR0105">2006</CitationRef>; Burris 2012; Domhoff 1967, 1971, 1998 ; Donaldson and Poynting 2007; Hoppe 1990; Hughes 1977; Kolko 1963; Von Mises 1978; Oppenheimer 1975; Raico 1977; Rockwell 2001; Rothbard 2004. In the view of Rothbard 2004: “All States are governed by a ruling class that is a minority of the population , and which subsists as a parasitic and exploitative burden upon the rest of society. Since its rule is exploitative and parasitic , the State must purchase the alliance of a group of ‘Court Intellectuals,’ whose task is to bamboozle the public into accepting and celebrating the rule of its particular State. The Court Intellectuals have their work cut out for them. In exchange for their continuing work of apologetics and bamboozlement, the Court Intellectuals win their place as junior partners in the power, prestige, and loot extracted by the State apparatus from the deluded public. The noble task of Revisionism is to de-bamboozle: to penetrate the fog of lies and deception of the State and its apologists Court Intellectuals, and to present to the public the true history of the motivation, the nature, and the consequences of State activity. By working past the fog of State deception to penetrate to the truth, to the reality behind the false appearances, the Revisionist works to delegitimize, to desanctify, the State in the eyes of the previously deceived public.”
- 6.
This is neither the time nor place to make the case for anarcho-capitalism. The interested reader may consult Rothbard 1973 and Spooner 1966 [1870] . Additional discussion on this subject may be found in Anderson and Hill 1979; Benson 1989 , 1990a, b ; Block 2007, 2010, 2011a, b ; Casey 2010; DiLorenzo 2010; Gregory 2011; Guillory and Tinsley 2009; Hasnas 1995; Heinrich 2010; Higgs 2009, 2012; Hoppe 2008, 2011 ; Huebert 2010; King 2010; Kinsella 2009; Long 2004; McConkey 2013; Molyneux 2008; Murphy 2005 ; Rockwell 2013; Rothbard 1975 , 1977, 1998; Stringham 2007; Tannehills 1984 ; Tinsley 1998–1999 ; Wenzel 2013; Woods 2014.
- 7.
Neither can the likes of the European Space Agency or the Russian Federal Space Agency be regarded as positive contributors.
- 8.
In this section, we write approvingly of Calhoun’s views regarding taxpayers vs. recipients. Lest any confusion arise, let us make it clear that we decry his support of the First Bank of the United States, his initial praise of the Tariff of Abominations , and his supposed support of slavery (he really supported States Rights which historically is divided between staunch support of abolition and opposition to the same (Woods 2010)), and similar statist programs as well as the over-generalization of who constitutes the ruling class.
- 9.
Here it is important to note that self-appointed representatives of under-privileged citizens often are members of the ruling class and that their supposed dedication to poor people really enhances their own illicit political power.
- 10.
Communism is but one type of socialism (Von Mises 1922).
- 11.
- 12.
States Ridley (2015, pp. 31–32): “I once interviewed (Steven) Pinker in front of an audience in London, and was very struck by the passion of his reply when an audience member insisted that profit was a form of violence and was on the increase. Pinker simply replied with a biographical story. His grandfather, born in Warsaw in 1900, emigrated to Montreal in 1926, worked for a shirt company (the family had made gloves in Poland), was laid off during the Great Depression , and then, with his grandmother, sewed neckties in his apartment, eventually earning enough to set up a small factory, which they ran until their deaths. And yes, it made a small profit (just enough to pay the rent and bring up Pinker’s mother and her brothers), and no, his grandfather never hurt a fly. Commerce, he said, cannot be equated with violence.”
- 13.
But not quite as bad. When the victorious army indicts the losing soldiers, the generals and colonels are typically found guilty, but not the privates and corporals. As for the intermediate officers, they lie in a gray area. There are no hard and fast objective rules that apply, but matters are not totally subjective either. A good illustration of the principle can be found in Lilac Girls (Kelly 2016). This is a novel based on the true stories of three women during WWII and refers to the Ravensbrück Concentration Camp. In it the senior medical overseer of Ravensbrück, Dr. Gebhardt, is sentenced to hang for crimes against humanity while Dr. Herta Oberheuser, a newly minted doctor, one of the three women protagonists of the book, and the one who carried out the actual physical crimes, is sentenced to 20-years and only served five.
- 14.
Yes, we are aware that some in the world disagree with this assessment but believe that most do not equate ballerinas with gentlemen’s club strippers.
- 15.
See Block (2014) on this.
- 16.
- 17.
On subsidies to Tesla, see : Peters 2016; Jenkins 2016; Wynn and Lafleur 2009; Chandra et al. 2009; Kim 2014. Documentation in this regard for SolarCity and government grants to space X are evidenced by these authors : Richards 2015; Melchoir 2015; Chambers 2015. For a defense of government subsidies to Musk, and a critique of Hirsch (2015) on the grounds that pretty much every firm in the space and other high-tech firms are on the government dole, and therefore Musk is justified in doing so, see Autry (2015).
- 18.
We suspect that Mr. Musk is interested in proceeding with advanced scientific innovations including space exploration and that he would do so with or without state aid. He is impatient with bureaucratic foot-dragging. It may be simple expedience that results in his involvement with government . To illustrate this point, we refer to a quotation attributed to Musk: “To make an embarrassing admission, I like video games. That’s what got me into software engineering when I was a kid. I wanted to make money so I could buy a better computer to play better video games—nothing like saving the world ” (Hankoff 2014). This suggests a mindset compatible with libertarianism wherein Musk wishes to earn his own way to accomplish his goals. It reveals an impatience with waiting for others to provide for him (in this case a better computer).
- 19.
Danneskjold is a fictional seafaring pirate who attacks government ships (Rand 1957). He is a bit like Robin Hood (a pun, compare to: Robbin’ Hood’ or Robbing Hoodlum). Note that the latter did not simply take from the rich to give to the poor. He retrieved the ill-gotten goods taken with force by the nobility to return them to the victimized peasants. Ditto for the former: Ragnar, too, relieves the bad guys (statists) of their illicit gains and turns them over to the oppressed, only this time they are honest businessmen.
- 20.
For an alternative point of view, consider the words of Hamilton (2016) writing for Breitbart: “Yet make no mistake—the Planetary Resourcers [sic] are fully revolutionary. None of them are interested in waiting around to see what the federal government is willing to do in space—although, in their pragmatism, they are willing to work with NASA. Still, it has surely has crossed the mind of these investors that there’s no EPA in space; indeed, space can be seen as one universe-sized enterprise zone.”
- 21.
This is something that Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Pope Francis have in common. Neither makes this distinction. Indeed, they are oblivious to it. Joke: Do you know the difference between a living room and a bathroom? No? Then don’t come to my house. Serious: Do you know the difference between crony and laissez-faire capitalism ? No? Then don’t get into political economy, for this constitutes one of the most vital distinctions in that entire field.
- 22.
Presumably money not collected by the tax man would be spent on consumer goods such as bicycles, violins, computers, clothes, etc.; or invested in industries favored by the owners of these resources.
- 23.
- 24.
Which Bezos earned from setting up and running Amazon, a private company that receives no known subsidies from the state.
- 25.
Is receiving only 5% financing from taxpayers akin to being a “little bit” pregnant?
- 26.
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson.
- 27.
- 28.
At least in terms of promises, if not fulfillment (Runciman 2014).
- 29.
His Zero G Corporation would give paying customers “a nauseating but exhilarating experience ” (Impey, p. 93) of weightlessness.
- 30.
This is the word usually associated with these companies, and it does indeed work with the U.S. Department of Defense. However, given the number of U.S. military bases abroad, a more accurate description might be Department of Offense. Previously, this institution was known as the Department of War . Perhaps “Department of Imperialism” would be yet more truthful, in that there are some 800 U.S. military bases in 140 countries. See on this Department of Defense 2007; Vance 2010.
- 31.
- 32.
- 33.
Why fraud? What do the deceivers hope to gain? The answer is power. The remedies to “climate change” recommended by statists inevitably involve increased restrictions and new, more draconian “laws.” Thus, they have more ability to threaten people with jail and other sanctions in the hopes of controlling the actions of innocents. In addition, these purveyors of deception hope to, and do, collect fees and fines with which to line their pockets and further their agendas.
- 34.
Green on the outside, but red on the inside.
- 35.
An Andes Mountains camelid. Their coats provide the ultimate in fine sartorial luxury (Coggins 2013).
- 36.
- 37.
Emphasis added by present authors.
- 38.
All too often libertarianism is conflated with conservatism, or neo-conservatism, or with the “right wing.” Exhibit “A” on this is the Federalist Society which is predicated on an amalgamation of libertarians and conservatives. See on this Meyer (1962), Rothbard (1981). To be sure, these groups would indeed support a bloated military budget, and an armed force that throws its weight around the world. But, this is very different from the libertarian foreign policies of the founding fathers of our nation. For example, George Washington (1796): “The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible” (emphasis added). Thomas Jefferson (1801): “Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none” (emphasis added). John Quincy Adams (2005): “America …goes not abroad seeking monsters to destroy.”
- 39.
The explanation of this favoritism by the state is that Musk and the others are loot-seekers par excellence. In the Public Choice literature, this is called “rent-seeking” but our description is far more accurate. See on this Bhagwati 1982; Block 2000a, b , CitationRef CitationID="CR0104">2002</CitationRef> ; Henderson 2008; Pasour 1986; Wenzel 2016.
- 40.
This is sometimes called a “tax subsidy” or “tax expenditure.” The idea here is that the government, in not collecting taxes that might otherwise accrue to it, is really subsidizing those folks privileged in this manner. Bosh and tosh. This only holds true if the state is the legitimate owner of the entire GDP . Then, yes, anything it gives back to the long-suffering taxpayers is indeed a subsidy to them. But where is the warrant to suppose that the state is the proper owner of everything, or anything, its residents have produced in any given year? Rather, the people are the proper owners of what they create, and taxes forcibly taken from them amount to no less than theft. See on this : Spooner 1966 [1870]; Napolitano 2013; Rothbard 1970, 1998.
- 41.
- 42.
This is sometimes called lack of horizontal justice.
- 43.
Again, a complication rears its head. Ragnar Danneskjold, a hero of Rand (1957), relieved the government of its ill-gotten (tax) gains and returned them to victims of state violence such as Midas Mulligan, Ken Danagger , Francisco d’Anconia, John Galt, and other fictional characters. (Rand does not explain how he killed no one, even state employees, but assures her readers that this was so.) The problem with Musk as a beneficiary of tax revenues is that he is a crony capitalist. Were matters otherwise, we would applaud this. For example, we see John Hospers (late chairman of the philosophy department at the University of Southern California, a state institution) as a non-crony capitalist. Block (2012) justifies him receiving tax monies.
- 44.
Many dozens of other libertarians in good standing were and are employed by public enterprises such as universities. This includes the second author of the present book, an employee of Loyola University New Orleans which accepts government largesse, and does nothing, officially, to mitigate this.
- 45.
From an economic point of view, socialism implies support for government ownership of all means of production; for example, Kim’s North Korea , Stalin’s U.S.S.R., Mao’s China.
- 46.
From an economic point of view, this implies support for governmental heavy regulation of industry. The Nazi party , paradigm case of fascism , did not own Stuka, BMW, Volkswagen, or other German companies ; it only exercised effective proprietary-like control of them. Thus, Barack Obama (apart from taking ownership in Detroit auto companies), Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, are not really socialists . Rather, fascists . Of course, this is all from a technical economic point of view. In common parlance, “socialist” now means, in effect, egalitarians, and all three, at least verbally, qualify as socialists under that rubric.
References
Adams, John Quincy. 2005. Congressional Record. 109th Congress. First Session. Vol. 151, Part 4, March 11. https://books.google.com/books?id=eaCIX6d3Y5YC&pg=PA4864&lpg=PA4864&dq=%22goes+not+abroad+seeking+monsters%22&source=bl&ots=7y-SeZRFm0&sig=IoiE22eag3F5i3MFMGmVPqVaX5A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwio-9D3yZfOAhUHbiYKHcJ0AyMQ6AEIKTAD#v=onepage&q=%22goes%20not%20abroad%20seeking%20monsters%22&f=false. Accessed 28 July 2016.
Anderson, Terry, and P.J. Hill. 1979. An American Experiment in Anarcho-Capitalism: The Not So Wild, Wild West. The Journal of Libertarian Studies 3: 9–29. http://mises.org/journals/jls/3_1/3_1_2.pdf. Accessed 11 June 2016.
Anderson, Terry L., and Peter J. Hill, eds. 1995. Wildlife in the Marketplace. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Ansari Prize. 2004. Funded by the Ansari Family, the Ansari XPRIZE Challenged Teams from Around the World to Build a Reliable, Privately Financed, Manned Spaceship Capable of Carrying Three People to 100 Kilometers Above the Earth’s Surface Twice Within Two Weeks. The Prize Was Awarded in 2004 and Along with It, a Brand New Private Space Industry Was Launched. November 6. http://ansari.xprize.org/. Accessed 3 Aug 2016.
Autry, Greg. 2015. Everybody Hates a Winner: Elon Musk, the Government and the Damn Yankees Syndrome. June 4. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-autry/everybody-hates-a-winner-_b_7508114.html. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Banse, Tom. 2015. Washington State Votes Overwhelmingly to Shut Down Ivory Trade. November 3. http://nwnewsnetwork.org/post/washington-state-votes-overwhelmingly-shut-down-ivory-trade. Accessed 28 July 2016.
Batemarco, Robert. 1987. GNP, PPR, and the Standard of Living. The Review of Austrian Economics 181–186. https://mises.org/library/gnp-ppr-and-standard-living.
Bensen, Bruse L. 1989. The Spontaneous Evolution of Commercial Law. Southern Economic Journal 55: 644–661.
———. 1990a. Customary Law with Private Means of Resolving Disputes and Dispensing Justice: A Description of a Modern System of Law and Order Without State Coercion. The Journal of Libertarian Studies IX (2): 25–42. http://mises.org/journals/jls/9_2/9_2_2.pdf. Accessed 11 June 2016.
———. 1990b. The Enterprise of Law: Justice Without the State. San Francisco: Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy.
Bergland, David. 1986. Libertarianism in One Lesson. Costa Mesa, CA: Orpheus Publications.
Bezos, Jeff. 2017. 2016 Letter to Shareholders. April 12. https://www.amazon.com/p/feature/z6o9g6sysxur57t. Accessed 18 May 2017.
Bhagwati, Jagdish N. 1982. Directly Unproductive, Profit-Seeking (DUP) Activities. Journal of Political Economy 90 (5): 988–1002. http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1837129?uid=3739400&uid=2&uid=3737720&uid=4&sid=21105317504383. Accessed 11 June 2016.
Block, Walter. 2007. Anarchism and Minarchism; No Rapprochement Possible: Reply to Tibor Machan. The Journal of Libertarian Studies 21 (1): 91–99. http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/21_1/21_1_5.pdf. Accessed 11 June 2016.
———. 2002. All Government Is Excessive: A Rejoinder to ‘In Defense of Excessive Government’ by Dwight Lee. Journal of Libertarian Studies 16 (3): 35–82. http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/16_3/16_3_3.pdf. Accessed 11 June 2016.
Block, Walter E. 2006. Radical Libertarianism: Applying Libertarian Principles to Dealing with the Unjust Government, Part II. Reason Papers 28 (Spring): 85–109. http://www.walterblock.com/publications/block_radical-libertarianism-rp.pdf; http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/block_radicallibertarianism-rp.pdf. (death penalty justified, net taxpayer, ruling class analysis, p. 87).
———. 2008. Homesteading, Ad Coelum, Owning Views and Forestalling. The Social Sciences 3 (2): 96–103. http://www.medwelljournals.com/fulltext/TSS/2008/96-103.pdf; http://medwelljournals.com/new/5/archivedetails.php?id=5&jid=TSS&theme=5&issueno=12. Accessed 20 Apr 2016.
———. 2000a. Watch Your Language. February 21. http://www.mises.org/fullarticle.asp?control=385&month=17&title=Watch+Your+Language&id=19; http://mises.org/daily/385. Accessed 11 June 2016.
———. 2000b. Word Watch. April 20. http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=414&FS=Word+Watch. Accessed 23 Apr 2016.
———. 2010. Review of Huebert’s Libertarianism Today. Libertarian Papers. http://libertarianpapers.org/2010/19-block-review-of-hueberts-libertarianism-today/. Accessed 29 June 2016.
———. 2011a. Governmental Inevitability: Reply to Holcombe. Journal of Libertarian Studies 22: 667–688. http://mises.org/journals/jls/22_1/22_1_34.pdf. Accessed 11 June 2016.
———. 2011b. Review Essay of Ostrom, Elinor. 1990. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. In Libertarian Papers, Vol. 3, Art. 21. http://libertarianpapers.org/2011/21-block-review-of-ostroms-governing-the-commons/.
———. 2012. Yes to Ron Paul and Liberty. New York: Ishi Press. http://www.amazon.com/dp/4871873234; http://libertycrier.com/education/walterblocks-new-book-on-ron-paul/; http://libertyunbound.com/node/862. Accessed 23 May 2016.
———. 2014. Book Review Essay of Steven Pinker’s: The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined. New York, N.Y. Penguin; Part II. Management Education Science Technology Journal MEST 2 (1): 141–160.
Bohm-Bawerk, Eugen. 1959 [1884]. Capital and Interest. South Holland, IL: Libertarian Press. Trans. George D. Hunke and Hans F. Sennholz. See Particularly Part I, Chapter XII, Exploitation Theory of Socialism-Communism.
———. 2011. Karl Marx and the Close of His System. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Bower, Tom. 2014. Branson: Behind the Mask. Faber.
Brunner, Jim. 2015. Paul Allen Bankrolls Initiative to Ban Rare-Species Trafficking. April 26. http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/paul-allen-backs-state-ban-on-rare-species-trafficking/. Accessed 28 July 2016.
Burris, Charles A. 2012. Who Rules America: Power Elite Analysis and American History. January 18. http://archive.lewrockwell.com/burris/burris21.1.html.
Calhoun, John C. 1953 [1853]. A Disquisition on Government. Ed.: Post, C. Gordon. A Disquisition on Government and Selections from the Discourse. Edited, with an Introduction. New York: Liberal Arts Press.
Cantillon, Richard. 2011. The Value of Labor. October 21. https://mises.org/library/value-labor.
Carden, Art. 2011. Who Could Have Predicted that the Solyndra Deal Wouldn’t Work Out? October 10. https://mises.org/blog/who-could-have-predicted-solyndra-deal-wouldn%E2%80%99t-work-out.
Casey, Doug. 2010. Doug Casey on Anarchy. March 31. http://www.caseyresearch.com/cwc/doug-casey-anarchy. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
Chakrabortty, Aditya. 2013. The Truth About Richard Branson’s Virgin Rail Profits. June 10. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/10/truth-richard-branson-virgin-rail-profits. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Chambers, Dean. 2015. Heavily Subsidized and Failing: Elon Musk and SolarCity. December 14. http://www.redstate.com/diary/qstarweb/2015/12/14/heavily-subsidized-failing-elon-musk-solarcity/. Accessed 17 June 2016.
Chandra, Ambarish, Sumeet Gulati, and Milind Kandlikar. 2009. Green Drivers or Free Riders? An Analysis of Tax Rebates for Hybrid Vehicles. February 24. SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1348808. Accessed 23 May 2016.
Chibber, Kabir. 2009. How Green Is Richard Branson? August 5. http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2009/09/start/how-green-is-richard-branson. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Coggins, David. 2013. Why Does a Vicuña Jacket Cost $21,000? Wall Street Journal. September 20. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323392204579073090614851288. Accessed 21 June 2016.
Dillow, Clay. 2015a. Boeing, GE Beat Tea Party as Congress Revives Export-Import Bank. December 4. http://fortune.com/2015/12/04/congressexport-import-bank. Accessed 29 June 2016.
———. 2015b. Obama Is About to Give Private Space Companies a Big Break. November 24. http://fortune.com/2015/11/24/obama-commercial-spacebreak/. Accessed 6 Dec 2015.
DeBord, Matthew. 2015. Elon Musk’s Companies Have Always Depended on Government Money—And He’s Has Always Been Up Front About It. June 8. http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-always-depended-government-money-up-front-about-it-2015-6. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Department of Defense. 2007. Base Structure Report. http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/BSR_2007_Baseline.pdf. Accessed 28 July 2016.
Detrick, Chloe. 2015. Washington Voters Approve Anti-Wildlife-Trafficking Initiative, I-1401, In a Landslide. November 4. http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2015/11/washington-approves-wildlife-initative.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/. Accessed 28 July 2016.
Diamandis, Peter. 2015. Entrepreneurs, Not Government, Drive Innovation—Here’s Why. July 14. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/entrepreneurs-government-drive-innovation-heres-why-peter-diamandis?forceNoSplash=true. Accessed 29 June 2016.
DiLorenzo, Thomas J. 2010. The Culture of Violence in the American West: Myth Versus Reality. The Independent Review 15 (2): 227–239. http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_15_02_4_dilorenzo.pdf. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
Domhoff, G. William. 1967. Who Rules America? Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
———. 1971. The Higher Circles: The Governing Class in America. New York: Vintage Books.
———. 1998. Who Rules America? Power and Politics in the Year 2000. 3rd ed. Santa Cruz: University of California.
Donaldson, Mike, and Scott Poynting. 2007. Ruling Class Men: Money, Sex, Power. Peter Lang. http://books.google.com/books/about/Ruling_Class_Men.html?id=V-KjZ8p3N2oC.
Doughton, Sandi. 2015. Anti-poaching Campaign Is State’s Richest this Year; Bankrolled by Billionaire Paul Allen, pro-Initiative-1401 Committee Has Raised more than Twice as much Money as Any Other Political Effort this Year. October 29. http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/anti-poaching-campaign-is-states-richest-this-year/. Accessed 28 July 2016.
Faust, Jeff. 2014. Bezos Investment in Blue Origin Exceeds $500 Million. July 18. http://spacenews.com/41299bezos-investment-in-blue-origin-exceeds-500-million/. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Foust, Jeff. 2015. Book Review of Beyond: Our Future in Space by Chris Impey. May 11. http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2746/1. Accessed 29 June 2016.
French, Doug. 2012. Property Means Preservation. May 31. http://mises.org/daily/5960/. Accessed 11 June 2016.
Gordon, David. 1991. Resurrecting Marx: The Analytical Marxist on Exploitation, Freedom and Justice. Transaction Publishers.
Gregory, Anthony. 2011. Abolish the Police. May 26. http://www.lewrockwell.com/gregory/gregory213.html. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
Guillory, Gil, and Patrick Tinsley. 2009. The Role of Subscription-Based Patrol and Restitution in the Future of Liberty. Libertarian Papers 1 (12). http://libertarianpapers.org/2009/12-the-role-of-subscription-based-patrol-and-restitution-in-the-future-of-liberty/. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
Hamilton. 2016. The Two Kinds of Libertarianism: Calhounian and Heinleinian. Breitbart. November 16. http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2013/11/16/the-two-kinds-of-libertarianism-calhounian-and-heinleinian/. Accessed 15 June 2016.
Hankoff, Nick. 2014. Top 5 Libertarian Quotes from Billionaire Elon Musk. Voices of Liberty. November 10. https://voicesofliberty.com/2014/11/10/top-5-libertarian-quotes-from-billionaire-elon-musk/6/. Accessed 20 June 2016.
Hartung, William. 2016. Lockheed Martin, Making Money the Old-Fashioned Way. March 17. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-hartung/lockheed-martin-making-mo_b_9486334.html. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Hasnas, John. 1995. The Myth of the Rule of Law. Wisconsin Law Review 199. http://faculty.msb.edu/hasnasj/GTWebSite/MythWeb.htm. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
Haymond, Jeff. 2014. Top 1%’er Richard Branson Advocates for more Subsidies to the Rich! January 22. http://bereansatthegate.com/top-1er-richard-branson-advocates-for-more-subsidies-to-the-rich/. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Heinrich, David J. 2010. Justice for All Without the State. The Libertarian Standard. May 6. http://www.libertarianstandard.com/articles/david-j-heinrich/justice-for-all-without-the-state/. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
Henderson, David R. 2008. Rent Seeking. In The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics, ed. David R. Henderson. Indianapolis, IN: The Liberty Fund. http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/RentSeeking.html. Accessed 11 June 2016.
Higgs, Robert. 2009. Why We Couldn’t Abolish Slavery Then and Can’t Abolish Government Now. August 20. http://www.lewrockwell.com/higgs/higgs128.html. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
———. 2012. What Is the Point of My Libertarian Anarchism? January 16. http://archive.lewrockwell.com/higgs/higgs180.html. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
Hirsch, Jerry. 2015. Elon Musk’s Growing Empire Is Fueled by $4.9 Billion in Government Subsidies. May 30. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hy-musk-subsidies-20150531-story.html#page=1. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Holcombe, Randall G. 2014. President Obama’s Investment Skills. March 12. https://mises.org/blog/president-obama%E2%80%99s-investment-skills.
Holler, Dan. 2015. Don’t Believe the Hype: Boeing Will Be Just Fine Without the Export-Import Bank; The Sky Isn’t Falling, and Companies Like Boeing Certainly Don’t Need You to Guarantee Their Business Model. August 27. https://sanantonioteaparty.us/dont-believe-the-hype-boeing-will-be-just-fine-without-the-export-import-bank/. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. 1989. Fallacies of the Public Goods Theory and the Production of Security. The Journal of Libertarian Studies IX (1): 27–46. http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/9_1/9_1_2.pdf. Accessed 23 Apr 2016.
———. 1990. Marxist and Austrian Class Analysis. The Journal of Libertarian Studies 9 (2): 79–94. http://mises.org/journals/jls/9_2/9_2_5.pdf.
———. 1993. The Economics and Thics of Private Property. Studies in Political Economy and Philosophy. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
———. 2008. Reflections on the Origin and the Stability of the State. June 23. http://www.lewrockwell.com/hoppe/hoppe18.html. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
———. 2011. State or Private Law Society. April 10. http://www.lewrockwell.com/hoppe/hoppe26.1.html. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
Howell, Elizabeth. 2013. Paul Allen: Billionaire Backer of Private Space Ventures. January 18. http://www.space.com/19333-paul-allen.html. Accessed 28 July 2016.
Huebert, Jacob. 2010. Libertarianism Today. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
Hughes, Jonathan R.T. 1977. The Governmental Habit: Economic Controls from Colonial Times to the Present. New York: Basic Books.
Impey, Chris. 2015. Beyond: Our Future in Space. W. W. Norton & Company.
Jefferson, Thomas. 1801. Inaugural Address. March 4. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/jefinau1.asp. Accessed 28 July 2016.
Jenkins, Holman W, Jr. 2016. Voters Should Be Mad at Electric Cars; If Trump and Sanders Fans Hate Absurd Handouts to Elites, the Tesla Economy Is the Place to Look. March 11. http://www.wsj.com/articles/voters-should-be-mad-at-electric-cars-1457737805. Accessed 23 May 2016.
Jopson, Barney. 2014. Roosevelt-era Bank Faces Tea Party Assault. June 25. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5f0dbe14-fc89-11e3-86dc-00144feab7de.html#axzz4D0nfgjVt. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Kelly, Martha Hall. 2016. Lilac Girls. New York: Ballantine Books.
Kim, Kihoon. 2014. The Analysis of Government Financial Subsidies for the Electric Car Market. The Korean Operations and Management Science Society 39 (3): 41–49. http://www.koreascience.or.kr/article/ArticleFullRecord.jsp?cn=GOGGBB_2014_v39n3_41. Accessed 23 May 2016.
King, Seth. 2010. Daily Anarchist Interviews Walter E. Block. September 9. http://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block165.html. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
Kinsella, Stephan N. 2009. What Libertarianism Is. August 21. https://mises.org/library/what-libertarianism. Accessed 23 Apr 2016.
Koch, Charles. 2015. The Good Profit: How Creating Value for Others Built One of the World’s Most Successful Companies. Crown Business. https://www.amazon.com/Good-Profit-Creating-Successful-Companies-ebook/dp/B00TWEMGE8.
Kolko, Gabriel. 1963. Triumph of Conservatism. Chicago: Quadrangle Books.
Kreuter, Urs P., and Linda E. Platts. 1996. Why the Ivory Ban Is Failing. Christian Science Monitor. March 20. http://perc.org/articles/why-ivory-ban-failing. Accessed 11 June 2016.
Long, Roderick. 2004. Libertarian Anarchism: Responses to Ten Objections. http://www.lewrockwell.com/long/long11.html. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
Lora, Manuel. 2007. If You Love Nature, Desocialize It. May 10. http://mises.org/daily/2539. Accessed 11 June 2016.
Maltsev, Yuri N. 1993. Requiem for Marx. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Martin, Jonathan. 2010. Paul Allen gives $100,000 to Defeat Income-Tax Initiative. October 12. http://old.seattletimes.com/html/politicsnorthwest/2013139340_paul_allens_moment.html?syndication=rss. Accessed 11 June 2016.
McConkey, Michael. 2013. Anarchy, Sovereignty, and the State of Exception: Schmitt’s Challenge. The Independent Review, v. 17, n. 3, pp. 415–428. http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_17_03_05_mcconkey.pdf. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
Melchoir, Jillian Kay. 2015. SolarCity Can’t Shine Without Subsidies. January 14. http://www.iwf.org/news/2799084/SolarCity-Can’t-Shine-Without-Subsidies. Accessed 17 June 2016.
Meyer, Frank S. 1962. In Defense of Freedom. Chicago: Henry Regnery.
Molyneux, Stefan. 2008. The Stateless Society: An Examination of Alternatives. http://www.mail-archive.com/libertarianenterprise@yahoogroups.com/msg02056.html. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
Murphy, Robert P. 2005. But Wouldn’t Warlords Take Over? July 7. http://mises.org/story/1855; http://mises.org/library/wouldnt-warlords-take-over. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
———. 2006. The Labor Theory of Value: A Critique of Carson’s Studies in Mutualist Political Economy. The Journal of Libertarian Studies 20 (1). http://mises.org/journals/jls/20_1/20_1_3.pdf. Accessed 29 June 2016.
———. 2011. Problems with the Cost Theory of Value. May 23. https://mises.org/library/problems-cost-theory-value. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Murray, Charles. 1984. Losing Ground: American Social Policy from 1950 to 1980. New York: Basic Books.
Napolitano, Andrew. 2013. Taxation Is Theft; The Constitution Doesn’t Permit the Feds to Steal Your Money. But Steal, the Feds Do. April 18. http://reason.com/archives/2013/04/18/taxation-is-theft. Accessed 28 July 2016.
Narveson, Jan. 1988. The Libertarian Idea. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Nozick, Robert. 1974. Anarchy, State and Utopia. New York: Basic Books.
Oppenheimer, Franz. 1975 [1914]. The State. New York: Free Life Editions.
Orwell, George. 1949. Nineteen Eighty-Four. London: Harvill Secker.
Palmer, Anna, and Jeremy Herb. 2015. Boeing, GE Cut Off Donations to Ex-Im Foes. August 5. http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/boeing-ge-cut-off-donations-to-ex-im-opponents-121056. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Pasour, E.C., Jr. 1986. Rent Seeking: Some Conceptual Problems and Implications. Review of Austrian Economics 1: 123–143. http://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/RAE1_1_8.pdf; http://mises.org/sites/default/files/rae1_1_8_5.pdf; http://mises.org/library/rent-seeking-some-conceptual-problems-and-implications. Accessed 11 June 2016.
Peters, Eric. 2016. Now Uncle Is ‘Investing’ in Tesla. Autos, Automobiles, Motorcycles, and Libertarian Politics. August 14. http://ericpetersautos.com/2016/08/14/now-uncle-investing-tesla/; https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/08/eric-peters/champion-crony-capitalist/. Accessed 17 Aug 2016.
Poeter, Damon. 2015. Check Out Paul Allen’s Giant Rocket-Toting Monster Plane. February 26. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2477458,00.asp. Accessed 28 July 2016.
Raico, Ralph. 1977. Classical Liberal Exploitation Theory: A Comment on Professor Liggio’s Paper. The Journal of Libertarian Studies 1 (3): 179–184. http://mises.org/daily/4567/.
Rand, Ayn. 1957. Atlas Shrugged. New York: Random House.
Reisman, George. 2006. Freedom Is Slavery: Laissez-Faire Capitalism Is Government Intervention: A Critique of Kevin Carson’s Studies in Mutualist Political Economy. The Journal of Libertarian Studies 20 (1). http://mises.org/journals/jls/20_1/20_1_5.pdf. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Reynolds, Neil. 2012. Waiting for the Age of Abundance. April 16. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/waiting-for-the-age-of-abundance/article4100664/. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Richards, Tori. 2015. Sunset of Solar Subsidies Shadows SolarCity. June 23. http://watchdog.org/225430/solarcity/. Accessed 17 June 2016.
Ridley, Matt. 2015. The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge. New York: Harper.
Rockwell, Lew. 2013. What Would We Do Without the State? March 31. http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/134782.html. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
Rockwell, Jr., Llewellyn H. 2001. Liberty and the Common Good. December 31. http://www.mises.org/article.aspx?Id=860.
———. 2014. What Libertarianism Is, and Isn’t. March 31. http://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/03/lew-rockwell/what-libertarianism-is-and-isnt/. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Rothbard, Murray N. 1963. America’s Great Depression. Kansas City: Sheed Andrews. http://www.mises.org/rothbard/agd.pdf. Accessed 23 May 2016.
———. 1970. Power and Market: Government and the Economy. Menlo Park, CA: Institute for Humane Studies.
———. 1973. For a New Liberty. New York: Macmillan. http://mises.org/rothbard/newlibertywhole.asp. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
———. 1975a. Conceived in Liberty, Volumes I & II—A New Land, A New People, The American Colonies in the Seventeenth Century. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House Publishers. With the Assistance of Leonard P. Liggio.
———. 1975b. Society Without a State. The Libertarian Forum 7 (1), January. http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard133.html. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
———. 1977. Do You Hate the State? The Libertarian Forum 10 (7), July. http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard75.html. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
———. 1981. Frank S. Meyer: The Fusionist as Libertarian Manque. Modern Age 352–363. https://mises.org/library/frank-s-meyer-fusionist-libertarian-manqu%C3%A9. Accessed 28 July 2016.
———. 1998 [1982]. Isaiah Berlin on Negative Freedom. In The Ethics of Liberty, chapter 27, 215–218. New York: New York University Press. http://www.mises.org/rothbard/ethics/ethics.asp. Accessed 20 Apr 2016.
———. 2004. The Case for Revisionism (and Against A Priori History). http://mises.org/library/case-revisionism-and-against-priori-history.
Runciman, David. 2014. The Stuntman. London Review of Books 36 (6): 21–25. http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n06/david-runciman/the-stuntman. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Sharp, Tim. 2014. SpaceShipOne: The First Private Spacecraft | The Most Amazing Flying Machines Ever. October 2. http://www.space.com/16769-spaceshipone-first-private-spacecraft.html. Accessed 28 July 2016.
Simmons, Randy, and Kreuter, Urs P. 1989. Herd Mentality: Banning Ivory Sales Is No Way to Save the Elephant. Policy Review (50): 46–49. http://agrilifecdn.tamu.edu/kreuter/files/2013/01/Simmons-Kreuter-1989_3.pdf. Accessed 11 June 2016.
Spooner, Lysander. 1966 [1870]. No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority and A Letter to Thomas F. Bayard. Larkspur, CO: Rampart College. http://jim.com/treason.htm. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
Steele, David Ramsay. 1981. Posing the Problem: The Impossibility of Economic Calculation Under Socialism. The Journal of Libertarian Studies V (1): 7–22. http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/5_1/5_1_2.pdf. Accessed 29 June 2016.
———. 1992. From Marx to Mises: Post Capitalist Society and the Challenge of Economic Calculation. La Salle, IL: Open Court.
Steinhart, Dan. 2014. How the Tea Party Caused a Plane Crash. June 13. https://www.caseyresearch.com/articles/how-the-tea-party-caused-a-plane-crash. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Stigler, George J. 1958. Ricardo and the 93 Per Cent Labor Theory of Value. American Economic Review 48 (June): 357–367.
Stringham, Edward., ed. 2007. Anarchy and the Law: The Political Economy of Choice. Somerset, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
Tannehill, Morris, and Linda Tannehill. 1984 [1970]. The Market for Liberty, New York: Laissez Faire Books. http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/tannehill1.html. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
Thatcher, Margaret. 1976. Interview for Thames TV, February 5.
Thompson, David W. 2016. CEO’s Welcome. https://www.orbitalatk.com/about/ceos-welcome. Accessed 11 June 2016.
Tinsley, Patrick. 1998–1999. With Liberty and Justice for All: A Case for Private Police. Journal of Libertarian Studies 14 (1): 95–100. http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/14_1/14_1_5.pdf. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
Vance, Laurence M. 2010. Same Empire, Different Emperor. February 11. http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance195.html. Accessed 28 July 2016.
Vaughn, Karen I. 1978. John Locke and the Labor Theory of Value. The Journal of Libertarian Studies 2 (4): 311–325.
Von Mises, Ludwig. 1978. The Clash of Group Interests and Other Essays. New York: Center for Libertarian Studies. http://www.mises.org/etexts/mises/clash/clash.asp.
———. 1981 [1922]. Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis. Trans. J. Kahane. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund. http://mises.org/books/socialism/contents.aspx.
Washington, George. 1796. Farewell Address. http://oll.libertyfund.org/quote/246. Accessed 28 July 2016.
Wenzel, Robert. 2013. Robert Ringer’s Strawman Anarchist. February 2. http://archive.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel211.html. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
———. 2016. Walter Block on the Intellectual War Path. April 25. http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2016/04/walter-block-on-intellectual-war-path.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29. Accessed 11 June 2016.
Wheeler, Joshua. 2014. Failure to Launch: How New Mexico Is Paying for Richard Branson’s Space Tourism Fantasy. March 20. http://www.buzzfeed.com/jgwheel/failure-to-launch-how-new-mexico-is-paying-for-richard-brans#.sel3ryvP8. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Wintour, Patrick. 2015. UK Should Begin Decriminalising Drugs, Say Richard Branson and Nick Clegg. March 3. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/03/uk-should-begin-decriminalising-drugs-richard-branson-nick-clegg. Accessed 29 June 2016.
Woods, Tom. 2010. Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing.
———. 2013. The Question Libertarians Just Can’t Answer. June 5. http://lewrockwell.com/woods/woods237.html. Accessed 29 June 2016.
———. 2014. Four Things the State Is Not. July 29. http://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/07/no_author/4-things-the-state-is-not/. Accessed 23 Aug 2016.
Woolridge, William C. 1970. Uncle Sam the Monopoly Man. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House.
Wynn, Todd and Steve Lafleur. 2009. A Free Market Perspective on Electric Vehicles. October. http://cascadepolicy.org/pdf/env/FMPonElecVehicles_100109a.pdf. Accessed 23 May 2016.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Nelson, P.L., Block, W.E. (2018). Who Are the Libertarians in the Space Initiative?. In: Space Capitalism. Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74651-7_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74651-7_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-74650-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-74651-7
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)