11 July - 17 July

WEEK 1: PROPERTY FOUNDATIONS

STUDY MATERIALS
 Chapters 1 & 2, Theory of Socialism and Capitalism

18 July - 24 July

WEEK 2: TYPES OF SOCIALISM AND THE ORIGIN OF THE STATE

STUDY MATERIALS
 TSC Chs. 3-6
 De-Socialization in a United Germany
 “Banking, Nation States and International Politics: A Sociological Reconstruction of the Present Economic Order” (ch. 3 of EEPP)

25 July - 31 July

WEEK 3: LIBERTARIAN RIGHTS AND ARGUMENTATION ETHICS

STUDY MATERIALS
SUGGESTED READINGS
 Kinsella, “Argumentation Ethics and Liberty: A Concise Guide”
 Hoppe: EEPP, chapter 11, "From the Economics of Laissez Faire to the Ethics of Libertarianism," ch. 12. "The Justice of Economic Efficiency," and "Appendix: Four Critical Replies"

OPTIONAL READINGS
 Kinsella, "New Rationalist Directions in Libertarian Rights Theory”
 "On the Ultimate Justification of the Ethics of Private Property," by Hoppe
 # "Beyond Is and Ought," by Murray N. Rothard
 "Hoppephobia," by Rothbard
 "Defending Argumentation Ethics: Reply to Murphy & Callahan," by Stephan Kinsella
 "Argumentation Ethics and The Philosophy of Freedom," by Frank Van Dun
 "Hülsmann on Argumentation Ethics," by Kinsella

1 August - 7 August

WEEK 4: EPISTEMOLOGY, METHODOLOGY AND DUALISM; KNOWLEDGE, CERTAINTY, LOGICAL POSITIVISM

STUDY MATERIALS

Suggested Readings
 A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism, Pages 118-144 and 152-155
 Economic Science and the Austrian Method
 Is Research Based on Causal Scientific Principles Possible in the Social Sciences? (ch. 10 of EEPP)
 In Defense of Extreme Rationalism: Thoughts on Donald McCloskey’s The Rhetoric of Economics
Optional Readings
 Chapter 9. “On Praxeology and the Praxeological Foundation of Epistemology”; ch. 14. “Austrian Rationalism in the Age of the Decline of Positivism” (from EEPP)
 On Certainty and Uncertainty, Or: How Rational Can Our Expectations Be?
 The Science of Human Action (lecture)
 Mid-term

8 August - 14 August

WEEK 5: ECONOMIC ISSUES AND APPLICATIONS

STUDY MATERIALS

Suggested Readings
 Hoppe on Property Rights in Physical Integrity vs Value
 Hoppe on Liberal Economies and War
 Hoppe: Marx was “Essentially Correct”
 Capitalist Production and The Problem of Monopoly (TSC)
 Fallacies of the Public Goods Theory & the Production of Security
 Verstehen and the Role of Economics in Forecasting, or: If You’re so Rich, Why Aren’t You Smart?
 “Chicago Diversions” in The Ethics and Economics of Private Property
 Kinsella, “Knowledge vs. Calculation”
Optional Readings
 The Misesian Case against Keynes
 The Limits of Numerical Probability: Frank H. Knight and Ludwig von Mises and the Frequency of Interpretation
 A Note on Preference and Indifference in Economic Analysis
 Socialism: A Property or Knowledge Problem?

15 August - 21 August

WEEK 6: POLITICAL ISSUES AND APPLICATIONS; HOPPE Q&A

LIVE SESSION RESOURCES
 Final Exam

Argumentation Ethics Reading List (Supplemental and Optional)

Part One: Overview

 

Introduction: New Rationalist Directions in Libertarian Rights Theory, by Stephan Kinsella
Discourse Ethics (Wikipedia)

 

Part Two: Hoppe’s Argumentation Ethics

Precursors to Hoppe: Is the Ethics of the Ideal Communication Community a Utopia? On the Relationship between Ethics, Utopia, and the Critique of Utopia, by Karl-Otto Apel
From the Economics of Laissez Faire to the Ethics of Libertarianism, by Hans-Hermann Hoppe
The Justice of Economic Efficiency, by Hoppe
On the Ultimate Justification of the Ethics of Private Property, by Hoppe
Appendix: Four Critical Replies, by Hoppe

 

Part Three: Commentary on and Extensions of Hoppe’s Argumentation Ethics

Beyond Is and Ought, by Murray N. Rothard
Hoppephobia, by Rothbard
Defending Argumentation Ethics: Reply to Murphy & Callahan, by Stephan Kinsella
Argumentation Ethics and The Philosophy of Freedom, by Frank Van Dun
Revisiting Argumentation Ethics, by Kinsella
Hülsmann on Argumentation Ethics, by Kinsella
The A Priori Foundations of Property Economics, Guido Hülsmann
Praxeology, Economics, and Law: Issues and Implications, Larry Sechrest
A Reply to the Current Critiques Formulated Against Hoppe’s Argumentation Ethics, by Marian Eabrasu
Hopp(e)ing Onto New Ground: A Rothbardian Proposal for Thomistic Natural Law as the Basis for Hans-Hermann Hoppe’s Praxeological Defense of Private Property, by Jude Chua Soo Meng

Part Four: Other and Related Approaches to Discourse Ethics

Punishment and Proportionality: The Estoppel Approach, by Kinsella
The Basis and Content of Human Rights, by Alan Gewirth
Ordering Rights Consistently: Or What We Do and Do Not Have Rights To, by Roger Pilon
A Theory of Rights: Toward Limited Government, by Pilon
Mises and Argumentation Ethics, by Kinsella
Habermas: A Critical Approach, by Jeremy Shearmur
Economics and the Limits of Value-Free Science, by Van Dun
On the Philosophy of Argument and the Logic of Common Morality, by Van Dun
Individualism and Political Dialogue, by Tibor R. Machan
Selections from The Logic of Liberty, by G.B. Madison
Political Legitimacy and Discourse Ethics, by Douglas B. Rasmussen
From Dialogue Rights to Property Rights: Foundations for Hayek’s Legal Theory, by Jeremy Shearmur

Austro-libertarianism’s international scholar-superstar Hans-Hermann Hoppe burst onto the scene in the late 1980s, when he moved to the United States to study under and work with his mentor Murray Rothbard. Since Hoppe’s arrival he has produced a steady stream of provocative, pioneering contributions to sociology, economics, libertarianism and political philosophy, and history  After Rothbard’s untimely death in 1995, Professor Hoppe assumed a place of uncontested leadership among Austro-libertarian scholars, becoming the editor of the Journal of Libertarian Studies(JLS), a coeditor of the Review of Austrian Economics, and then a coeditor of the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. His important books include A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism (1989), The Economics and Ethics of Private Property (1993, enlarged 2nd edition 2006), Democracy: The God that Failed (2001), and The Myth of National Defense (editor, 2003).

Professor Hoppe and his writings have inspired scholars all over the world to follow in his footsteps and to provide a scientific foundation for individual freedom and a free society (his works have been translated into at least 22 languages, not counting English). His influence was extended when he founded the international Property and Freedom Society(PFS) in 2006 as a more radical alternative to the now-watered-down Mont Pèlerin Society. Professor Hoppe is truly one of the most important scholars of our time.

This six-week course will present and discuss Professor Hoppe’s most important ideas and theories, including his brilliant critique of positivist methodology as applied to the social sciences, his groundbreaking “argumentation ethics” praxeological approach to political philosophy, his encompassing comparative analysis of socialism and capitalism, his profound critique of democracy, and a host of other insights and contributions to areas such as monopoly theory, the theory of public goods, the sociology of taxation, the private production of security, immigration, the nature of property and scarcity, economic methodology and epistemology, and the evolution of monetary institutions and their impact on international relations.

This course will be taught by Austro-libertarian legal philosopher Stephan Kinsella, who has been a close associate of Professor Hoppe for 17 years. Kinsella is uniquely qualified to teach this course, as he served as Book Review Editor of the JLS for five years under Hoppe’s editorship; he founded and edits Libertarian Papers, the successor journal to the JLS; and, with Guido Hülsmann, was editor of the festschrift in Hoppe’s honor, Property, Freedom, and Society: Essays in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Mises Institute, 2009). Kinsella’s previous Mises Academy courses include Rethinking Intellectual Property and Libertarian Legal Theory.

Professor Hoppe has endorsed this course and has graciously offered to provide a written response to submitted questions near the end of the course.

Reading material for the course will consist primarily of A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism and The Economics and Ethics of Private Property, both free online in both ePub and PDF format, and several other selected articles by Professor Hoppe that are also available for free online.