Walter E. Block and the Mises Institute

“The major and grave error of the organizational theory of the Communist Party was not, as Menshevik critics within Marxism would have it, Lenin’s emphasis on the divisions of labor and the importance of revolutionary theory. Rather, it was the developing attitude of Lenin and particularly his followers that the Party, as the instrument of history, was always right in its decisions; in short, it was the placing of reason and objectivity, not in a rational analysis of the real world, but in a specific set of persons: the Party leadership. In this way, the Communist aim of objectivity became mired in the subjectivity of particular persons.”

The above quote, a stunning indictment of the failures of Marxist/Leninist ideology, was from Murray Rothbard, an American economist of the Austrian school and a central figure in the 20th-century American libertarian movement.

Rothbard was optimistic about the prospects of liberty in 1977 and called for a strong and viable movement, which he believed was within reach. His ultimate proclamation was that “Liberty will win.”

Sadly, for fans of liberty like me, the libertarian movement has not gained much traction in 2025. I assert that this is so because Rothbard’s diagnosis regarding the failures of the Communist Party can explain why the movement Rothbard championed is faltering. My good friend Erich J. Prince, the editor-in-chief of Merion West, deftly summed up the flaws of modern-day libertarianism in this way:

“If I were ever in a legislature, I would likely vote in a manner best described as libertarian. This is because I believe libertarians are often correct on many individual issues. But, I have long been uncomfortable with the Libertarian movement, both for its eagerness to excise ideological allies over a single disagreement and more fundamentally because it tends to elevate thought experiments and mental  gymnastics over practical governing.” 

Erich’s point about excising ideological allies over a single disagreement is essential, and it serves as a perfect segue to the current dysfunction among libertarians of all stripes, specifically Hans-Hermann Hoppe’s decision to disassociate himself with Walter E. Block in his open letter posted on LewRockwell.com. In short, Hoppe casts Block as an unhinged warmonger, either unwittingly or purposefully working in the service of the WSJ and Benjamin Netanyahu. The charges are that Block’s call for total war and the indiscriminate slaughter of innocent civilians in Gaza is the “complete and uninhibited rejection and renunciation of the nonaggression principle that constitutes one of the very cornerstones of the Rothbardian system.” Hoppe summarizes his criticisms of Block by assuring everyone that the Rothbard he knew would have denounced Block’s WSJ article as “monstrous and consider it an unforgivable aberration and disgrace.” Hoppe notes that although he has been friends with Walter Block for thirty years, it was time to sever the relationship. I’d argue that with friends like Hans-Hermann Hoppe, who needs enemies?

Hoppe’s protestations notwithstanding, Walter Block’s stance on Israel is clearly a rational analysis of the real world, a world in which Israel is singled out among the nations of the earth as the one country in the world that must be destroyed. Hoppe is doing what Rothbard asserted was the downfall of the Marxists: the placing of reason and objectivity in a specific set of persons, the Party leadership, in this instance, the Mises Institute and Murray Rothbard, or more specifically, what he believed Rothbard would say on the current situation between Israel and Hamas if he were here today. Hoppe presents the work of Rothbard and the Mises Institute as a collective body of work steeped in infallibility. With the help of Lew Rockwell, the folks at Mises have elevated Rothbard’s ideas to a dogma in which Mises members’ loyalty is tested by their acceptance of it. Thus, it has become part of the Rothbardian creed that Murray, like Karl Marx, is never wrong, and that is why Walter E. Block has been jettisoned from the Mises Institute.

Now, I do not wish to get into the specifics of the war between Israel and Hamas and who is right or wrong. I only want to focus on the one thing that cannot be disputed. The Mises Institute has mistreated Block by rescinding his Senior Fellow status, and LewRockwell.com (LRC) has as well by preventing Block from accessing over one hundred articles he wrote for the website. Critics of Israel often focus on what they feel is Israel’s disproportionate response rather than the atrocities committed by Hamas. Regarding disproportionate responses, it is evident that the Mises Institute has overreacted in sanctioning a man whose academic body of work constitutes a great deal of the intellectual backbone of anarcho-capitalism, Austrian economics, and the Mises Institute.

In closing, when I had my first phone conversation with Erich Prince a few years ago, he said he thought he was talking to someone from The Sopranos, the  former HBO show that depicted the exploits of a New Jersey mafia under the control of Tony Soprano. In retrospect, I am flattered by the comparison. Even though we have never met, I consider Walter Block a friend, and I am loyal to my friends. In keeping with the mafia theme, loyalty is essential to me, and the Mises Institute has not adequately rewarded Walter Block for his loyalty and contributions to advancing the cause of liberty. As Jimmy Burke said in Goodfellas, the Mises Institute insulted Block a little bit and, in doing so, got out of order themselves. When Paulie Cicero turned his back on Henry Hill for selling drugs against his wishes, he handed him thirty-two hundred dollars for a lifetime of service. At least Paulie gave him something, although Henry thought he was not compensated adequately. In the case of Walter Block and the Mises Institute, Walter was worse off than Henry Hill. All he got was an open letter from Hans-Hermann Hoppe publicly vilifying him. It is reprehensible and a disgrace that Mises needs to rectify. If anyone reading this blog considers themselves a friend of Walter Block, now is the time to show him your support publicly or privately, or in any way you deem appropriate.