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{{Short description|American born Austrian School economist (born 1941)}}
{{BLP sources|date=July 2013}}
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{{Infobox economist {{Infobox economist
|school_tradition = ] |school_tradition = ]
|color = firebrick |image = Walter Block by Gage Skidmore.jpg
|image = Walter Block LPAC.jpg |caption = Walter Block speaking in May 2016
|caption = Walter Block speaking at LPAC 2011 in Reno, Nevada.
|name = Walter Block |name = Walter Block
|birth_name = Walter Edward Block
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1941|8|21}}
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1941|8|21}}
|birth_place = ], ]
|birth_place = New York City, U.S.
|death_date = |death_date =
|death_place = |death_place =
|doctoral_advisor = ], ]
|nationality = ]
|contributions = ]
|field = ], ], ], ] |field = ], ], ], ]
|influences = ], ], ], ] |influences = ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ]
|signature = Walter Block signature (transparent).png
}}
|education=] (])<br />] (])}}
{{Libertarianism US|intellectuals}}
'''Walter Edward Block''' (born August 21, 1941) is an American ] economist and ] theorist.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.walterblock.com/about/ | title=About Walter Block | access-date=March 27, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229160325/http://www.walterblock.com/about/ | archive-date=December 29, 2016 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all}}</ref> He was the Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Economics at the School of Business at ] and a former senior fellow of the non-profit think-tank ] in ].<ref>{{cite web | title=Mises Institute Faculty Listing | url=https://mises.org/faculty | access-date=July 31, 2013 | archive-date=July 28, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728094916/http://mises.org/Faculty | url-status=live}}</ref>


== Personal life ==
'''Walter Edward Block''' (born 21 August 1941) is an American ] economist and ] theorist.<ref>About Walter Block
Walter Block was born in ] to ] parents Abraham Block, a ], and Ruth Block, a paralegal, both of whom Block has said were ].<ref name="autobiography">{{cite web | first=Walter | last=Block | title=On Autobiography | website=LewRockwell.com | date=December 4, 2002 | url=http://archive.lewrockwell.com/block/block21.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618073109/http://archive.lewrockwell.com/block/block21.html | archive-date=June 18, 2015}}</ref> He attended ], where ] was on his track team.<ref name="thetabletstraightouttabrooklyn">{{cite news | last1=Chana | first1=Jas | title=Straight Outta Brooklyn, by Way of Vermont: The Bernie Sanders Story | url=http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/192931/bernie-sanders-story | access-date=February 12, 2016 | work=The Tablet | date=August 20, 2015 | quote=At James Madison, Bernie Sanders was a talented athlete and a natural leader. Block recalled how the high school's freshmen would look up to him during their senior year track sessions. | archive-date=February 12, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160212080317/http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/192931/bernie-sanders-story | url-status=live}}</ref> Block earned his ] degree in economics from ] and wrote his dissertation on ] in the United States under ].<ref name="walterblock">{{cite web | url=http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/cv/block_cv.pdf | title=Walter Block | type=Curriculum vitae | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819031635/http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/cv/block_cv.pdf | archive-date=August 19, 2019 | website=WalterBlock.com | page=2}}</ref> Block identifies himself as a "devout ]".<ref>{{cite web | last=Block | first=Walter | title=Open Letter to Ron Paul by Walter Block | website=LewRockwell.com | date=December 28, 2007 | url=http://archive.lewrockwell.com/block/block94.html}}</ref>


In an interview, Block stated, "In the fifties and sixties, I was just another commie living in ]."<ref>{{cite magazine | title=Radical Economics: An Interview with Walter Block | work=Austrian Economics Newsletter | date=Summer 1999 | url=https://www.mises.org/journals/aen/aen19_2_1.asp | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914021920/https://www.mises.org/journals/aen/aen19_2_1.asp | archive-date=September 14, 2014}}</ref> Block credits his shift to ] to his having attended a lecture by ] while he was an undergraduate student.<ref name="autobiography" /> Block later attended a luncheon with Rand, ], and ] at which Branden suggested that Block read '']'' by Ayn Rand and '']'' by ].<ref name="autobiography" /> He says that the final push to his conversion came from having met ] and ] theorist ].<ref name="autobiography" /> While Block is an anarcho-capitalist and, unlike the ] followers of Ayn Rand, ultimately opposed to ] or ], and even while criticizing her movement as "cultish", Block still describes himself as "a big fan" of Rand and considers ''Atlas Shrugged'' to be "the best novel ever written."<ref>{{cite AV media | author=((VoluntaryVirtues0com)) | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsdruHEyf5c | title=Walter Block on Triple V Roads, Ron Paul, Property Rights, Abortion, Venus Project, FSP, more | website=YouTube | date=July 5, 2013 | access-date=April 7, 2014}}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |fix-attempted=yes |url=}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2020}}
http://www.walterblock.com/about/
</ref> He currently holds the Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Economics at the J. A. Butt School of Business at ]. A profile of Block on the website of ], calls him an "international titan of freedom movements."<ref>{{cite web|title=Psychology Today|url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/experts/walter-e-block-phd|work=Profile of Walter Block}}</ref><ref name=Facultypage> , ], ''accessed July 31, 2013.''</ref> He is a senior fellow of the ] in Auburn, Alabama.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mises Institute Faculty Listing|url=http://mises.org/faculty|accessdate=31 July 2013}}</ref>


== Professional career ==
==Personal life==
]
Block was born in ] to ] parents Abraham Block, a ], and Ruth Block, a paralegal, both of whom Block has said were ].<ref name="autobiography">Walter Block. "On Autobiography." ''LewRockwell.com''. 4 December 2002. </ref> Block earned his ] degree in economics from ] and wrote his dissertation on ] in the United States under ].<ref name="walterblock"> on Walterblock.com, p. 2.</ref> Block identifies himself as a "devout ]."<ref>Block, Walter. "Open Letter to Ron Paul by Walter Block." ''LewRockwell.com''. 28 December 2007. </ref>
Walter Block received a B.A. in philosophy from ] in 1964 and a PhD in economics from ] in 1972. He taught at the ], ], ] and ]. He now holds the Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Economics at the Butt College of Business, ], in New Orleans.<ref name=Facultypage>{{cite web | url=http://www.business.loyno.edu/bio/walter-block | title=Walter Block faculty page | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131123011315/http://www.business.loyno.edu/bio/walter-block | archive-date=November 23, 2013 | website=] | access-date=July 31, 2013}}</ref>


From 1979 to 1991, Block was the senior economist with the ].<ref name="walterblock" /> He was also a senior fellow at the think-tank ] from 2000–2024, where he has published various blog posts, papers, and books.<ref name=Facultypage /><ref>{{cite web | url=https://mises.org/daily/author/443 | title=Walter Block | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008002549/https://mises.org/daily/author/443 | archive-date=October 8, 2014 | website=] website}}</ref>
In an interview, Block stated, "In the fifties and sixties, I was just another commie living in Brooklyn."<ref>"Radical Economics: An Interview with Walter Block." ''Austrian Economics Newsletter''. Summer 1999. </ref> Block credits his shift to ] to his having attended a lecture with ] while he was an undergraduate student.<ref name="autobiography" /> Block later attended a luncheon with Rand, ], and ] at which Branden suggested that Block read '']'' by Ayn Rand and '']'' by ].<ref name="autobiography" /> He says that the final push to his conversion came from having met ].<ref name="autobiography"/>


In the years since 1971, his work has been published in the '']'', the '']'', the '']'', the '']'', the '']'' and ''Public Choice''<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/cv/block_cv.pdf | title=Walter Block | type=Curriculum vitae | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819031635/http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/cv/block_cv.pdf | archive-date=August 19, 2019 | at=sections on Articles Published in Refereed Journals and Reference Works}}</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107083944/https://link.springer.com/journal/11127 |date=January 7, 2020 }}, publication of ].</ref> and in ] and other popular media.<ref name="psychologytoday">{{cite web | last=Block | first=Walter | title=Psychology Today Blog Index | url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/search/query?keys=walter+block&x=-1319&y=-105 | access-date=August 4, 2013}}</ref> In 2017, he hit the milestone of publishing over 500 peer-reviewed articles.<ref>{{cite AV media | author=TomWoodsTV | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3hQAUE6n3Y | title=Major Milestone: Libertarian Walter Block Looks Back on 500 Peer-Reviewed Articles | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926221052/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3hQAUE6n3Y | archive-date=September 26, 2022 | via=YouTube | date=January 12, 2017 | access-date=September 26, 2022}}</ref>
==Professional career==
]
Walter Block received a B.A. in philosophy from ] in 1964 and a Ph.D. in economics from ] in 1972. He taught at the ], ], ] and ]. He now holds the Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Economics at the Butt College of Business, ], in New Orleans.<ref name=Facultypage/>


== ''Defending the Undefendable'' ==
From 1979 to 1991, Block was the senior economist with the ].<ref name="walterblock" /> He is currently a senior fellow at ], which has published various blog posts of his since 2000.<ref name=Facultypage/><ref> at ] website.</ref>
{{further|Defending the Undefendable}}
Walter Block has written two dozen books.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/cv/block_cv.pdf | title=Walter Block | type=Curriculum vitae | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819031635/http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/cv/block_cv.pdf | archive-date=August 19, 2019 | website=WalterBlock.com | page=1}}</ref> He is best known for his 1976 book '']''.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Murphy | first1=Robert P. | title=A Note on Walter Block's Defending the Undefendable | journal=American Journal of Economics and Sociology | date=2006 | volume=65 | issue=2 | pages=463–467 | doi=10.1111/j.1536-7150.2006.00459.x | url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1536-7150.2006.00459.x | access-date=2021-04-14 | language=en | issn=1536-7150 | quote=Walter Block's amusing and popular Defending the Undefendable offers an intentionally shocking collection of short chapters, each praising a different "rogue" of modern society | archive-date=April 14, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414223557/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1536-7150.2006.00459.x | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Carden | first1=Art | date=August 22, 2020 | title=Happy Birthday to Libertarian Firebrand Walter Block | url=https://www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=13228 | website=independent.org | publication-place=Oakland, California | publisher=Independent Institute | access-date=14 April 2021 | quote=As befits someone who is probably best known for a book titled Defending the Undefendable, Block is no stranger to controversy. | archive-date=April 14, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414122103/https://www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=13228 | url-status=live}}</ref> The book has been translated into ten foreign languages.<ref name="Facultypage" /> ] pundit ] wrote that Block's "eye-opening" book inspired him to see that economics "illuminates what common sense overlooks."<ref>{{cite magazine | author-link=John Stossel | last=Stossel | first=John | url=http://reason.com/archives/2011/08/25/almost-everything-were-taught | title=Almost Everything We're Taught Is Wrong, Using economics to explode fallacies | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702113323/http://reason.com/archives/2011/08/25/almost-everything-were-taught | archive-date=July 2, 2017 | work=] | date=August 25, 2011}}</ref>


== Viewpoints ==
Block's work has been published in the '']'', the '']'', the '']'', the '']'', the '']'' and ''Public Choice''<ref> sections on Articles Published in Refereed Journals and Reference Works.</ref><ref>, publication of ].</ref> and in ] and other popular media.<ref name="psychologytoday">{{cite web|last=Block|first=Walter|title=Psychology Today Blog Index|url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/search/query?keys=walter+block&x=-1319&y=-105|accessdate=4 August 2013}}</ref><ref name="psychologytoday" />
=== Slavery and segregation ===


==== "Voluntary slave contract" ====
==''Defending the Undefendable''==
{{Anarcho-capitalism sidebar|expanded=People}}
{{further|Defending the Undefendable}}
Block believes that people should have the legal right to sell themselves into slavery, or to buy and keep slaves who have sold themselves into slavery, in a libertarian legal order.{{cn|date=February 2024}}
Block has written two dozen books.<ref> on Walterblock.com, p. 1.</ref> He is best known for his 1976 book ''Defending the Undefendable'' which Marcus Epstein describes as defending "pimps, drug dealers, blackmailers, corrupt policemen, and loan sharks as 'economic heroes'".<ref name=Epstein>Marcus Epstein, </ref><ref>Walter Block, book reprint, ], 2008 version.</ref> The book has been translated into ten foreign languages.<ref name="Facultypage" /> ] pundit ] wrote that Block's "eye-opening" book inspired him to see that economics "illuminates what common sense overlooks".<ref>], '''', ], August 25, 2011.</ref>


In an essay on "inalienability" of ], Block defends what he calls a "]", arguing that it is "a bona fide contract where ] crosses hands; when it is abrogated, theft occurs". He notes that ] agrees with him, and critiques the views of the libertarians who disagree. Block seeks to make "a tiny adjustment" which "strengthens libertarianism by making it more internally consistent." He argues that his position shows "that contract, predicated on ] reach to the furthest realms of human interaction, even to voluntary slave contracts."<ref>{{cite journal | first=Walter | last=Block | url=https://mises.org/journals/jls/17_2/17_2_3.pdf | title=Towards a Libertarian Theory of Inalienability: A Critique of Rothbard, Barnett, Smith, Kinsella, Gordon, and Epstein | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702052835/http://mises.org/journals/jls/17_2/17_2_3.pdf | archive-date=July 2, 2014 | work=] | volume=17 | number=2 | date=Spring 2003 | pages=44, 46, 82}}</ref>
==Viewpoints==
{{Libertarianism sidebar}}


==== Slavery and civil rights in the United States ====
==="Voluntary slave contract"===
A January 2014 article in the ''New York Times'' said Block "suggested in an interview that the daily life of the enslaved was 'not so bad – you pick cotton and sing songs.{{'"}}<ref>{{cite news | last1=Tanenhaus | first1=Sam | last2=Ruttenberg | first2=Jim | date=January 25, 2014 | title=Rand Paul's Mixed Inheritance | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/us/politics/rand-pauls-mixed-inheritance.html?_r=0 | work=The New York Times | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216044301/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/us/politics/rand-pauls-mixed-inheritance.html?_r=0 | archive-date=February 16, 2020}}</ref> The piece also reported that Block said ]'s had the right to exclude black people from its lunch counters, asserting that "no one is compelled to associate with people against their will." Block responded to the article by accusing the ''Times'' of libel for taking quotes out of context and claiming the latter quote was not accurate.<ref>{{cite web | last=Block | first=Walter | date=January 30, 2014 | url=http://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/01/walter-e-block/scurrilous-libelous-venomous/ | title=Reply to the Scurrilous, Libelous, Venomous, Scandalous New York Times Smear Campaign | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703012155/https://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/01/walter-e-block/scurrilous-libelous-venomous/ | archive-date=July 3, 2020 | website=LewRockwell.com}}</ref> In his response he called slavery "depraved and monstrous," arguing that it is not the nature of the work slaves perform that makes slavery monstrous, but rather it is the fact that they are forced to perform it and are not free to leave. According to Block's ], forcing a slave to perform pleasant tasks would be no less monstrous because it equally violates the libertarian ]. An ] piece noted that, in response to the story, seventeen faculty members at Block's university publicly called for him to be censured for his "recurring public attacks ... on the civil rights of all." The piece also reported that Reverend Kevin Wildes, the President of Block's university, took the "unusual step" of publicly critiquing his arguments as fallacious.<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Jaschik | first=Scott | date=February 24, 2014 | url=http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/02/24/loyola-new-orleans-discusses-professor-who-defends-segregation | title=Professor Who Defends Segregation | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407144922/https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/02/24/loyola-new-orleans-discusses-professor-who-defends-segregation | archive-date=April 7, 2020 | work=Inside Higher Education}}</ref>
In an essay on "inalienability" of ], Block defends what he calls a "]", arguing that it is "a bona fide contract where consideration crosses hands; when it is abrogated, theft occurs". He notes only ] agrees with him, and critiques the views of the libertarians who disagree. Block seeks to make "a tiny adjustment" which "strengthens libertarianism by making it more internally consistent." He argues that his position shows "that contract, predicated on ] reach to the furthest realms of human interaction, even to voluntary slave contracts."<ref>Walter Block, "." pp. 39–85, '']'', vol. 17, no. 2, Spring 2003, p. 44, p. 48, p. 82 and p. 46</ref>


===Productivity of blacks and women=== === Pay gap for black people and women ===


In a lecture Block called "Injustices in the Politics and Economics of Social Justice"<ref name=":1">Guess, Andy (November 19, 2008). " ]</ref> presented at the invitation of the ] Society of the Economics Department of ] in November 2008, Block asserted that blacks and women were paid less than whites because they are "less productive".<ref name=Epstein/> In a 2008 lecture Block called "Injustices in the Politics and Economics of Social Justice" presented at the invitation of the ] of the Economics Department of ] Block said "blacks and women" were paid less than whites because they are "less productive".<ref name=":1">{{cite magazine | last=Guess | first=Andy | date=November 19, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220151811/http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/11/19/loyola | title=When Austrian Economics and Jesuit Theology Don't Mix | work=] | url=http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/11/19/loyola | archive-date=2008-12-20}}</ref>


In the lecture, Block defended his views on women by alleging that, among younger and unmarried women, there is virtually no income disparity. When asked by an attendee to explain the difference in productivity between blacks and whites, he stated that as an economist he was not qualified to explain the disparity. Block did offer two thoughts that might account for the disparity: first, what he called the "politically correct" explanation, or socioeconomic disparities and historical injustices towards blacks; second, the "political incorrect" explanation, or "lower black IQs".<ref name=Epstein/> In the lecture, Block defended his views on women saying among younger and unmarried women, there is virtually no income disparity. When asked by an attendee to explain the difference in productivity between blacks and whites, he said that as an economist he was not qualified to explain the disparity. Block offered two thoughts that might account for the disparity: first, what he called the "politically correct" explanation, or socioeconomic disparities and historical injustices towards blacks; for the second thought, which he calls the "political incorrect", he refers to R. Herrnstein and C. Murray's book "]".<ref name=":1" />


] wrote in the '']'' that the lecture "ignited a furor", resulting in the president of the university, ], apologizing for what was taken as a "sexist and racist outburst", with Gill opining that, "ideas contrary to fashionable preconceptions are always likely to throw academia into a fit".<ref name=":Gill">Gill, James (November 26, 2008). '']''</ref> ] wrote in the '']'' that the lecture "ignited a furor", resulting in the president of the university, ], apologizing for what was taken as a "sexist and racist outburst", with Gill opining that, "ideas contrary to fashionable preconceptions are always likely to throw academia into a fit".<ref name=":Gill">{{cite news | last=Gill | first=James | date=November 26, 2008 | url=http://blog.nola.com/jamesgill/2008/11/a_tough_sell_in_the_marketplac.html | title=Loyola economics chair Walter Block ignites furor for asserting that women, blacks less productive in workplace | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923092545/http://blog.nola.com/jamesgill/2008/11/a_tough_sell_in_the_marketplac.html | archive-date=September 23, 2013 | work=]}}</ref>


According to ]:
According to ]<blockquote>Perhaps almost as notable as the president's direct response was the condemnation issued jointly by the college's economics department and the Adam Smith Society... ''"It is important to note that the remark was offensive not just because it was racially insensitive, but because it was erroneous and indicated poor-quality scholarship. There is ample scholarly evidence that, after adjusting for productivity-related characteristics (e.g., years of schooling, work experience, union and industry status, etc.) a considerable wage gap remains."''<ref name=":1">Guess, Andy (November 19, 2008). " ]</ref></blockquote>


<blockquote>Perhaps almost as notable as the president's direct response was the condemnation issued jointly by the college's economics department and the Adam Smith Society ... "It is important to note that the remark was offensive not just because it was racially insensitive, but because it was erroneous and indicated poor-quality scholarship. There is ample scholarly evidence that, after adjusting for productivity-related characteristics (e.g., years of schooling, work experience, union and industry status, etc.) a considerable wage gap remains."<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>
In response to the criticisms, Block said he, "regards sensitivity as the enemy of intellectual inquiry and truth."<ref name=":2">Block, Walter (November 18, 2008). ]</ref><ref name=":Gill"/><ref name=Epstein/> In a December 2008 article, Block wrote that the lessons he had learned from the incident were regarding the need for tenure if one wants to speak out, the wisdom of ]’s words that "it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects" while remaining ignorant of economics, and the importance of ]’ motto: "Do not give in to evil, but proceed ever more boldly against it."<ref>Walter Block, , ], December 16, 2008</ref>


Despite the criticism showing evidence questioning the veracity of his statements, Block said he "regards sensitivity as the enemy of intellectual inquiry and truth."<ref name=":Gill" /><ref name=":2">{{cite web | last=Block | first=Walter | date=November 18, 2008 | url=http://archive.lewrockwell.com/block/block112.html | title=A (Not So) Funny Thing Happened to me in Baltimore | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618073051/http://archive.lewrockwell.com/block/block112.html | archive-date=June 18, 2015 | website=]}}</ref> In a December 2008 article, Block wrote that the lessons he had learned from the incident were regarding the need for tenure if one wants to speak out, the wisdom of ]'s words that "it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects" while remaining ignorant of economics, and the importance of ]' motto: "Do not give in to evil, but proceed ever more boldly against it."<ref>{{cite web | first=Walter | last=Block | url=http://archive.lewrockwell.com/2008/12/walter-block/battling-political-correctness/ | title=Battling Political Correctness | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326144909/https://archive.lewrockwell.com/2008/12/walter-block/battling-political-correctness/ | archive-date=March 26, 2022 | website=] | date=December 16, 2008}}</ref>
===Highway privatization===
{{further|Highway privatization|Free-market roads}}


=== Sexual assault ===
Block believes that government management of roads and highways is not only inefficient but also deadly. He argues that "road socialism" causes the deaths of more than 35,000 people in the United States each year. And, although many people blame highway deaths on alcohol, unsafe vehicles, or speeding, Block lays the blame on the government officials who manage the highway system. "It may well be that speed and alcohol are deleterious to safe driving; but it is the road manager’s task to ascertain that the proper standards are maintained with regard to these aspects of safety. If unsafe conditions prevail in a private, multistory parking lot, or in a shopping mall, or in the aisles of a department store, the entrepreneur in question is held accountable."<ref>Block, Walter.'' ''; Auburn, AL: The Mises Institute, 2009</ref>
Block asserts that sexual harassment "that takes place between secretary and her boss is not a coercive action like the pinching that takes place in the public sphere." He claims this is the case since the secretary "agrees to all aspects of the job when she agrees to accept the job and especially when she agrees to keep the job". He calls this a "package-deal". He further differentiates this from acts taking place in public areas as they are not privately owned and therefore there can be no agreement to what he calls the "package-deal", and since the pincher isn't the private owner. He argues that "if pinching and sexual molestation are outlawed in private places, this violates the rights of those who voluntarily wish to engage in such practice." Block argues that the proof of the "voluntary" nature of such an act in a private place is that "the person endangered" (the victim woman) "has no claim whatsoever to the private place in question If she continues to patronize or work at a place where she is molested, it can only be voluntary"<ref>{{cite journal | first=Walter | last=Block | title=On The Women's Liberation, or the Male Chauvinist Pig as Hero | work=] | volume=8 | number=9 | date=September 1975 | pages=5-8, at p. 6}} Republished in {{cite book | editor-last=Rothbard | editor-first=Murray Newton | date=2006 | publication-place=Auburn, Alabama | publisher=Ludwig von Mises Institute | isbn=978-1-933550-02-2 | url=https://cdn.mises.org/Libertarian%20Forum_Volume_1.pdf#page=624 | title=The Complete Libertarian Forum (1969–1984) Volume 1: 1969–1975 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211202355/https://cdn.mises.org/Libertarian%20Forum_Volume_1.pdf#page=624 | archive-date=2019-12-11 | pages=601-604, at p. 602}}</ref>


=== Highway privatization ===
===Punishment of government employees===
{{more|Highway privatization|Free-market roads}}


Block says government management of roads and highways is not only inefficient, but also deadly. He argues that "road socialism" causes the deaths of more than 35,000 people in the United States each year. And, although many people blame highway deaths on alcohol, unsafe vehicles, or speeding, Block lays the blame on the government officials who manage the highway system. "It may well be that speed and alcohol are deleterious to safe driving; but it is the road manager's task to ascertain that the proper standards are maintained with regard to these aspects of safety. If unsafe conditions prevail in a private, multistory parking lot, or in a shopping mall, or in the aisles of a department store, the entrepreneur in question is held accountable."<ref>{{cite report | last=Block | first=Walter | url=http://library.freecapitalists.org/books/Walter%20Block/The%20Privatization%20of%20Roads%20and%20Highways.pdf | title=The Privatization of Roads and Highways: Human and Economic Factors | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216184313/http://library.freecapitalists.org/books/Walter%20Block/The%20Privatization%20of%20Roads%20and%20Highways.pdf | archive-date=December 16, 2014 | publication-place=Auburn, AL | publisher=The Mises Institute | date=2009}}</ref>
Block has written two papers about ] of those engaging in "statist, governmental or other gangster activity". Block argues that there should be "a presumption that all government employees are guilty of a crime against humanity," though he notes that this presumption can be rebutted in many cases, such as that of U.S. Congressman and Mises Institute Senior Fellow ]. Block examines issues like ] of land taken through eminent domain and possible ] against politicians, IRS employees, and others who cooperated in governmental activity. He describes rules by which libertarian "]" might operate.<ref>Walter Block, ", Journal of Libertarian Studies, Volume 22, (2011): 665–665.</ref><ref> Walter Block, ", Libertarian Papers 1, no. 17 (2009): 1–31.</ref>


=== Punishment of government employees ===
===Evictionism (in contrast to abortion)===
Block has written about ] of those engaging in "statist, governmental or other gangster activity". He argues there should be "a presumption that all government employees are guilty of a crime against humanity," though he notes that this presumption can be rebutted in many cases, such as that of U.S. Congressman and Mises Institute Senior Fellow ]. Block examines issues like ] of land taken through ] and possible ] against politicians, IRS employees, and others who cooperated in governmental activity. He describes rules by which ] "]" might operate.<ref>{{cite journal | first=Walter | last=Block | url=https://mises.org/journals/jls/22_1/22_1_33.pdf | title=Toward a Libertarian Theory of Guilt and Punishment for the Crime of Statism | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911030610/http://mises.org/journals/jls/22_1/22_1_33.pdf | archive-date=September 11, 2013 | work=Journal of Libertarian Studies | volume=22 | date=2011 | pages=665–665}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | first=Walter | last=Block | url=https://mises.org/document/3974/ | title=Libertarian Punishment Theory: Working for, and Donating to, the State | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914004054/https://mises.org/document/3974/ | archive-date=September 14, 2014 | work=Libertarian Papers | volume=1 | number=17 | date=2009 | pages=1–31}}</ref>

=== Evictionism (in contrast to abortion) ===
{{further|Evictionism|Libertarian perspectives on abortion|Stem cell controversy}} {{further|Evictionism|Libertarian perspectives on abortion|Stem cell controversy}}


According to Block's ], the act of abortion must be conceptually separated into the acts of the eviction of the ] from the womb, and the ] of the fetus. Building on the libertarian stand against ] and ], Block supports a right to the first act, but, except in certain circumstances, not the second act. Block believes the woman may legally abort if the fetus is not viable outside the womb, or the woman has announced to the world her abandonment of the right to ] of the fetus, and no one else has "]" that right by offering to care for the fetus.<ref> According to Block's ], the act of abortion must be conceptually separated into the acts of the eviction of the ] from the womb, and the ] of the fetus. Building on the libertarian stand against ] and ], Block supports a right to the first act, but, except in certain circumstances, not the second act. Block believes the woman may legally abort if the fetus is not viable outside the womb, or the woman has announced to the world her abandonment of the right to ] of the fetus, and no one else has "]" that right by offering to care for the fetus.<ref>{{cite journal | first=Walter | last=Block | last2=Whitehead | first2=Roy | date=2005 | url=http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/block-whitehead_abortion-2005.pdf | title=Compromising the uncompromisable: A private property rights approach to resolving the abortion controversy | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016080039/http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/block-whitehead_abortion-2005.pdf | archive-date=October 16, 2022 | work=Appalachian Journal of Law | volume=4 | number=1}}<br />
{{cite journal | first=Jakub Bozydar | last=Wisniewski | url=http://libertarianpapers.org/articles/2010/lp-2-16.pdf | title=A Critique of Block on Abortion and Child Abandonment | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016080040/http://libertarianpapers.org/articles/2010/lp-2-16.pdf | archive-date=October 16, 2022 | work=Libertarian Papers | publisher=] | volume=2 | article-number=16 | date=2010}}</ref>
* Walter Block, , , originally published in Appalachian Journal of Law, Vol 4:1.

* Jakub Bozydar Wisniewski, , LibertariansPapers.org, project of ], VOL. 2, ART. NO. 16 (2010)</ref>
He also has written on finding a compromise between those who believe stem cell research is murder and those who favor it. He applies a libertarian theory of private property rights to his premise that even fertilized eggs have human rights and that the relevant issues are competition between researchers and those who wish to adopt the eggs.<ref>{{cite journal | first=Walter | last=Block | pmid=20624766 | title=A Libertarian Perspective on the Stem Cell Debate: Compromising the Uncompromisible | work=Journal of Medicine and Philosophy | volume=35 | date=2010 | pages=429–448}}<br />
{{cite journal | first=Walter | last=Block | url=http://libertarianpapers.org/articles/2010/lp-2-34.pdf | title=Objections to the Libertarian Stem Cell Compromise | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305024719/http://libertarianpapers.org/articles/2010/lp-2-34.pdf | archive-date=March 5, 2012 | work=Libertarian Papers | volume=2 | article-number=34 | date=2010}}</ref>

=== Homesteading ===
==== Blockean Proviso ====

Block argues that if property is "necessary" for others to use, to get to unowned property, they have a easement over it and compared it to a ].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://mises.org/wire/blockean-proviso | first=Stephan | last=Kinsella | title=The Blockean Proviso | website=Mises Wire | date=September 11, 2007 | access-date=August 7, 2021 | archive-date=March 14, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314170432/https://mises.org/wire/blockean-proviso | url-status=live}}</ref> He cites the example of a person with donut shaped land who doesn't allow anyone to get to the middle of his land as incompatible with the logic of ].<ref>{{cite web | first=Lukasz | last=Dominiak | title=The Blockian Proviso and Rationality of Property Rights | website=Libertarian Papers | url=http://libertarianpapers.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/post/2017/05/lp-9-1-6.pdf | date=2017}}</ref>

{{quote|Picture a bagel (or donut) with a hole in it. Label the hole in the center as 'A,' the bagel itself as 'B' and the surrounding territory, lying outside of the bagel, as 'C.' Suppose that someone, call him Mr. B, homesteads the land depicted by B. Assume away any possibility of tunneling under, or bridging or flying a helicopter over this terrain, B. Mr. B, then, controls area A, without ever having lifted a finger in the direction of homesteading this land, A. Yes, as of now, Mr. B does not own A. But, under our assumptions, he can homestead this territory whenever he wants to do so. Mr. B and gained an untoward advantage, vis-à-vis all other potential homesteaders of A, who are now residing in territory C, and cannot reach A, without trespassing on B, Mr. B's property. This, I claim, is incompatible with the logic of homesteading.}}

], who disagreed with Block, ] "The Blockean Proviso" after ]. It has since been called the Blockean or Blockian proviso.<ref>{{cite web | website=Ekonomia | title=Forestalling, Positive Obligations and the Lockean and Blockean Provisos: Rejoinder to Stephan Kinsella* | first1=Walter E. | last1=Block | first2=Joseph A. | last2=Butt | url=https://repozytorium.uni.wroc.pl/Content/94352/PDF/03_Block_W_E_Butt_J_A_Forestalling_Positive_Obligations_and_the_Lockean_and_Blockian_Provisos_Rejoinder_to_Stephan_Kinsella.pdf | date=2016 | access-date=August 7, 2021 | archive-date=August 7, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210807082625/https://repozytorium.uni.wroc.pl/Content/94352/PDF/03_Block_W_E_Butt_J_A_Forestalling_Positive_Obligations_and_the_Lockean_and_Blockian_Provisos_Rejoinder_to_Stephan_Kinsella.pdf | url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Negative homesteading ====

Block has theorized on whether a person acting in self-defense can harm a ] or ] used by an aggressor. Block holds this is legitimate because the human shield is the first victim of the aggressor and, as such, cannot be allowed to pass on their misery to the defending person, the intended second victim of the aggressor. Block calls this "negative homesteading theory".<ref>{{cite journal | last=Jakobsson | first=Carl | date=2010 | url=https://mises.org/journals/jls/22_1/22_1_6.pdf | title=The Negative Homesteading Theory: Rejoinder to Walter Block on Human Body Shields | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910233301/http://mises.org/journals/jls/22_1/22_1_6.pdf | archive-date=September 10, 2013 | work=Journal of Libertarian Studies | volume=22 | number=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | first=Walter | last=Block | url=https://mises.org/journals/jls/22_1/22_1_30.pdf | title=The Human Body Shield | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910232417/http://mises.org/journals/jls/22_1/22_1_30.pdf | archive-date=September 10, 2013 | work=Journal of Libertarian Studies | volume=22 | date=2011 | pages=625–630}}</ref>

=== Foreign policy ===


Block supports a ] foreign policy.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://mises.org/library/toward-libertarian-society | title=Toward a Libertarian Society | date=2014-06-06 | access-date=March 30, 2017 | archive-date=October 21, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021195305/https://mises.org/library/toward-libertarian-society | url-status=live}}</ref> On '']'', he criticized ]'s '']'' editorial on presidential candidate ] and on foreign policy.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.lewrockwell.com/2007/07/walter-e-block/libertarianism-vs-war/ | title=Libertarianism vs. War | website=LewRockwell | access-date=March 30, 2017 | archive-date=April 7, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407144917/https://www.lewrockwell.com/2007/07/walter-e-block/libertarianism-vs-war/ | url-status=live}}</ref>
He also has written on finding a compromise between those who believe stem cell research is murder and those who favor it. He applies a libertarian theory of private property rights to his premise that even fertilized eggs have human rights and that the relevant issues are competition between researchers and those who wish to adopt the eggs.<ref>
*Walter Block, ''Journal of Medicine and Philosophy''.&nbsp; Vol. 35, 2010, p 429–448
*Walter Block, , Libertarian Papers Vol. 2, Art. No. 34, 2010</ref>


==="Negative homesteading"=== === Animal rights ===
Block believes that the libertarian non-aggression principle does not apply to animals and that the right of human owners to kill, torture, or otherwise abuse animals may be an unavoidable corollary of libertarian premises. He articulated this position in a 2017 debate on animal rights, maintaining that groups must be able to petition for rights and respect the rights of others in order to qualify for rights themselves.<ref>{{cite AV media | last=Lucy Steigerwald | title=Animal Rights?: A Debate Between Walter Block and Thomas Raskin | date=2017-08-21 | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEtbzIKPKQI | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/CEtbzIKPKQI | archive-date=2021-12-21 | url-status=live | access-date=2018-01-14}}{{cbignore}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2020}}


== Publications ==
Block has theorized on whether a person defending themselves can harm a ] or ] used by an aggressor while in an act of self-defense. Block holds this is not legitimate but
aggression against the kidnapped hostage who is innocent in the situation. Block calls this "negative homesteading theory."<ref>Jakobsson, Carl. 2010. , ''Journal of Libertarian Studies''. Vol. 22 Num. 1</ref><ref>Walter Block, , Journal of Libertarian Studies, Volume 22 (2011): 625–630.</ref>


==Publications==
=== As author === === As author ===
* '''' (1976; translated into ten foreign languages.<ref name=Facultypage/>) ISBN 0930073053 * '''' (1976; translated into ten foreign languages.<ref name=Facultypage />) {{ISBN|0930073053}}
* ''A Response to the Framework Document for Amending the ]'' (1982) * ''A Response to the Framework Document for Amending the ]'' (1982)
* ''Focus on Economics and the Canadian Bishops'' (1983) * ''Focus on Economics and the Canadian Bishops'' (1983)
* ''Focus on Employment Equity: A Critique of the Abella Royal Commission on Equality in Employment'' (with ]; 1985) * ''Focus on Employment Equity: A Critique of the Abella Royal Commission on Equality in Employment'' (with ]; 1985)
* ''The U.S. Bishops and Their Critics: An Economic and Ethical Perspective'' (1986). ISBN 978-0889750852. {{OCLC|15348791}} * ''The U.S. Bishops and Their Critics: An Economic and Ethical Perspective'' (1986). {{ISBN|978-0889750852}}. {{OCLC|15348791}}
* ''Lexicon of Economic Thought'' (with Michael A. Walker; 1988) ISBN 978-0889750814. {{OCLC|246846272}} * ''Lexicon of Economic Thought'' (with Michael A. Walker; 1988) {{ISBN|978-0889750814}}. {{OCLC|246846272}}
* ''Economic Freedom of the World, 1975–1995'' (with James Gwartney, Robert Lawson; 1996) * ''Economic Freedom of the World, 1975–1995'' (with James Gwartney, Robert Lawson; 1996)
* ''Labor Economics from a Free Market Perspective: Employing the Unemployable'' (2008). ISBN 978-9812705686. {{OCLC|169873717}} * ''Labor Economics from a Free Market Perspective: Employing the Unemployable'' (2008). {{ISBN|978-9812705686}}. {{OCLC|169873717}}
* '''' (2009). ISBN 978-0773458413. {{OCLC|64487353}} * '''' (2009). {{ISBN|978-0773458413}}. {{OCLC|64487353}}
* ''Differing Worldviews in Higher Education: Two Scholars Argue Cooperatively about Justice Education'' (2010) ISBN 978-9460913501 * ''Differing Worldviews in Higher Education: Two Scholars Argue Cooperatively about Justice Education'' (2010) {{ISBN|978-9460913501}}
* '''' (2010). Ludwig von Mises Institute, ISBN 978-1933550916. {{OCLC|717747069}} * '''' (2010). Ludwig von Mises Institute, {{ISBN|978-1933550916}}. {{OCLC|717747069}}
* {{cite book | title=The case for discrimination | date=2010 | publisher=Ludwig von Mises Institute | location=Auburn, Alabama | isbn=978-1-933550-81-7}}
* ''Yes to Ron Paul and Liberty'' (2012). ISBN 978-4871873239. {{OCLC|810904922}}
* ''Yes to Ron Paul and Liberty'' (2012). {{ISBN|978-4871873239}}. {{OCLC|810904922}}
* ''Defending the Undefendable II'' (2013). {{ISBN|978-1908089373}}.
* ''Water Capitalism: The Case for Privatizing Oceans, Rivers, Lakes, and Aquifers'' (2016). {{ISBN|978-1498518826}}.
* ''Space Capitalism: How Humans Will Colonize Planets, Moons, and Asteroids'' (2018). {{ISBN|978-3319746500}}.
* ''The Liberal Case for Israel'' (2021) (with Alan G. Futerman). {{ISBN|9789811639531}}.


=== As editor === === As editor ===
Line 100: Line 130:
* ''Discrimination, Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity'' (Ed. with ]; 1982) * ''Discrimination, Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity'' (Ed. with ]; 1982)
* ''Taxation: An International Perspective'' (Ed. with ]; 1984) * ''Taxation: An International Perspective'' (Ed. with ]; 1984)
* ''Economics and the Environment: A Reconciliation'' (Ed.; 1985; translated into Portuguese 1992) ISBN 0-88975-067-X * ''Economics and the Environment: A Reconciliation'' (Ed.; 1985; translated into Portuguese 1992) {{ISBN|088975067X}}
* ''Morality of the Market: Religious and Economic Perspectives'' (Ed. with ], ]; 1985) * ''Morality of the Market: Religious and Economic Perspectives'' (Ed. with ], ]; 1985)
* ''Theology, Third World Development and Economic Justice'' (Ed. with ]; 1985) * ''Theology, Third World Development and Economic Justice'' (Ed. with ]; 1985)
* ''Reaction: The New Combines Investigation Act'' (Ed.; 1986) * ''Reaction: The New Combines Investigation Act'' (Ed.; 1986)
* ''Religion, Economics & Social Thought'' (Ed. with ]; 1986) * ''Religion, Economics & Social Thought'' (Ed. with ]; 1986)
* '''' (Ed. with ]; 1988) * '''' (Ed. with ]; 1988)
* ''Breaking the Shackles; the Economics of Deregulation: A Comparison of U.S. and Canadian Experience'' (Ed. with George Lermer; 1991) * ''Breaking the Shackles; the Economics of Deregulation: A Comparison of U.S. and Canadian Experience'' (Ed. with George Lermer; 1991)
* ''Economic Freedom: Toward a Theory of Measurement'' (Ed.; 1991) * ''Economic Freedom: Toward a Theory of Measurement'' (Ed.; 1991)
* ''Libertarian Autobiographies'' (Ed.; forthcoming) * ''Libertarian Autobiographies'' (Ed.; forthcoming)


===Articles=== == Notes ==
* "Katrina and the Future of New Orleans" 139, Summer 2007.
* . ] (]) 12 (2): 339–365 (1996).
* {{cite encyclopedia |last1=Block |first1= Walter |editor= ] (ed.) |encyclopedia=] |title=Rent Control |url=http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/RentControl.html |year=2008 |edition= 2nd |publisher=] |isbn=978-0865976658 |oclc=237794267}}
* ''''. (2013) , . . doi:.
* '''' (2014) . doi:.

==Notes==
{{reflist}} {{reflist}}


== External links == == External links ==
{{Portal|Libertarianism|Capitalism|Economics}}
*, College of Business Administration, ].
{{Commons category}}
*
* , College of Business Administration, ].
*
*
* at ].
* {{IMDb name|8159484}}
* at Mises.org.
*
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* at ].
* at Mises.org.
*
* on ]


{{Libertarianism}}
{{Anarcho-capitalism}}
{{Austrian economists}} {{Austrian economists}}
{{Authority control|VIAF=110030376}} {{Authority control}}

{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see ] -->
| NAME =Block, Walter Edward
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= Austrian school economist and libertarian
| DATE OF BIRTH =21 August 1941
| PLACE OF BIRTH =Brooklyn, New York
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Block, Walter}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Block, Walter}}
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Latest revision as of 07:24, 3 October 2024

American born Austrian School economist (born 1941)

Walter Block
Walter Block speaking in May 2016
BornWalter Edward Block
(1941-08-21) August 21, 1941 (age 83)
New York City, U.S.
EducationBrooklyn College (BA)
Columbia University (PhD)
Academic career
FieldPolitical economy, environmental economics, transport economics, political philosophy
School or
tradition
Austrian School
Doctoral
advisor
Gary Becker, William Landes
InfluencesLudwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard, Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Ron Paul, Lew Rockwell, H.L. Mencken
ContributionsEvictionism
Signature
This article is part of a series on
Libertarianism
in the United States
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See also

Walter Edward Block (born August 21, 1941) is an American Austrian School economist and anarcho-capitalist theorist. He was the Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Economics at the School of Business at Loyola University New Orleans and a former senior fellow of the non-profit think-tank Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama.

Personal life

Walter Block was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish parents Abraham Block, a certified public accountant, and Ruth Block, a paralegal, both of whom Block has said were liberals. He attended James Madison High School, where Bernie Sanders was on his track team. Block earned his PhD degree in economics from Columbia University and wrote his dissertation on rent control in the United States under Gary Becker. Block identifies himself as a "devout atheist".

In an interview, Block stated, "In the fifties and sixties, I was just another commie living in Brooklyn." Block credits his shift to libertarianism to his having attended a lecture by Ayn Rand while he was an undergraduate student. Block later attended a luncheon with Rand, Nathaniel Branden, and Leonard Peikoff at which Branden suggested that Block read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt. He says that the final push to his conversion came from having met Austrian School and anarcho-capitalist theorist Murray Rothbard. While Block is an anarcho-capitalist and, unlike the Objectivist followers of Ayn Rand, ultimately opposed to limited or minimal government, and even while criticizing her movement as "cultish", Block still describes himself as "a big fan" of Rand and considers Atlas Shrugged to be "the best novel ever written."

Professional career

Walter Block

Walter Block received a B.A. in philosophy from Brooklyn College in 1964 and a PhD in economics from Columbia University in 1972. He taught at the University of Central Arkansas, Holy Cross College, Baruch College and Rutgers University. He now holds the Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Economics at the Butt College of Business, Loyola University, in New Orleans.

From 1979 to 1991, Block was the senior economist with the Fraser Institute. He was also a senior fellow at the think-tank Ludwig von Mises Institute from 2000–2024, where he has published various blog posts, papers, and books.

In the years since 1971, his work has been published in the Journal of Libertarian Studies, the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, the Review of Austrian Economics, the American Journal of Economics and Sociology, the Journal of Labor Economics and Public Choice and in Psychology Today and other popular media. In 2017, he hit the milestone of publishing over 500 peer-reviewed articles.

Defending the Undefendable

Further information: Defending the Undefendable

Walter Block has written two dozen books. He is best known for his 1976 book Defending the Undefendable. The book has been translated into ten foreign languages. Fox Business Channel pundit John Stossel wrote that Block's "eye-opening" book inspired him to see that economics "illuminates what common sense overlooks."

Viewpoints

Slavery and segregation

"Voluntary slave contract"

Part of a series on
Anarcho-capitalism
Origins
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Block believes that people should have the legal right to sell themselves into slavery, or to buy and keep slaves who have sold themselves into slavery, in a libertarian legal order.

In an essay on "inalienability" of natural and legal rights, Block defends what he calls a "voluntary slave contract", arguing that it is "a bona fide contract where consideration crosses hands; when it is abrogated, theft occurs". He notes that Robert Nozick agrees with him, and critiques the views of the libertarians who disagree. Block seeks to make "a tiny adjustment" which "strengthens libertarianism by making it more internally consistent." He argues that his position shows "that contract, predicated on private property reach to the furthest realms of human interaction, even to voluntary slave contracts."

Slavery and civil rights in the United States

A January 2014 article in the New York Times said Block "suggested in an interview that the daily life of the enslaved was 'not so bad – you pick cotton and sing songs.'" The piece also reported that Block said Woolworth's had the right to exclude black people from its lunch counters, asserting that "no one is compelled to associate with people against their will." Block responded to the article by accusing the Times of libel for taking quotes out of context and claiming the latter quote was not accurate. In his response he called slavery "depraved and monstrous," arguing that it is not the nature of the work slaves perform that makes slavery monstrous, but rather it is the fact that they are forced to perform it and are not free to leave. According to Block's argument, forcing a slave to perform pleasant tasks would be no less monstrous because it equally violates the libertarian non-aggression principle. An Inside Higher Education piece noted that, in response to the story, seventeen faculty members at Block's university publicly called for him to be censured for his "recurring public attacks ... on the civil rights of all." The piece also reported that Reverend Kevin Wildes, the President of Block's university, took the "unusual step" of publicly critiquing his arguments as fallacious.

Pay gap for black people and women

In a 2008 lecture Block called "Injustices in the Politics and Economics of Social Justice" presented at the invitation of the Adam Smith Society of the Economics Department of Loyola College, Baltimore Block said "blacks and women" were paid less than whites because they are "less productive".

In the lecture, Block defended his views on women saying among younger and unmarried women, there is virtually no income disparity. When asked by an attendee to explain the difference in productivity between blacks and whites, he said that as an economist he was not qualified to explain the disparity. Block offered two thoughts that might account for the disparity: first, what he called the "politically correct" explanation, or socioeconomic disparities and historical injustices towards blacks; for the second thought, which he calls the "political incorrect", he refers to R. Herrnstein and C. Murray's book "The Bell Curve".

James Gill wrote in the Times-Picayune that the lecture "ignited a furor", resulting in the president of the university, Reverend Brian F. Linnane, apologizing for what was taken as a "sexist and racist outburst", with Gill opining that, "ideas contrary to fashionable preconceptions are always likely to throw academia into a fit".

According to Inside Higher Ed:

Perhaps almost as notable as the president's direct response was the condemnation issued jointly by the college's economics department and the Adam Smith Society ... "It is important to note that the remark was offensive not just because it was racially insensitive, but because it was erroneous and indicated poor-quality scholarship. There is ample scholarly evidence that, after adjusting for productivity-related characteristics (e.g., years of schooling, work experience, union and industry status, etc.) a considerable wage gap remains."

Despite the criticism showing evidence questioning the veracity of his statements, Block said he "regards sensitivity as the enemy of intellectual inquiry and truth." In a December 2008 article, Block wrote that the lessons he had learned from the incident were regarding the need for tenure if one wants to speak out, the wisdom of Murray Rothbard's words that "it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects" while remaining ignorant of economics, and the importance of Ludwig von Mises' motto: "Do not give in to evil, but proceed ever more boldly against it."

Sexual assault

Block asserts that sexual harassment "that takes place between secretary and her boss is not a coercive action like the pinching that takes place in the public sphere." He claims this is the case since the secretary "agrees to all aspects of the job when she agrees to accept the job and especially when she agrees to keep the job". He calls this a "package-deal". He further differentiates this from acts taking place in public areas as they are not privately owned and therefore there can be no agreement to what he calls the "package-deal", and since the pincher isn't the private owner. He argues that "if pinching and sexual molestation are outlawed in private places, this violates the rights of those who voluntarily wish to engage in such practice." Block argues that the proof of the "voluntary" nature of such an act in a private place is that "the person endangered" (the victim woman) "has no claim whatsoever to the private place in question If she continues to patronize or work at a place where she is molested, it can only be voluntary"

Highway privatization

Further information: Highway privatization and Free-market roads

Block says government management of roads and highways is not only inefficient, but also deadly. He argues that "road socialism" causes the deaths of more than 35,000 people in the United States each year. And, although many people blame highway deaths on alcohol, unsafe vehicles, or speeding, Block lays the blame on the government officials who manage the highway system. "It may well be that speed and alcohol are deleterious to safe driving; but it is the road manager's task to ascertain that the proper standards are maintained with regard to these aspects of safety. If unsafe conditions prevail in a private, multistory parking lot, or in a shopping mall, or in the aisles of a department store, the entrepreneur in question is held accountable."

Punishment of government employees

Block has written about punishment of those engaging in "statist, governmental or other gangster activity". He argues there should be "a presumption that all government employees are guilty of a crime against humanity," though he notes that this presumption can be rebutted in many cases, such as that of U.S. Congressman and Mises Institute Senior Fellow Ron Paul. Block examines issues like restitution of land taken through eminent domain and possible retribution against politicians, IRS employees, and others who cooperated in governmental activity. He describes rules by which libertarian "Nuremberg Trials" might operate.

Evictionism (in contrast to abortion)

Further information: Evictionism, Libertarian perspectives on abortion, and Stem cell controversy

According to Block's moral theory, the act of abortion must be conceptually separated into the acts of the eviction of the fetus from the womb, and the killing of the fetus. Building on the libertarian stand against trespass and murder, Block supports a right to the first act, but, except in certain circumstances, not the second act. Block believes the woman may legally abort if the fetus is not viable outside the womb, or the woman has announced to the world her abandonment of the right to custody of the fetus, and no one else has "homesteaded" that right by offering to care for the fetus.

He also has written on finding a compromise between those who believe stem cell research is murder and those who favor it. He applies a libertarian theory of private property rights to his premise that even fertilized eggs have human rights and that the relevant issues are competition between researchers and those who wish to adopt the eggs.

Homesteading

Blockean Proviso

Block argues that if property is "necessary" for others to use, to get to unowned property, they have a easement over it and compared it to a person who murders a child without feeding it. He cites the example of a person with donut shaped land who doesn't allow anyone to get to the middle of his land as incompatible with the logic of homesteading.

Picture a bagel (or donut) with a hole in it. Label the hole in the center as 'A,' the bagel itself as 'B' and the surrounding territory, lying outside of the bagel, as 'C.' Suppose that someone, call him Mr. B, homesteads the land depicted by B. Assume away any possibility of tunneling under, or bridging or flying a helicopter over this terrain, B. Mr. B, then, controls area A, without ever having lifted a finger in the direction of homesteading this land, A. Yes, as of now, Mr. B does not own A. But, under our assumptions, he can homestead this territory whenever he wants to do so. Mr. B and gained an untoward advantage, vis-à-vis all other potential homesteaders of A, who are now residing in territory C, and cannot reach A, without trespassing on B, Mr. B's property. This, I claim, is incompatible with the logic of homesteading.

Stephan Kinsella, who disagreed with Block, coined the term "The Blockean Proviso" after The Lockean Proviso. It has since been called the Blockean or Blockian proviso.

Negative homesteading

Block has theorized on whether a person acting in self-defense can harm a human shield or hostage used by an aggressor. Block holds this is legitimate because the human shield is the first victim of the aggressor and, as such, cannot be allowed to pass on their misery to the defending person, the intended second victim of the aggressor. Block calls this "negative homesteading theory".

Foreign policy

Block supports a non-interventionist foreign policy. On LewRockwell.com, he criticized Randy Barnett's Wall Street Journal editorial on presidential candidate Ron Paul and on foreign policy.

Animal rights

Block believes that the libertarian non-aggression principle does not apply to animals and that the right of human owners to kill, torture, or otherwise abuse animals may be an unavoidable corollary of libertarian premises. He articulated this position in a 2017 debate on animal rights, maintaining that groups must be able to petition for rights and respect the rights of others in order to qualify for rights themselves.

Publications

As author

As editor

  • Zoning: Its Costs and Relevance for the 1980s (Ed.; 1980)
  • Rent Control: Myths & Realities (Ed. with Edgar Olsen; 1981)
  • Discrimination, Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity (Ed. with Michael A. Walker; 1982)
  • Taxation: An International Perspective (Ed. with Michael A. Walker; 1984)
  • Economics and the Environment: A Reconciliation (Ed.; 1985; translated into Portuguese 1992) ISBN 088975067X
  • Morality of the Market: Religious and Economic Perspectives (Ed. with Geoffrey Brennan, Kenneth Elzinga; 1985)
  • Theology, Third World Development and Economic Justice (Ed. with Donald Shaw; 1985)
  • Reaction: The New Combines Investigation Act (Ed.; 1986)
  • Religion, Economics & Social Thought (Ed. with Irving Hexham; 1986)
  • Man, Economy and Liberty: Essays in Honor of Murray N. Rothbard (Ed. with Lew Rockwell; 1988)
  • Breaking the Shackles; the Economics of Deregulation: A Comparison of U.S. and Canadian Experience (Ed. with George Lermer; 1991)
  • Economic Freedom: Toward a Theory of Measurement (Ed.; 1991)
  • Libertarian Autobiographies (Ed.; forthcoming)

Notes

  1. "About Walter Block". Archived from the original on December 29, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  2. "Mises Institute Faculty Listing". Archived from the original on July 28, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  3. ^ Block, Walter (December 4, 2002). "On Autobiography". LewRockwell.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015.
  4. Chana, Jas (August 20, 2015). "Straight Outta Brooklyn, by Way of Vermont: The Bernie Sanders Story". The Tablet. Archived from the original on February 12, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016. At James Madison, Bernie Sanders was a talented athlete and a natural leader. Block recalled how the high school's freshmen would look up to him during their senior year track sessions.
  5. ^ "Walter Block" (PDF). WalterBlock.com (Curriculum vitae). p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 19, 2019.
  6. Block, Walter (December 28, 2007). "Open Letter to Ron Paul by Walter Block". LewRockwell.com.
  7. "Radical Economics: An Interview with Walter Block". Austrian Economics Newsletter. Summer 1999. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014.
  8. VoluntaryVirtues0com (July 5, 2013). Walter Block on Triple V Roads, Ron Paul, Property Rights, Abortion, Venus Project, FSP, more. YouTube. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
  9. ^ "Walter Block faculty page". Loyola University New Orleans. Archived from the original on November 23, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  10. "Walter Block". Ludwig von Mises Institute website. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014.
  11. "Walter Block" (PDF) (Curriculum vitae). sections on Articles Published in Refereed Journals and Reference Works. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 19, 2019.
  12. Public Choice Archived January 7, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, publication of Springer Science+Business Media.
  13. Block, Walter. "Psychology Today Blog Index". Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  14. TomWoodsTV (January 12, 2017). Major Milestone: Libertarian Walter Block Looks Back on 500 Peer-Reviewed Articles. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022 – via YouTube.
  15. "Walter Block" (PDF). WalterBlock.com (Curriculum vitae). p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 19, 2019.
  16. Murphy, Robert P. (2006). "A Note on Walter Block's Defending the Undefendable". American Journal of Economics and Sociology. 65 (2): 463–467. doi:10.1111/j.1536-7150.2006.00459.x. ISSN 1536-7150. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021. Walter Block's amusing and popular Defending the Undefendable offers an intentionally shocking collection of short chapters, each praising a different "rogue" of modern society
  17. Carden, Art (August 22, 2020). "Happy Birthday to Libertarian Firebrand Walter Block". independent.org. Oakland, California: Independent Institute. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021. As befits someone who is probably best known for a book titled Defending the Undefendable, Block is no stranger to controversy.
  18. Stossel, John (August 25, 2011). "Almost Everything We're Taught Is Wrong, Using economics to explode fallacies". Reason. Archived from the original on July 2, 2017.
  19. Block, Walter (Spring 2003). "Towards a Libertarian Theory of Inalienability: A Critique of Rothbard, Barnett, Smith, Kinsella, Gordon, and Epstein" (PDF). Journal of Libertarian Studies. 17 (2): 44, 46, 82. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 2, 2014.
  20. Tanenhaus, Sam; Ruttenberg, Jim (January 25, 2014). "Rand Paul's Mixed Inheritance". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 16, 2020.
  21. Block, Walter (January 30, 2014). "Reply to the Scurrilous, Libelous, Venomous, Scandalous New York Times Smear Campaign". LewRockwell.com. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020.
  22. Jaschik, Scott (February 24, 2014). "Professor Who Defends Segregation". Inside Higher Education. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020.
  23. ^ Guess, Andy (November 19, 2008). "When Austrian Economics and Jesuit Theology Don't Mix". Inside Higher Education. Archived from the original on December 20, 2008.
  24. ^ Gill, James (November 26, 2008). "Loyola economics chair Walter Block ignites furor for asserting that women, blacks less productive in workplace". Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on September 23, 2013.
  25. Block, Walter (November 18, 2008). "A (Not So) Funny Thing Happened to me in Baltimore". LewRockwell.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015.
  26. Block, Walter (December 16, 2008). "Battling Political Correctness". LewRockwell.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022.
  27. Block, Walter (September 1975). "On The Women's Liberation, or the Male Chauvinist Pig as Hero". The Libertarian Forum. 8 (9): 5–8, at p. 6. Republished in Rothbard, Murray Newton, ed. (2006). The Complete Libertarian Forum (1969–1984) Volume 1: 1969–1975 (PDF). Auburn, Alabama: Ludwig von Mises Institute. pp. 601–604, at p. 602. ISBN 978-1-933550-02-2. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2019.
  28. Block, Walter (2009). The Privatization of Roads and Highways: Human and Economic Factors (PDF) (Report). Auburn, AL: The Mises Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 16, 2014.
  29. Block, Walter (2011). "Toward a Libertarian Theory of Guilt and Punishment for the Crime of Statism" (PDF). Journal of Libertarian Studies. 22: 665–665. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 11, 2013.
  30. Block, Walter (2009). "Libertarian Punishment Theory: Working for, and Donating to, the State". Libertarian Papers. 1 (17): 1–31. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014.
  31. Block, Walter; Whitehead, Roy (2005). "Compromising the uncompromisable: A private property rights approach to resolving the abortion controversy" (PDF). Appalachian Journal of Law. 4 (1). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2022.
    Wisniewski, Jakub Bozydar (2010). "A Critique of Block on Abortion and Child Abandonment" (PDF). Libertarian Papers. 2 16. Ludwig Von Mises Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2022.
  32. Block, Walter (2010). "A Libertarian Perspective on the Stem Cell Debate: Compromising the Uncompromisible". Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. 35: 429–448. PMID 20624766.
    Block, Walter (2010). "Objections to the Libertarian Stem Cell Compromise" (PDF). Libertarian Papers. 2 34. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 5, 2012.
  33. Kinsella, Stephan (September 11, 2007). "The Blockean Proviso". Mises Wire. Archived from the original on March 14, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  34. Dominiak, Lukasz (2017). "The Blockian Proviso and Rationality of Property Rights" (PDF). Libertarian Papers.
  35. Block, Walter E.; Butt, Joseph A. (2016). "Forestalling, Positive Obligations and the Lockean and Blockean Provisos: Rejoinder to Stephan Kinsella*" (PDF). Ekonomia. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 7, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  36. Jakobsson, Carl (2010). "The Negative Homesteading Theory: Rejoinder to Walter Block on Human Body Shields" (PDF). Journal of Libertarian Studies. 22 (1). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2013.
  37. Block, Walter (2011). "The Human Body Shield" (PDF). Journal of Libertarian Studies. 22: 625–630. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2013.
  38. "Toward a Libertarian Society". June 6, 2014. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  39. "Libertarianism vs. War". LewRockwell. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  40. Lucy Steigerwald (August 21, 2017). Animal Rights?: A Debate Between Walter Block and Thomas Raskin. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2018.

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