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The Private Production of Defense
Hans-Hermann Hoppe, a standout pupil of Murray Rothbard and now the foremost Austrian social theorist, is no stranger to seemingly insurmountable theoretical problems. In work after work, Hoppe has made remarkably pioneering insights into social order and the free market.
In The Private Production of Defense, Hoppe takes on one the most difficult subjects in economic and political the provision of security. Addressing those who would claim that only the state can and should supply society with the service of protection, Hoppe argues that in fact it is better provided by free markets than government. In the process he tackles a hundred counterarguments. Here we have an important and exhilarating update and refinement of an argument rarely made even in the libertarian tradition.
And the stakes are high for us. As Hoppe states, "Without the erroneous public perception and judgment of the state as just and necessary and without the public's voluntary cooperation, even the seemingly most powerful government would implode and its powers evaporate. Thus liberated, we would regain our right to self-defense and be able to turn to freed and unregulated insurance agencies for efficient professional assistance in all matters of protection and conflict resolution."
To search for Mises Institute titles, enter a keyword and LvMI (short for Ludwig von Mises Institute); e.g., Depression LvMI
In The Private Production of Defense, Hoppe takes on one the most difficult subjects in economic and political the provision of security. Addressing those who would claim that only the state can and should supply society with the service of protection, Hoppe argues that in fact it is better provided by free markets than government. In the process he tackles a hundred counterarguments. Here we have an important and exhilarating update and refinement of an argument rarely made even in the libertarian tradition.
And the stakes are high for us. As Hoppe states, "Without the erroneous public perception and judgment of the state as just and necessary and without the public's voluntary cooperation, even the seemingly most powerful government would implode and its powers evaporate. Thus liberated, we would regain our right to self-defense and be able to turn to freed and unregulated insurance agencies for efficient professional assistance in all matters of protection and conflict resolution."
To search for Mises Institute titles, enter a keyword and LvMI (short for Ludwig von Mises Institute); e.g., Depression LvMI
30 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 2, 2017
This is a chapter "Democracy: The God That Failed"
April 27, 2018
Hoppe’s weakest argument
While Hoppe makes a moderately good argument for private defense against crime, the argument for private defense as effective against state or other action is far less solid. Fundamentally, he doesn’t know much about the technology of warfare, and in particular any new forms of warfare. He assumes attacks are symmetric and essentially conservative of value; in reality attacks can cause damage far out of proportion to their cost, can be essentially impossible to attribute, and generally can be challenging to deter even as a single entity controlling a majority of the world’s combat power.
While Hoppe makes a moderately good argument for private defense against crime, the argument for private defense as effective against state or other action is far less solid. Fundamentally, he doesn’t know much about the technology of warfare, and in particular any new forms of warfare. He assumes attacks are symmetric and essentially conservative of value; in reality attacks can cause damage far out of proportion to their cost, can be essentially impossible to attribute, and generally can be challenging to deter even as a single entity controlling a majority of the world’s combat power.
November 22, 2018
I like these "light" introductions to interesting topics, like this short and concise book. In this one Hoppe discusses the notion of defense and protection in a hypothical free society. It's hard to judge the feasibility of the picture presented, it certainly seems plausible, but I wonder if it is stable. I remember being skeptic about this, after reading Huemer's The Problem of Political Authority (a wonderful book). Aggression within a free territory could quite likely be dealt with more efficiently by some agency with better aligned incentives than a state, but what happens to the dynamic between protector and protected in a longer perspective? Presumable a free society will be more steeped in the value of non-aggression and respect for private property, as well as be much more heavily armed - are these facts together with competition in the protection market enough to stop potential tyrannical tendencies from protection agencies? Hoppe's idea seems to be that protection will often be provided almost as an ancillary service by insurance companies, which is interesting. The idea that private companies could also protect against state aggression at first seems somewhat ridiculous, but it also seems unlikely that a state would invade a free territory, especially where most of the population is armed. On the contrary, a state where the population is unarmed but has a (weak) state army could be easier to take over, since they are likely to surrender once the army is beaten (plus a state has an infrastructure for controlling its population). Anyhoo, this is a much thought provoking book, well worth a read.
July 8, 2025
I agree with much of what Hoppe says in the beginning of The Private Production of Defense, his critique of state monopolies on security, his defense of private property as the foundation of a free society, and his rejection of coercive taxation are all compelling and consistent with libertarian principles. He effectively highlights the inherent incentives for abuse and inefficiency within state-run legal systems. However, I would definitely disagree with his second-to-last chapter regarding insurance against a statist invasion. Hoppe assumes insurers would act like states without acknowledging that doing so would require state-like powers. How can decentralized firms with profit incentives reliably organize mass defense with a similar arsenal of air defense systems, tanks, artillery, personnel, and so on against centralized, coordinated and strongly equipped aggression?
April 28, 2024
You Can Not Beat a Goood Argument
Hoppe lays out a well illustrated and scholarly backed reasons to support his conclusions. In this work, he walks the reader on a journey of reason and deduction to the most likely conclusion. If one is inclined to fear and believe the State is their solution for safety, then this work may quickly and concisely change their outlook.
Hoppe lays out a well illustrated and scholarly backed reasons to support his conclusions. In this work, he walks the reader on a journey of reason and deduction to the most likely conclusion. If one is inclined to fear and believe the State is their solution for safety, then this work may quickly and concisely change their outlook.
March 8, 2022
This is an interesting, concise book. I like the ideas presented and agree with them in theory. The difficulty would be persuading enough people to work at transforming these theories into concrete reality.
June 8, 2022
Good in theory but lacks actual historical examples of the proposed mechanism working especially in the context of defense against state aggression. I find the idea that a state aggressor wouldn't be able to fabricate an excuse to attack free private land ridiculous and contradicting history.
November 4, 2020
An excellent short book about the possibility - and necessity - of privatizing the production of defense and security.
October 25, 2023
Too short and avoids deep examination of the author's suggested solutions.
November 23, 2023
What would happen if we abolished the police
January 2, 2020
The book is interesting and well written but Hoppe shows logical inconsistencies in his ideas on immigration, for seemingly no other reason than to be discriminatory. There is no place for discrimination or nationalism in libertarianism social or economic policy; libertarianism is individualist through and through. Hoppe's conveyance of racist collectivist utilitarianism in lieu of ethical egoism is a detriment to individualism.
In short, while I may agree with concepts of private defense put forth in this particular publication, Hoppe can shove his collectivist ideas about people of other ethnicities straight up his pompous ass.
In short, while I may agree with concepts of private defense put forth in this particular publication, Hoppe can shove his collectivist ideas about people of other ethnicities straight up his pompous ass.
January 18, 2020
This book deals with how private insurance companies will take charge of defending properties and property rights by deploying private security forces and firefights. But as with any libertarian concepts, there are obvious loopholes that this book doesn't address.
February 11, 2017
Hoppe achieves his intended purpose with "The Private Production of Defense." Most of those that read this work likely are not convinced of the idea of private defense (versus defense provided through coercion of taxpayers by the state). At the very least, this long essay will provoke thought.
Hoppe's thesis is that we do not need the coercion of the state to provide defense to the citizenry. Hoppe states that the state is inefficient at everything it does, hence it is less efficient at providing defense than voluntary markets. Also, he believes that the existence of the state results in far more aggression than would otherwise exist. Because governments are funded through coercive taxation, governments are able to externalize the costs of their aggressive behavior onto their citizens. In contrast, private actors would become uninsurable (and thus far more vulnerable to attacks from others) if they are aggressive. They bear the entire cost of aggressive behavior. Also, Hoppe convincingly makes the point that state warfare is far more likely to lead to indiscriminate violence and destruction than would private warfare. If defense was provided by insurance agencies (people would pay premiums to insurance agencies to protect their property from aggressive attack by others, so insurance agencies would devise the best and most cost-effective ways to minimize losses), measures by the insurance agencies would aim to recover property and attack those directly responsible for the initial aggressive behavior. If a foreign government attacked me and other property owners nearby, the insurance agency (or agencies) would attack that government's leaders directly, as they are the source of the aggressive behavior. The company would have no reason to pillage the foreign country's citizenry. In contrast, when two states enter war, the incentives lead to targeting the citizenry and the military. Because the citizenry pays the taxes to fund the war, those citizens are just as integral a part of the enemy force as the military itself. Though total warfare does not always result from war between two states, the incentives tend to lead in that direction.
I highly recommend this to everyone if for no other reason than to challenge one's own assumptions. Hoppe writes in a straightforward and easy-to-understand manner. If you enjoy this work, you likely would also enjoy Bob Murphy's "Chaos Theory: Two Essays on Market Anarchy," a more recent work that explores many of the same ideas. Both "The Private Production of Defense" and "Chaos Theory" are available legally for free through the Ludwig von Mises Institute website in PDF and .epub formats.
Hoppe's thesis is that we do not need the coercion of the state to provide defense to the citizenry. Hoppe states that the state is inefficient at everything it does, hence it is less efficient at providing defense than voluntary markets. Also, he believes that the existence of the state results in far more aggression than would otherwise exist. Because governments are funded through coercive taxation, governments are able to externalize the costs of their aggressive behavior onto their citizens. In contrast, private actors would become uninsurable (and thus far more vulnerable to attacks from others) if they are aggressive. They bear the entire cost of aggressive behavior. Also, Hoppe convincingly makes the point that state warfare is far more likely to lead to indiscriminate violence and destruction than would private warfare. If defense was provided by insurance agencies (people would pay premiums to insurance agencies to protect their property from aggressive attack by others, so insurance agencies would devise the best and most cost-effective ways to minimize losses), measures by the insurance agencies would aim to recover property and attack those directly responsible for the initial aggressive behavior. If a foreign government attacked me and other property owners nearby, the insurance agency (or agencies) would attack that government's leaders directly, as they are the source of the aggressive behavior. The company would have no reason to pillage the foreign country's citizenry. In contrast, when two states enter war, the incentives lead to targeting the citizenry and the military. Because the citizenry pays the taxes to fund the war, those citizens are just as integral a part of the enemy force as the military itself. Though total warfare does not always result from war between two states, the incentives tend to lead in that direction.
I highly recommend this to everyone if for no other reason than to challenge one's own assumptions. Hoppe writes in a straightforward and easy-to-understand manner. If you enjoy this work, you likely would also enjoy Bob Murphy's "Chaos Theory: Two Essays on Market Anarchy," a more recent work that explores many of the same ideas. Both "The Private Production of Defense" and "Chaos Theory" are available legally for free through the Ludwig von Mises Institute website in PDF and .epub formats.
March 30, 2013
To go from A to B is sometimes very hard. Before this book, I simply that that privatizing defense of all things would be absolutely crazy. Point A: the idea is so impossible that it's not worth considering.
Now I am convinced at least to Point B: it just might work. If you've read the synopsis and realized you're at Point A, give this a try. It's a nice, quick read. Hoppe takes you step-by-step through the problem, solution, and objections.
If there's anything that held me back from giving it 5 stars, it's that I'm not 100% convinced that it would work. It could work, but given the state of the average person's beliefs, it would be hard to implement. But I can't blame Hoppe for the whole of society, I guess.
Loved it.
Now I am convinced at least to Point B: it just might work. If you've read the synopsis and realized you're at Point A, give this a try. It's a nice, quick read. Hoppe takes you step-by-step through the problem, solution, and objections.
If there's anything that held me back from giving it 5 stars, it's that I'm not 100% convinced that it would work. It could work, but given the state of the average person's beliefs, it would be hard to implement. But I can't blame Hoppe for the whole of society, I guess.
Loved it.
May 28, 2014
If I read Friedman and thought he was bordering on insane, I am not sure what to make of Hoppe. The idea of doing away with the state is inconceivable. In Hoppe's utopia with the private defense production theory with only insurance agencies and private property owners, there would still be the need for regulation and prevention of crime. Or is my mind too ingrained in the idea of a state that I am not able to imagine such a state of affairs?
A book with an incredulous, yet incredible idea.
A book with an incredulous, yet incredible idea.
July 8, 2015
More an essay than a book, Hoppe builds on Molinari and Rothbard and to outline a credible non-monopolistic private mechanism for insuring against the risk of aggression from persons and states. A good analysis of the incentives at play and how the mandatory state-run systems are corrupted and how a private mechanism would be an improvement.
August 23, 2012
Short, delightful, and a little fantastic. Quite an eye opener.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews