Property and Freedom Podcast

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 303. This talk is from the recently-concluded 19th annual PFS 2025 Annual Meeting (Sep. 18–23, 2025, Bodrum, Turkey). Other talks appear on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2025 Youtube Playlist. Jeff Deist (USA): Understanding Post-Persuasion America [Sebastian Wang, “Jeff Deist on Post-Persuasion America – PFS Bodrum 2025,” Libertarian Alliance [UK] Blog (Sep. 20, 2025)]

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 302. This talk is from the recently-concluded 19th annual PFS 2025 Annual Meeting (Sep. 18–23, 2025, Bodrum, Turkey). Thorsten Polleit (Germany): Stanislav Andreski’s Social Sciences as Sorcery (1972): Known Errors, Deceptions and Intellectual Corruption That Endure [Polleit, “Stanislav Andreski’s Social Sciences as Sorcery: Enduring Errors and Academic Corruption – Thorsten Polleit, PFS Bodrum 2025,” Libertarian Alliance [UK] Blog (Sep. 20, 2025)] Other talks appear on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2025 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 301. This panel discussion is from the recently-concluded 19th annual PFS 2025 Annual Meeting (Sep. 18–23, 2025, Bodrum, Turkey). Alessandro Fusillo (Italy), Anthony Daniels (Dalrymple) (England), David Dürr (Switzerland), Sean Gabb (England), Stephan Kinsella (USA), Discussion, Q&A. Shownotes and transcript below. Other talks appear on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2025 Youtube Playlist. Grok shownotes PFP301 | Fusillo, Daniels, Dürr, Gabb, Kinsella Discussion & Q&A (PFS 2025) In this lively Q&A session from the Property and Freedom Society 2025 conference, panelists Alessandro Fusillo, Anthony Daniels (Theodore Dalrymple), David Dürr, Sean Gabb, and Stephan Kinsella field audience questions on Swiss anarchism, ancient and modern slavery, voluntary contracts, gun culture, immigration in a stateless society, and the libertarian implications of pirate governance. Key Topics & Highlights: [0:02] The Röstigraben & Swiss Anarchism David Dürr explains the “Röstigraben” — the cultural and linguistic divide between German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland — as a symbolic fault line reflecting resistance to centralization in Bern. He suggests that Swiss federalism’s horizontal structure may naturally evolve into anarchic coexistence, especially under external pressure from larger blocs. [4:40] Slave Manumission in Ancient Rome Sean Gabb discusses the high turnover of slaves in elite Roman households, driven by moral obligation, commercial incentives, and legal loopholes (e.g., freeing slaves to avoid torture-based testimony). While urban and domestic slaves often gained freedom, rural and mining slaves had near-zero prospects — fueling revolts like Spartacus. [9:32] Switzerland 2048: A Path to Anarcho-Capitalism? Dürr presents his speculative book imagining Switzerland stateless by 2048. Triggered by financial collapse — rating agencies downgrading federal bonds amid tax resistance — he views the state as a 5,000-year evolutionary mismatch with human nature, destined to fail. [14:31] Panel Debate: Is Voluntary Slavery Libertarian? Kinsella: Firmly rejects Walter Block’s defense of voluntary slavery contracts. Following Rothbard, he argues that the human will is inalienable and forms the foundational basis of self-ownership — not homesteading or external acquisition. Thus, no verbal or written declaration can alienate one’s body or future liberty. He dismisses Block’s extreme hypothetical (a father selling himself to fund his son’s cancer treatment) as far-fetched and unconvincing. Kinsella acknowledges historical uses of slavery contracts in Rome as pragmatic workarounds (e.g., to bypass citizenship restrictions), but insists these were artifacts of a statist legal order — not justifications for permitting such contracts in a free society. As a hypothetical libertarian judge, he would void any slavery contract ab initio on public policy grounds, equating it to enforcing a murder-for-hire agreement. Dürr: Allows limited, time-bound voluntary membership in restrictive organizations — but never enforceable on non-signers. Gabb: Observes many prefer unfreedom (e.g., prisoners recidivating for structure). Fusillo: Calls state citizenship the true modern “voluntary” slavery — an invalid contract enabling conscription and human sacrifice. [24:54] Ancient vs. Modern Slavery Gabb contrasts race-based, hereditary New World slavery with the ancient world’s fluid, meritocratic version. Freed Roman slaves blended in; freed American slaves remained visibly marked. Roman law offered more humane provisions than English common law. [28:18] Swiss Gun Culture & Decentralization Dürr links Switzerland’s militia tradition (guns kept at home) to its decentralized ethos. Recent regulations reflect growing statism, but in anarchy, private defense services would emerge via market demand — not top-down control. [34:32] Immigration Without a State Dürr argues welfare magnetism, not open borders, drives mass migration. In a stateless society, competing charities and communities would fund aid selectively, reducing abuse and scale compared to monopolized state programs. [37:26] Pirates, Property, and the American Revolution Fusillo reveals his talk’s inspiration: pirate ships as proto-anarchist societies with democratic constitutions. Drawing on Peter Leeson’s The Invisible Hook, he ties pirate loot markets in colonial America to anti-elite sentiment. Were slave plantations “legitimate” property? Pirate theft, like early industrial displacement, raises Rothbardian questions about just title — challenging Marxist and mainstream histories alike. A wide-ranging, provocative discussion blending history, law, psychology, and radical political theory — essential listening for libertarians and anarcho-curious alike. Grok/youtube transcript Röstigraben and Swiss Cultural Divide [0:02] Unidentified S

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 300. This talk is from the recently-concluded 19th annual PFS 2025 Annual Meeting (Sep. 18–23, 2025, Bodrum, Turkey). David Dürr (Switzerland): A Brief History of Swiss Anarchism [Sebastian Wang, “David Dürr on Swiss Anarchism – Property and Freedom Society Bodrum 2025,” Libertarian Alliance [UK] Blog (Sep. 21, 2025)] Shownotes and transcript below. Other talks appear on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2025 Youtube Playlist. Grok shownotes PFP300 Show Notes: David Dürr – A Brief History of Swiss Anarchism (PFS 2025) Overview In his 10th PFS appearance (coinciding with the conference’s 20th anniversary), Swiss lawyer and anarchist thinker David Dürr traces Switzerland’s history through the lens of external and internal anarchism: no vertical integration into larger empires (external) and no centralized monopoly of power within (internal). Far from chaos, anarchism here means voluntary, horizontal structures and resistance to coercion. Key Historical Arc Ancient Roots: Helvetii tribes resist Roman yoke (100 BC); early fragmentation hints at anarchist tendencies. Medieval Emergence: Switzerland forms in the 13th century as Habsburgs expand—small valleys and towns band together in defense pacts (Rütli Oath, William Tell myths). Holy Roman Empire Era: Switzerland remains a loose, recognized entity among larger blocks; internally a patchwork of cantons, towns, and languages. 1515 Marignano Debacle: Attempt to conquer northern Italy fails spectacularly—Swiss lack of centralized command proves both weakness and strength; retreat preserves autonomy. Westphalia (1648): Formal external recognition; internal diversity intact. Napoleonic Interruption: Helvetic Republic (1798–1803) briefly centralizes; Napoleon admits he cannot coordinate the quarrelsome Swiss. Vienna Congress (1815): Restores loose confederation of 22 sovereign cantons—peak of dual anarchy. The Turning Point: Sonderbund War (1847–48) Liberal Protestant cantons illegally force Catholic conservative cantons into a unified federal state via majority vote (no required unanimity). Dürr calls this an illegal coup d’état that ends internal anarchism and creates the modern Swiss Confederation. Modern External Anarchism Switzerland stays out of NATO and EU; rejects EEA in 1992 by razor-thin margin. Ongoing EU pressure via new bilateral treaties—resistance weakening. Why the Center Cannot Hold Switzerland lacks unifying glue: Two main religions (Protestant north/west, Catholic center/south). Urban/rural cultural divide. 26 cantons competing on taxes. 4 national languages (German, French, Italian, Romansh). Dürr predicts breakup by 2048 (Schlussbericht 2048—a satirical “final report” from a dissolved Confederation). Philosophical Coda Rejects “nation of will” (Willsnation) as Hobbesian fiction: Leviathan’s composite body has many people but one head. Real unity comes from diverse individual wills, not a mythical collective one. Teases his pet topic: even strong individual wills are not truly “free”… but that’s another story. Books Mentioned Schlussbericht 2048 (German; fictional dissolution narrative). Staat oder Oper (the state as grand theatrical illusion). A witty, map-rich romp through 2,000 years—proving Switzerland is less a nation than a stubborn anarchist experiment still running. Grok/Youtube transcript PFP300 | David Dürr: A Brief History of Swiss Anarchism (PFS 2025) Introduction and Anniversary Reflections [0:00] Don’t applaud too early. You have to endure me now for the 10th time already. This is my 10th anniversary as a speaker at PFS, which coincides with the 20th anniversary of your conference. So that’s a big honor for me, of course, and many thanks again for the invitation to Guido and Hans. Topic Selection and the Cradle of Anarchism [0:28] As usual, since about two or three years, I made a proposition to Hans: what about the topic of free will, which is not free but it’s very useful that we think it’s free? And he always says, “Oh, David, that’s another story. Why won’t you speak about Javier Milei?” That was last year. Or, “Why won’t you speak about a brief history of Swiss anarchism?” That’s a fine idea, that’s a suggestion. I think it’s a good one and not that other story with the free will. [1:20] Now, a brief history of Swiss anarchism. This is really something interesting. One could even say that a brief history of Switzerland is anarchism. Maybe this is a fairly good example of anarchism. However you define it, one can say some people say that in 1976 there was a football club Bakunin, and they said—this is what I found on the internet—in 1976 they said Switzerland is the cradle of anarchism. This is a football game of young people; at that time this was about like Hans looked like as a young leftist revolutionary. Maybe he did not play football, I do not know. But when they

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 299. This talk is from the recently-concluded 19th annual PFS 2025 Annual Meeting (Sep. 18–23, 2025, Bodrum, Turkey). Alessandro Fusillo (Italy): The Pirates of the Caribbean as Forebears of the Libertarians and of the American Revolution [Sebastian Wang, “Pirates, Liberty, and Revolution: Alessandro Fusillo in Bodrum,” Libertarian Alliance [UK] Blog (Sep. 19, 2025)] Shownotes and transcript below. Other talks appear on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2025 Youtube Playlist. Grok shownotes PFS Conference Talk: “Pirates of the Caribbean – A Libertarian Perspective” Hans Gillshin opens with humor about his non-piratical attire and thanks the audience at the Property and Freedom Society (PFS) conference. He frames the talk with St. Augustine’s famous quote (via Cicero) equating kingdoms without justice to large-scale robbery, as recounted in the story of Alexander the Great and a captured pirate. Historical Context (17th Century) The 1648 Treaty of Westphalia births the modern state, ending medieval liberties. The Thirty Years’ War introduces mass destruction, secret services, and centralized legislation. England’s 1640s Civil War (often overshadowed by later revolutions) features Levellers, religious freedom advocates, and figures like John Lilburne (“Freeborn John”). The 1688 Glorious Revolution establishes the Bank of England—model for all future central banks—enabling unlimited war financing via fiat money. Enclosure Acts expropriate medieval common lands, creating a rural proletariat, urban migration, and forced impressment into the Royal Navy. Displaced English, Scottish, and Irish peasants become the first chattel slaves in the West Indies (7-year terms), predating African slavery. The Golden Age of Piracy (ca. 1713–1726) Post-War of Spanish Succession, mutinies on brutal navy and merchant ships spawn pirate crews. Pirates fly the Jolly Roger; merchant crews often force captains to surrender and voluntarily join. Pirate justice: captains tried by crew; tyrants executed, fair ones (e.g., Captain Snellgrave) spared. Non-pirates set adrift with provisions; violence targeted oppressors, not random cruelty. Pirates attack slave ships to free captives—leading to significant Black crew members and even captains. British pardon laws and mock “forced enlistment” defenses briefly reduce piracy, but by 1726 most pirates are hanged. Pirate Governance & Libertalia Primary source: A General History of the Pyrates (Captain Charles Johnson, likely Daniel Defoe). Notable pirates: Henry Every (romantic treasure legend) and Blackbeard (terror via flaming beard). Highlight: French pirate Olivier Misson (possibly fictional) and ex-priest Caraccioli found Libertalia in Madagascar—a libertarian anarchist society based on John Locke’s principles. Universal pirate practice: every ship had a signed charter—egalitarian shares (captain 1.5–2×), revocable leadership, and a quartermaster as crew tribune. Many crews issued formal declarations of war against all states. Conclusion Pirates were not mere criminals but rebels against tyranny, slavery, and state power—early fighters for individual liberty. Gillshin closes to applause, suggesting the talk may reframe popular views of piracy. Grok/Youtube transcript Introduction and Thanks [0:01] Hans Gillshin, as usual I will start with thanking you for the invitation here at the PFS conference. It’s a great pleasure to be here year after year and a great honor to be invited as a speaker. Hans previously drew my attention to the fact that my attire today is not in line with my topic. I should have sported at least an eye patch or a peg leg or hired a local parrot to have him on my shoulder. But okay, we will do without. Topic Announcement: Pirates of the Caribbean [0:37] Today’s topics are the Pirates of the Caribbean and piracy in general. St. Augustine’s Quote on Piracy and Empire [0:45] I will start with a quote from St. Augustine, a very famous quote that he got from Cicero. It’s a story of Alexander the Great’s fleet navigating through the Mediterranean. They caught a pirate ship and as he was about to execute the pirate as a criminal, the pirate said to Alexander, “What have you in mind? What do you think, trying to rob all people and to seize the other ships? This is completely illegal.” And the pirate answered, “What thou meanest by seizing the whole earth, but because I do it with a petty ship, I am called a robber, whilst thou dost it with a great fleet, art styled an emperor.” The legend goes—maybe it’s not so much a legend—that Alexander the Great had two possible finales for this story. The first one, the nicer one, is that Alexander the Great was so pleased by the answer that he spared the pirate’s life. The other one is that he executed him nonetheless after having a good laugh at his response. In

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 298. This talk is from the recently-concluded 19th annual PFS 2025 Annual Meeting (Sep. 18–23, 2025, Bodrum, Turkey). Anthony Daniels (Dalrymple) (England): The Worldly Adventures of a Skeptical Doctor. Shownotes and transcript below. Other talks appear on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2025 Youtube Playlist. Grok shownotes Theodore Dalrymple – Snapshots of a Life (20th Anniversary Conference Talk) In this reflective lecture, Theodore Dalrymple (pen name of psychiatrist Anthony Daniels) shares personal anecdotes instead of a formal intellectual biography, emphasizing how formative experiences shaped his worldview. Key Themes & Stories: Childhood & Resilience: A close friend paralyzed by polio thrived despite disability, thanks to family focus on capability—not victimhood—prompting Dalrymple’s lifelong rejection of the “cult of the victim.” Early Encounters with Cruelty & Cowardice: At age 11, witnessing youths mock a blind street musician revealed both human malice and his own failure to intervene due to fear. Death of a Friend & Bureaucratic Inertia: A brilliant 15-year-old classmate died from an asthma attack delayed by ambulance red tape; his mother’s bitter wish (“Why not the other one?”) exposed the complexity of grief and the peril of overreach in seeking “cosmic justice.” Rhodesia (Zimbabwe): Working as a young doctor, he observed efficiency born of necessity under sanctions, stark income disparities due to tribal obligations, and the predictable collapse into corruption post-independence. Tanzania: Julius Nyerere’s admired socialist experiment in collectivized agriculture failed despite massive Scandinavian/Dutch aid, confirming Peter Bauer’s quip: foreign aid transfers from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor ones. Trans-African Journey (1986): Traveling overland from Zanzibar to Timbuktu, he met only kindness—contrasting spontaneous vs. indoctrinated hostility—and viewed bribery as informal taxation in unpaid bureaucracies. Liberia (Monrovia): Amid civil war, he witnessed deliberate, hate-fueled destruction of civilization (e.g., sawn-off hospital trolleys, a defiled Steinway piano), symbolizing fragility journalists dismissed as trivial. Nauru: Sudden phosphate wealth turned a subsistence island into the world’s richest per capita—then into obesity, diabetes, and collapse, proving unearned prosperity is no blessing. Guatemala & Peru: Communist guerrillas were led not by peasants but by frustrated, over-educated elites denied expected status—echoed in Sendero Luminoso’s origins at a revived provincial university. North Korea: A clandestine whisper from a language student—“Reading Dickens and Shakespeare is the only joy of my life”—revealed literature’s power to preserve individual voice under totalitarianism. British Prisons & Slums: Decades as a prison psychiatrist exposed a deeper poverty: not economic, but of soul, intellect, and meaning—where false ideas about addiction became institutional orthodoxy via sentimentality and self-interest. Closing Reflection: Citing Dr. Johnson’s Rasselas (“The Conclusion in Which Nothing Is Concluded”), Dalrymple offers no life prescriptions—only that reading and lived experience must dialectically inform each other to avoid pedantry or shallowness. A candid, contrarian meditation on human nature, civilization’s fragility, and the unintended consequences of ideology. Grok transcript Opening Thanks and Personal Authority 0:00 [Applause] Well, ladies and gentlemen, first as ever I should like to thank Hans and Gulchin for their very gracious hospitality, and second I should like to congratulate them on the 20th anniversary of this conference. I have never organized anything in my life and so I admire organizers, especially people who organize something that is as pleasant as this conference. But I have a third reason to thank Hans this year, because I think I have been to maybe 10 or 12 of these conferences—I do not remember how many—because he has at last asked me to speak on a subject on which I am a world authority, namely myself. Limits of Truth in Autobiography 0:58 This does not mean of course that I will tell you the whole truth about myself for two reasons. First, no one knows everything about himself, and secondly everyone has something to hide. But as a Victorian English novelist, Anthony Trollope, said in the introduction to his autobiography, I shall not tell the whole truth, but everything that I say shall be true. Snapshots of Influential Events 1:28 I thought that instead of presenting what might rather grandiosely be called my intellectual development—assuming that there has been any—I would give you a few snapshots of events and processes that have been important to me. The effect of some of these events takes years to develop because the mind can be like a frying pan or it can be like a slow cooker o

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 297. This talk is from the recently-concluded 19th annual PFS 2025 Annual Meeting (Sep. 18–23, 2025, Bodrum, Turkey). Stephan Kinsella (USA): “Where The Common Law Goes Wrong.” Also podcast at KOL474 | Where The Common Law Goes Wrong (PFS 2025), which contains the transcript and shownotes. See also Sebastian Wang, “Stephan Kinsella on the Common Law: Lessons from Bodrum 2025,” Libertarian Alliance [UK] Blog (Sep. 19, 2025). Other talks appear on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2025 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 296. This talk is from the recently-concluded 19th annual PFS 2025 Annual Meeting (Sep. 18–23, 2025, Bodrum, Turkey). Sean Gabb (England): Roman Law and Contractual Slavery [Sebastian Wang, “Roman Slavery: Horror and Paradox – Sean Gabb in Bodrum,” Libertarian Alliance [UK] Blog (Sep. 20, 2025)] Transcript and shownotes below. Other talks appear on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2025 Youtube Playlist. Grok shownotes Show Notes: “Ancient Slavery: A Very Peculiar Institution” Speaker: Unnamed (invited by Hans and Gulchin) Source: YouTube lecture (Nov 2025 transcript) TL;DR Ancient slavery was overwhelmingly brutal—most died young under the lash—but a significant minority repurposed the institution for social mobility: voluntary enslavement, manumission after 7 years, and instant Roman citizenship upon freedom. Evidence: thousands of 2nd–3rd century AD gravestones of ex-slaves who married their former owners or rose to elite status. Key Sections & Takeaways Intro & Framing [0:01] Thanks to hosts; title borrows from Jefferson’s “peculiar institution.” History = “nightmare” (Jefferson) or “catalog of vices” (Voltaire). Modern Lens [1:13] Since 1970s, slavery overshadows classical studies; some can’t enjoy Livy, Tacitus, or Roman architecture. Default Experience [2:12] Most slaves: chain-gang labor in fields/quarries → death by late 20s/early 30s. Universal but Uncomfortable [3:20] Slavery existed in every pre-modern society. Greeks & Romans knew it was “unnatural” yet justified it (“some are born for slavery”). Horror Highlights [4:51] Vedius Pollio (1st c. BC): fed slaves to lampreys; Augustus intervened. Galen (2nd c. AD): boasted never striking slaves with his hand—used rods/whips instead. Brothels, gladiators, casual violence. Counter-Image [8:50] Alma-Tadema painting: boredom & despair more typical than melodrama. Manumission as Control [9:56] Household slaves: promise freedom after 5–10 yrs → incentive for obedience. Roman twist: freed slave of a citizen → full citizen (minus Senate/office unless dispensation). Children 100 % free-born citizens. Social Mobility Evidence [12:39] Horace’s father: ex-slave. Multiple emperors had slave grandfathers. Gravestone Gallery (British Museum & others) [13:23] Dasumius (2nd c.): freed & married his slave; heartbroken when she died first. Pattern: hundreds–thousands of stones across Mediterranean: Master frees female slave → marriage. Often the master himself was ex-slave. Even humble sailors & priests did it. Where Did Peace-Time Greek Slaves Come From? [19:42] War captives explain 2nd–1st c. BC glut (Carthage 60 k, Marius 140 k, Pompey+Caesar >1 M). But 2nd–3rd c. AD Greek ex-slaves = no wars in Greece. Answer: contractual/voluntary slavery. Contractual Slavery = Ancient Student Loan [20:44] Certain lucrative jobs (vilicus, dispensator, accountant) legally restricted to slaves. Free poor sold themselves → master paid training/transport → 7-yr service → freedom + citizenship. Roman jurists confirm legality; concern was only fraud/coercion. Citizenship Hack [28:18] Pre-212 AD, citizenship rare. Sell yourself to a citizen → instant manumission → citizen. Cicero called it “disreputable” but common. Star Example: Antonius Felix [26:11] Greek slave → freed by Claudius → knight, senator, procurator of Judea, married Herod’s granddaughter. Family still elite 300 yrs later. Conclusion [29:42] Don’t blanket-judge the past. Slavery horrific for 90 %+, but a subset turned it into a ladder: “Voluntary enslavement = vehicle of social advancement.” Like winning the lottery for Felix. Slides / Visuals Mentioned 19th-c. French slave-market paintings (sensational). Alma-Tadema: mundane despair. British Museum gravestones (Dasumius + others). Statistics: war-captive numbers. Roman slave-market scene (voluntary bidders). Acts of the Apostles illustration (Paul before Felix). Speaker offers slides via email. Further Reading Galen, On the Passions and Errors of the Soul Roman law digests on self-sale into slavery British Museum / Louvre epitaph collections Moses Finley, Ancient Slavery and Modern Ideology (1970s pivot) Final Quote “The past is a strange place and the more you look at it the stranger it is.” Grok/youtube transcript Introduction and Thanks [0:01] Good morning everybody and it’s good to look around the room and see so many old friends and new friends as well. But I’d like to begin by thanking Hans and Gulchin for their great goodness in having invited me back here again and again. Do we have a little feedback from the microphone? No. All well, very well. Title and Historical Views on Slavery [0:25] Today I’d like to talk about ancient slavery and I’ve called it a very peculiar institution. I think it was Thomas Jefferson who said that history is a nightmare from which we are continually trying to wake up, or Voltaire who said that history i

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 295. These introductory remarks are from the recently-concluded 19th annual PFS 2025 Annual Meeting (Sep. 18–23, 2025, Bodrum, Turkey). Gülçin Imre Hoppe (Turkey) & Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey): Welcome and Introductions. Transcript and shownotes below. Other talks appear on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2025 Youtube Playlist. Grok shownotes Show Notes: PFS 20th Anniversary Opening Remarks Video: Property and Freedom Society 20th Anniversary – Opening Speakers: Gülçin Imre Hoppe & Hans-Hermann Hoppe Location: Bodrum, Turkey [0:00 – Introduction and Sound Check] Brief audio/video test before the session begins. Music plays as the audience settles. [0:22 – Welcoming the Audience] Gülçin Imre Hoppe warmly greets attendees: Acknowledges long-distance travelers from Thailand, Guatemala, Japan, and beyond. Apologizes in advance for any logistical mishaps (e.g., kitchen oversights). Jokes: “Be glad you’re not eating onions instead of aubergines.” Expresses gratitude for guests enduring travel challenges to attend the second stop on their journey. [1:44 – Celebrating 20 Years of PFS] Marks 20 years of the Property and Freedom Society (PFS). Playful comparison: Gülçin shows a photo of Hans-Hermann from the first conference. Grandkids’ reaction: “That’s not my opa!” Audience laughter and applause. [2:50 – PFS as a Labor of Love] Hans-Hermann Hoppe reflects: PFS has become an institution and a brand — but with no institute, no offices, no employees. Entirely a shoestring operation and labor of love. Organizers receive no compensation; supported only by a few volunteer helpers. [3:49 – Hotel Operations During the Conference] The venue normally functions as a small bed-and-breakfast. For PFS, extra staff are hired from outside — a rare annual event. Normal hotel service is far more modest than the conference experience. [4:37 – Practical Announcements] Enjoy your week in Bodrum. Boat Tour Sign-Up (Monday): Write your name + number of participants on the list ASAP. Needed to charter the correct number of boats. Delays in sign-up can cause complications. [5:25 – Reception Correction and First Speaker] Program error: Reception is tonight at the pool area, not Saturday. Introduces Sean Gabb as the first speaker. Session closes with applause. Key Takeaway: The Property and Freedom Society’s 20th conference is a grassroots, volunteer-driven tradition — sustained by passion, not profit — bringing together a global community in Bodrum for ideas, fellowship, and (hopefully) no onion-aubergine mix-ups. Next: Sean Gabb’s opening lecture. Grok transcript [0:00 – Introduction and Sound Check] Gülçin Imre Hoppe: Are you seeing us? Some more test, test. Gülçin Imre Hoppe: Can you look at us? Can you hear us? Gülçin Imre Hoppe: Quiet, please. [Music] [0:22 – Welcoming the Audience] Gülçin Imre Hoppe: So, who first? Gülçin Imre Hoppe: Oh, okay. So dear old friends, dear new friends, we have here people who come from very far places. They have to travel very long hours. We have you from Thailand. We have some very young couple from Guatemala. We have— Where are those? Okay, that kind of thing can happen. So you have to forgive me. I also have to overlook the kitchen and so on. So mistakes can happen. So be happy that you don’t eat onions instead of aubergines—it could also happen. So welcome. We are very happy to host you this year as well. And also some far traveler from Japan. I forgot you and everybody. It is always difficult to travel and here this is your second stop. So thank you for going through all the difficulties and arriving in Bodrum at our conference. [1:44 – Celebrating 20 Years of PFS] Gülçin Imre Hoppe: We are doing this since 20 years [Music] [Applause] and you can see I stayed beautiful and energetic and everything as usual. Women tend to stay always beautiful. But when we started, this was my husband. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [2:27 – Handover and Grandkids’ Reaction] Gülçin Imre Hoppe: So I leave you with my— I should mention that when we showed that to my grandkids, they said, “That’s not my opa.” So you can continue. [2:50 – PFS as a Labor of Love] Hans-Hermann Hoppe: I wanted to mention that in these 20 years of course the PFS has become some sort of institution. And we have acquired a brand name I would think, but we have no institute behind us. We have no offices. We have no employees. This is not a money-making operation for us. We don’t get any compensation for this. This has been just a labor of love as far as we are concerned. We just had a few little helpers help out here and there, but as I said, this is a shoestring operation. [3:49 – Hotel Operations During the Conference] Hans-Hermann Hoppe: You should also be made aware of the fact, for instance, that the hotel operates normally more as a bed-and-breakfast hotel with a small kitchen staff. For a conference such as this, we have to hire a substantial

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 294. Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Concluding Remarks, Tributes, and Announcements. This lecture is from the 2012 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society. PFS 2012 Playlist. It was not included previously in the podcast since the video had been lost and I had assumed the audio had also been lost. However, I recently discovered the audio files for two of the speeches as well as Professor Hoppe’s Introductory and Concluding remarks had been preserved, namely those listed below. They are podcast here for the first time. Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), Welcome and Introductions Karl-Peter Schwarz (Austria), Between Restitution and Re-Expropriation: Desocialization in Eastern Europe Benjamin Marks (Australia), On H.L. Mencken as a Libertarian Model Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Concluding Remarks, Tributes, and Announcements  

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 293. Benjamin Marks (Australia), On H.L. Mencken as a Libertarian Model. This lecture is from the 2012 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society. PFS 2012 Playlist. Text of article on which the speech was based is below; docx; pdf. Speech. Transcript also below. Grok summary of article: H.L. Mencken’s conservatism, as explored in Benjamin Marks’ essay, is a defining trait that sets him apart as a libertarian thinker who held low expectations for societal reform. Unlike typical conservatism, Mencken’s brand is rooted in a deep skepticism of government and religion, viewing them as historically optimistic overreaches that clash with true conservative doubt. He saw many societal problems as insoluble or unlikely to be addressed due to human folly, yet found entertainment in the pretentiousness of events and the futility of reform efforts. His libertarianism was not driven by a desire to convert others but by a commitment to truth, expressed through sharp, clear prose that prioritized self-expression over activism. Mencken’s approach was neither nihilistic nor despairing; he embraced the world’s flaws with a light-hearted cynicism, finding joy in critiquing its absurdities without expecting change. He believed people’s gullibility and resistance to reason made libertarian ideals unattainable in the near term, a view reinforced by his observations of failed revolutions and reforms that often worsened conditions. Marks argues that Mencken’s consistent, principled stance—free of moral indignation—offers libertarians a radical perspective: not as a competing utopianism, but as a clear-eyed rejection of romantic solutions. His influence, though significant in literature and culture, never popularized libertarianism, underscoring his realism about human nature and societal inertia. Grok summary of transcript: Two-Paragraph Summary for Show Notes 0:00–9:00: The speaker begins by expressing gratitude for being invited to the Property and Freedom Society conference, acknowledging the late Neville Kennard, a fervent supporter who passed away in June. Kennard, despite his frail condition, remained passionate about libertarianism, wearing a Rothbard “Enemy of the State” shirt during the speaker’s visit. The speaker introduces the topic, “H.L. Mencken as a Libertarian Model,” contrasting Mencken’s approach with Murray Rothbard’s. Mencken, unlike Rothbard, had no expectations of influencing society, viewing politics as entertainment and government as pathetic yet amusing. His pessimism, rooted in reason, led him to describe himself as a “specialist in human depravity,” focusing on diagnosing societal flaws rather than proposing solutions. This perspective, the speaker argues, is more realistic than Rothbard’s optimistic belief in a long-term libertarian revolution, as outlined in Rothbard’s 1965 essay, which the speaker dismisses as clichéd romanticism. 9:01–19:38: The speaker critiques libertarian optimism by addressing common arguments, such as the internet’s role in spreading libertarian ideas or the belief that economic crises will awaken people to libertarianism. Mencken’s responses, as interpreted by the speaker, highlight counterpoints: easy access to statist propaganda negates the internet’s benefits, and crises often lead to more government intervention. The speaker also challenges the romanticism of Albert J. Nock’s concept of the “remnant,” quoting Nock to show his own pessimism about societal change. Marcus Aurelius is cited to underscore the futility of expecting posthumous recognition. The speaker concludes by suggesting that libertarians can still find joy in critiquing government absurdities, as evidenced by the lively PFS speakers. For optimists, the speaker humorously recommends following Gina Rinehart, a wealthy Australian secessionist, as a potential catalyst for libertarian progress, while emphasizing Mencken’s view that libertarianism is about personal enjoyment, not necessarily societal change. It was not included previously in the podcast since the video had been lost and I had assumed the audio had also been lost. However, I recently discovered the audio files for two of the speeches as well as Professor Hoppe’s Introductory and Concluding remarks had been preserved, namely those listed below. They are podcast here for the first time. Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), Welcome and Introductions Karl-Peter Schwarz (Austria), Between Restitution and Re-Expropriation: Desocialization in Eastern Europe Benjamin Marks (Australia), On H.L. Mencken as a Libertarian Model Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Concluding Remarks, Tributes, and Announcements Grok summary of transcript: Detailed Segment-by-Segment Summary for Show Notes Segment 1: Introduction and Tribute to Neville Kennard (0:00–3:00) Description: The speaker opens with gratitude for speaking at the Property and Freedom Society conference, noting their unfamiliarity among the distinguished lineup. They

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 292. Karl-Peter Schwarz (Austria), Between Restitution and Re-Expropriation: Desocialization in Eastern Europe. This lecture is from the 2012 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society. PFS 2012 Playlist. Transcript and Grok shownotes/summary below. Two-Paragraph Summary for Show Notes 0:01–15:00: The speaker, invited by Professor Hoppe to the Property and Freedom Society, opens with a reflection on speaking in a “temple of knowledge and liberty,” humorously referencing Roman customs of covering one’s head in temples, except for Kronos, the god of time, who reveals all truths. The talk focuses on historical crimes of expropriation and restitution in post-communist Eastern Europe, challenging the misconception that nationalization was exclusive to communism. The speaker outlines three forms of governmental theft—inflation, taxation, and mass expropriation—emphasizing the latter’s violence and prevalence across the 20th century, from the Balkan Wars to post-World War II population transfers. Specific examples include the expulsion of 3 million Germans from Czechoslovakia under President Beneš’s decrees, which nationalized 80% of the economy by 1948, and the broader displacement of millions across Europe, highlighting that democratic and totalitarian regimes alike engaged in these practices. 15:01–37:12: The speaker critiques the flawed restitution processes in post-communist states, particularly the Czech Republic and Slovenia, where arbitrary time limits (e.g., February 25, 1948, in Czechoslovakia) excluded many legitimate claims. Quoting Murray Rothbard’s Ethics of Liberty, the speaker argues that only restitution to original owners or their heirs upholds justice, yet privatization often benefited former communist elites, fostering oligarchic power structures. Cases like Elisa Fabriova and Prince Kinsky illustrate systemic barriers, with Czech courts and government manipulating legal processes to block aristocratic claims. In Slovenia, Luboš Šeš’s 20-year struggle for restitution yielded minimal recovery, hampered by retroactive laws and biased courts. The speaker concludes that these failures undermine the rule of law, perpetuate corruption, and pose security risks, urging moral clarity despite the unlikelihood of full redress, as time (Kronos) may not deliver justice. It was not included previously in the podcast since the video had been lost and I had assumed the audio had also been lost. However, I recently discovered the audio files for two of the speeches as well as Professor Hoppe’s Introductory and Concluding remarks had been preserved, namely those listed below. They are podcast here for the first time. Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), Welcome and Introductions Karl-Peter Schwarz (Austria), Between Restitution and Re-Expropriation: Desocialization in Eastern Europe Benjamin Marks (Australia), On H.L. Mencken as a Libertarian Model Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Concluding Remarks, Tributes, and Announcements Grok: Detailed Segment-by-Segment Summary for Show Notes Segment 1: Introduction and Context of Expropriation (0:01–6:00) Description: The speaker expresses honor and unease at speaking at the Property and Freedom Society, likening it to a “temple of knowledge.” They reference Roman customs of covering heads in temples, except for Kronos, symbolizing time’s revelation of truth. The talk’s theme is introduced: historical crimes of expropriation and their redress. The speaker, a journalist in post-communist countries since 1990, initially believed nationalization was communism’s hallmark but learned it was one of three governmental theft methods: inflation, taxation, and mass expropriation. The latter, often violent, occurred during revolutions or wars, not exclusively under communism. Summary: This opening sets a philosophical tone, framing expropriation as a timeless issue revealed by history. It broadens the scope beyond communism, preparing the audience for a critical examination of 20th-century property theft. Segment 2: Historical Examples of Expropriation and Population Transfers (6:01–12:00) Description: The speaker details 20th-century expropriations, starting with the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) and treaties like Neuilly and Lausanne, which displaced 3 million people. Post-World War I, 4–5 million lost property in new Wilsonian states. World War II and its aftermath saw 12 million Germans and others displaced, with 2 million deaths. In Czechoslovakia, President Beneš’s decrees expelled 3 million Germans, nationalizing 80% of the economy by 1948. The speaker emphasizes that democrats, not just communists, drove these policies, with confiscated lands redistributed or collectivized. Summary: This segment provides a historical overview, illustrating the scale and bipartisan nature of expropriations. It underscores the violent, systemic nature of property theft across regimes, setting up the restitution discussion. Segment 3: Flawed Restitution in Post-Commu

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 291. Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), Welcome and Introductions. This lecture is from the 2012 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society. PFS 2012 Playlist. It was not included previously in the podcast since the video had been lost and I had assumed the audio had also been lost. However, I recently discovered the audio files for two of the speeches as well as Professor Hoppe’s Introductory and Concluding remarks had been preserved, namely those listed below. They are podcast here for the first time. Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), Welcome and Introductions Karl-Peter Schwarz (Austria), Between Restitution and Re-Expropriation: Desocialization in Eastern Europe Benjamin Marks (Australia), On H.L. Mencken as a Libertarian Model Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Concluding Remarks, Tributes, and Announcements

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 290. Bonus podcast episode: Professor Hoppe’s speech, The Ludwig von Mises Memorial Lecture presented at the Mises Institute’s Austrian Economics Research Conference (Fri., March 21, 2025; see Considerations and Reflections of a Veteran Reactionary Libertarian). The transcript is available at Hoppe, Considerations and Reflections of a Veteran Reactionary Libertarian (AERC 2025). In this speech, Professor Hoppe also talked a bit about what he was planning to do in in his PFS 2025 talk later in the year, “Democratic Peace and Re-Education: the German Experience,” 2025 Annual Meeting, Property and Freedom Society, Bodrum, Turkey (Sep. 20, 2025). Note Professor Hoppe extensively comments on the reaction to his previous criticism of Milei; see Hans-Hermann Hoppe, “Javier Milei” (PFS 2024); Hoppe, “What To Make of Milei,” LewRockwell.com (Oct. 3, 2024); and Kristoffer Mousten Hansen, “Hoppe versus Milei on Central Banking: Breaking Down the Differences,” Mises Wire (Feb. 6, 2025). He also discusses various other matters, such as the funding of the Frankfurt School by Felix Weil and its influence on Western Europe and on America (and its connection to “wokeism”); US worldwide hegemony since WWII and NATO provocations of Russia after the fall of the USSR, and its role in provoking the Russia-Ukraine conflict; the US role in the Israel-Hamas conflict and the influence of Israel over US policy and the dangerous alliance of the US and American “exceptionalism” paired with Israel’s “Chosen People” image.  

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 289. This panel discussion is from the 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Ammous, Polleit, Hoppe, Kinsella, Hülsmann, Discussion, Q&A. See also Ammous, Polleit, Hoppe, Kinsella, Hülsmann, Discussion, Q&A. Other talks appear on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 288. This talk is from the 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey): “About Natural Order and its Destruction”. See also “About Natural Order and its Destruction” Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 287. This talk is from the 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Thorsten Polleit (Germany): “Immanuel Kant’s ‘Enlightenment’—One of the Sharpest Weapons for the Libertarian Fight”. See also “Immanuel Kant’s ‘Enlightenment’—One of the Sharpest Weapons for the Libertarian Fight”. Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 286. This talk is from the 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Jörg Guido Hülsmann (Germany/France): “Coercive Democracy: A Critique”. See also Jörg Guido Hülsmann (Germany/France): “Coercive Democracy: A Critique”. Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 285. This talk is from the 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Stephan Kinsella (USA): “Abortion: A Radically Decentralist Approach” Also podcast as KOL443 | Abortion: A Radically Decentralist Approach (PFS 2024), with additional commentary. Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist. Panel discussion:    

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 284. This talk is from the 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Saifedean Ammous (Palestine/Jordan): “Can the Real Interest Rate Fall to Zero? What would that Imply?” See also Saifedean Ammous (Palestine/Jordan): “Can the Real Interest Rate Fall to Zero? What would that Imply?” Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.  

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 283. This talk is from the 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Müller, Dürr, Deist, Gabb, Hoppe, Discussion, Q&A See also Müller, Dürr, Deist, Gabb, Hoppe, Discussion, Q&A Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.  

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 282. This talk is from the 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Jeff Deist (USA): “A New Approach to Hoppe’s ‘Open Border Critics'” See also A New Approach to Hoppe’s ‘Open Border Critics’ Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.  

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 281. This talk is from the 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Alan Bickley (England): “What is Happening in Britain?” Doug French (USA): “The Entrepreneurial Studies Racket” --> See also What is Happening in Britain? Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.  

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 280. This talk is from the 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Special: Hans-Hermann Hoppe, “Javier Milei” (PFS 2024). This is an excerpt of Professor Hans-Hermann Hoppe‘s remarks on Javier Milei, excerpted from the panel discussion “Dürr, Müller, Fusillo, Bagus, Hoppe, Roundtable: What to Make of Milei” (PFP279). See also Hans-Hermann Hoppe, “Javier Milei” (PFS 2024); “Who is Hans-Hermann Hoppe, the former inspiration of Javier Milei whom he has now called a ‘libertacrazy liberal,’” La Nacion [Argentina] (12 Dec. 2024). Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 279. This talk is from the 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Dürr, Müller, Fusillo, Bagus, Hoppe, Roundtable: What to Make of Milei. See also Roundtable: What to Make of Milei; “Who is Hans-Hermann Hoppe, the former inspiration of Javier Milei whom he has now called a ‘libertacrazy liberal,’” La Nacion [Argentina] (12 Dec. 2024). Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 278. This talk is from the 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Antony Müller (Germany/Brazil): “Milei after Nine Months: A Critical Update” See also “Milei after Nine Months: A Critical Update” and Antony P. Mueller, “Nine Months of Javier Milei as President of Argentina: A Critical Assessment,” Mises Wire (Oct. 29, 2024). Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 277. This talk is from the recently-concluded 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). David Dürr (Switzerland): “If I woke up and found myself president elect of Argentina …” See also David Dürr, “If I woke up and found myself president elect of Argentina …” (PFS 2024) Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 276. This panel discussion is from Day 1 of the recently-concluded 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Jayant Bhandari (Canada), Alessandro Fusillo (Italy), Rahim Taghizadegan (Austria), Sean Gabb (England), Philipp Bagus (Spain): Discussion, Q&A. See also Bhandari, Fusillo, Taghizadegan, Gabb, Bagus, Discussion, Q&A (PFS 2024) Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 275. This talk is from the recently-concluded 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Philipp Bagus (Spain): “The Crime of the Corona Lockdowns” See also Philipp Bagus, “The Crime of the Corona Lockdowns” (PFS 2024) Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 274. This talk is from the recently-concluded 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Alessandro Fusillo (Italy): “Liberalism, Anarchism, Fascism: A Brief Look at the Modern History of Italy” See also Alessandro Fusillo, “Liberalism, Anarchism, Fascism: A Brief Look at the Modern History of Italy” (PFS 2024). Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 273. This talk is from the recently-concluded 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Rahim Taghizadegan (Austria/Switzerland): “Understanding Switzerland and the Swiss”. Rahim Taghizadegan, “Understanding Switzerland and the Swiss” (PFS 2024). Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 272. This talk is from the recently-concluded 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Jayant Bhandari (Canada): “Understanding India”. See also Jayant Bhandari: “Understanding India”. Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 270. These introductory remarks are from the recently-concluded 18th annual 2024 Annual Meeting of the PFS (Sept. 19–24, 2024, Bodrum, Turkey). Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey): “Welcome and Introductions.” See also Hans-Hermann Hoppe, “Welcome and Introductions” (PFS 2024). Other talks to follow in due course here on the Property and Freedom Podcast. Other videos may also be found at the PFS 2024 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 269. This panel discusssion is from the recently-concluded Seventeenth Annual (2023) Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Sept. 21-26, 2023. Doug French (USA), Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), Josef Šíma (Czech Republic), Olivier Richard (Switzerland), Stephan Kinsella (USA), “Discussion, Q&A.” Other talks to follow in due course. PFS 2023 Youtube Playlist. Grok Cleaned up Transcript   body { font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px; max-width: 800px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; } .timestamp { color: #888; font-size: 0.9em; margin-right: 10px; } .speaker { font-weight: bold; color: #333; } .question { font-style: italic; color: #555; } p { margin: 10px 0; } PFS 2023 Panel Discussion Transcript Panelists: Doug French (USA), Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), Josef Šíma (Czech Republic), Olivier Richard (Switzerland), Stephan Kinsella (USA) Links: Property and Freedom | YouTube [0:05] Unknown Speaker (Audience): I have a question for Professor Hoppe. Professor Hoppe mentioned that decentralization should be the goal, and Josef also mentioned that earlier. My question is, do you think this process of decentralization should occur in Europe? To me, it seems that the greatest threat to European civilization at the moment is American hegemony. My view is that if Europe undergoes a process of political decentralization, then it will be unable to defend itself, perhaps against the United States, not only militarily but also culturally and socially. This, I think, would be a great disaster for European civilization if the United States found some way to infiltrate Europe—that might not be the best word—it would be an even greater disaster. We saw after the fall of the Roman Empire, for 400 years, it was chaos, anarchy with the Visigoths, the Swabians, and other groups. I’m just curious whether you think this process of decentralization should occur in Europe now, whether now is the best time for this. Certainly in America, I understand if there’s internal instability and the union falls apart, I think that’s a desirable thing for Europe and for other countries that have been abused by American hegemony. But perhaps the disintegration of the coalition of European states that exists now, although imperfect, is not the best strategy to pursue at the current moment. I’m curious what you think. [1:44] HHH: I would be all in favor of the European countries breaking with the United States. The first step would be, of course, to leave NATO. I do not expect that the United States would attack European countries if they decide, “We will leave NATO.” I don’t think they would have sufficient public support in the United States for doing something like this. I also hope that the European Union will break apart. The European Union currently is only kept alive insofar as some European countries, especially Germany—because Germany is, of course, the eternally guilty country until the end of all days and has to pay for its sins committed in the past until the world ends—if the payments from Germany to various countries would no longer come, these countries would have no reason to stay within the Union. You see diversions, for instance, already now that Hungary is continuously punished, Poland is continuously punished for slightly different reasons by the European Union because they do not adhere to the high standards that are typical, let’s say, of the most idiotic government in Europe, which is the German government. As soon as the payments would stop, there would be no reason for Poland to stay within the European Union. As soon as the payments would stop, there would be no reason for Hungary to stay within the European Union. Once it becomes established that it was the United States, in cooperation with Ukraine or Poland or whatever it was, that blew up the Nord Stream pipeline, there will be a massive move in the population in these various countries to disassociate themselves from the United States. That would encourage not only other countries leaving NATO, but it would also affect the European Union in the same way because what the European Union does is it tries to eliminate competition between various regions in Europe. That’s why they introduced something like the OECD introduced now a minimum tax put on all companies of at least 15%. Even Switzerland, which I always hailed as one of the great examples of neutral countries, in terms of idiocy, only lags a little bit behind the other European countries. So they agreed, for instance, also to accept this 15% minimum tax. Of course, if you are not part of the robbing gang of the gang leaders, you would have to strictly oppose something like it. It reduces the competitiveness of Switzerland as compared to other countries if they have to tax the same way. They have not reached a point where the taxes have been uniformed or harmonized all through Europe, but that is, of cours

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 268. This talk is from the recently-concluded Seventeenth Annual (2023) Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Sept. 21-26, 2023. Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey): “On Centralization, Secession and the Problem of Self-Defense.” Other talks to follow in due course. PFS 2023 Youtube Playlist. On Centralization, Decentralization, and Self-Defense by Hans-Hermann Hoppe Delivered Sept. 24, 2023, Property and Freedom Society 17th Annual Meeting, Bodrum, Turkey States, regardless of their constitution, are not economic enterprises. In contrast to the latter, states do not finance themselves by selling products and services to customers who voluntarily pay, but by compulsory levies: taxes collected through the threat and use of violence (and through the paper money they literally create out of thin air). Significantly, economists have therefore referred to governments—i.e., the holders of state power—as stationary bandits. Governments and everyone on their payroll live off the loot stolen from other people. They lead a parasitic existence at the expense of a subdued “host population.” A number of further insights emerge from this. Naturally, stationary bandits prefer larger loot to smaller loot. This means that states will always try to increase their tax revenue and further increase their spending by issuing more paper money. The larger the loot, the more favors they can do for themselves, their employees, and their supporters. But there are natural limits to this activity. On the one hand, the bandits have to be careful not to burden the “hosts” whose work and performance make their parasitic existence possible so much that the latter stop working. On the other hand, they have to fear that their “hosts”—and especially the most productive among them—will migrate from their dominion (territory) and settle elsewhere. Against this background, a number of historical tendencies and processes become understandable. First of all: It becomes understandable why there is a tendency towards territorial expansion and political centralization: with this, states succeed in bringing more and more “hosts” under their control and making it more difficult for them to emigrate to foreign territories. This is expected to result in a larger amount of loot. And it becomes clear why the end point of this process, the establishment of a world state, while certainly desirable from the standpoint of the ruling gang, would by no means be a blessing for all of mankind, as is often claimed. Because one cannot emigrate from a world state, and hence, there exists no possibility of escaping state looting by emigration. It is therefore to be expected that with the establishment of a world state, the scope and extent of state exploitation—indicated, among other things, by the level of state income and expenditure, by monetary inflation, the number and volume of so-called public goods and persons employed in the “public service”—will continue to increase beyond any previously known level. And that is certainly not a blessing for the “host population” that has to fund this state superstructure! Second: A central reason for the rise of the “West” to become the world’s leading economic, scientific, and cultural region becomes understandable. In contrast to China in particular, Europe was characterized by a high degree of political decentralization, with hundreds or even thousands of independent dominions from the early Middle Ages up until the recent past. Some historians have described this state of affairs as “ordered anarchy.” And it is now common among economic historians to see in this quasi-anarchic state a key reason for the so-called European miracle. Because in an environment with a large variety of independent, small-scale territories in the immediate vicinity of each other, it is comparatively easy for the subjects to vote with their feet and escape the robberies of state rulers by emigration. To avert this danger and to keep local producers in line, these rulers are under constant pressure to moderate their exploitation. And this moderation, in turn, promotes economic entrepreneurship, scientific curiosity, and cultural creativity. Third: In combining these two insights, the grand course of modern history becomes intelligible. Territorial expansion requires war – wars between rival gangs of stationary bandits. But the conduct of war requires means (economic resources), and bandits do not produce anything. They parasitically draw on the means produced and provided by others. They can influence the overall volume of production and the size of their own loot indirectly, however, through the treatment of their “host population.” Other things being equal, the more “liberal” – the less exploitative – the ruling gang, the more productive will be the host population; and parasitically drawing on a more productive host population, then, it is internally “liberal” gangs that tend to win out in war

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 267. This talk is from the recently-concluded Seventeenth Annual (2023) Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Sept. 21-26, 2023. Josef Šíma (Czech Republic): “From Secession to Political Centralization—Libertarian Attempts to Sustain a Free Society.” Other talks to follow in due course. PFS 2023 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 266. This talk is from the recently-concluded Seventeenth Annual (2023) Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Sept. 21-26, 2023. Doug French (USA): “The Financial Newsletter Racket” Other talks to follow in due course. PFS 2023 Youtube Playlist. From the transcript from PFP269 | French, Hoppe, Šíma, Richard, Kinsella, “Discussion, Q&A” (PFS 2023): [30:56] Unknown Speaker (Audience): I have three quick questions. For Doug: What are your three favorite financial newsletters? … [33:07] DF: First of all, my favorite, by far—and I am a paid-up subscriber—is Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, which has been in business for 40 years. The primary writer and proprietor is James Grant. If you haven’t read James Grant, he has many books and is a big fan of the Austrian School. It’s probably in every other newsletter he mentions Austrian work in one way or another. It’s expensive, I will tell you that, but it’s not as big on actionable ideas and hyperbolic pronouncements. A lot of it is economic history. So if you have the time and you’re interested in just great financial writing, Grant’s Interest Rate Observer is a wonderful publication. Secondly, I also subscribe to what I consider a financial newsletter, even though they are videos online, and it’s called Real Vision. Real Vision follows the same format. It has a free daily that you can get either on X or you can sign up for it. You get long-form, 30-minute interviews that are quite insightful by people who are outside the CNBC typical financial framework. Then they have a next step, which is called the Essential step—I forgot what they’re charging for that—and then beyond that, if you really want to dive deep into this stuff, they have another level. It’s set up just like a financial newsletter. Raoul Pal is the proprietor of this. He lives very nicely in the Cayman Islands, it sounds like. I find it very useful because it gives a variety of points of view and makes me think, even though I’m listening to somebody that I don’t necessarily agree with. Sometimes, Keynes said that at some point, you don’t judge the merits of individual securities; you try to guess what the public is going to do next. From that kind of newsletter, from Real Vision, I would recommend trying to do that. I struggle to find a third because it falls off very quickly, but there probably are others out there. I know people who, until his recent death, were dedicated subscribers to Gary North, and who a few of us know. They were very happy with his work. Those are the two that I can think of. As far as general advice is concerned, somebody like Doug Casey is, of course, useful, but there’s not so much direct financial advice but simply making you aware of the dangers of the world and how you can protect yourself against those dangers. He thinks along the same lines that we think. I had him here a number of years ago too. He has this website, International Man, I think it is called, that is useful to read, but not if you think, “I will become rich and follow his advice.” He advises you just if you want to protect yourself from inflation, investment in gold and gold mines might be a good idea, and things of that nature—very useful but not directly useful on your way to becoming a multimillionaire. … [39:20] Unknown Speaker (Audience): A short question for Doug: I was curious if you’re going to have a third part of your series and what it might be about. [41:36] DF: Did you have a question for me? What was it? If there’s a third part of your series, what would it be? Well, our gracious host here has not signed on to this yet, but yes, I do have a third part planned. It’s already written, and I’ll tell you what it is: it’s the entrepreneurship academic entrepreneurship racket of teaching entrepreneurship, or as I might call it, teaching the unteachable. I’ve done the work already; I’ve done the paper. Yes, if there is interest in hearing about that, I know that there are plenty of Austrian friends of ours who are making a handsome living at various US universities, but virtually every US university is now adding an entrepreneurship program because young people view entrepreneurship as being rich. They want to be rich; they want to own their own company, and they believe that’s something you can sit in a classroom and learn. History certainly defies that. So, yes, that would be the third part to the racket series if there is an interest in anyone wanting to hear it. [43:30] HHH: To these people, I would also say, if you are so smart, why ain’t you rich? No, entrepreneurship cannot be taught. The only thing that economists can do for entrepreneurs is to help them avoid absolutely stupid mistakes. But that’s the most that they can do. If you see the money supply going up all over constantly, and then people expect that prices will fall next year, obviously, they are making a big mistake. But those are the only things that we can tell them. The

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 265. This talk is from the recently-concluded Seventeenth Annual (2023) Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Sept. 21-26, 2023. Stephan Kinsella (USA), “There Ain’t No Intellectual Property: The Personal Story of a Discovery” (also podcast as KOL420). Other talks to follow in due course. PFS 2023 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 264. This talk is from the recently-concluded Seventeenth Annual (2023) Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Sept. 21-26, 2023. Olivier Richard (Switzerland): “Is Mankind Getting Dumber? Some Empirical Evidence.” Other talks to follow in due course. PFS 2023 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 263. This panel discussion is from the recently-concluded Seventeenth Annual (2023) Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Sept. 21-26, 2023. Thorsten Polleit (Germany), David Dürr (Switzerland), Rahim Taghizadegan (Austria), Jörg Guido Hülsmann (Germany/France), “Discussion, Q&A.” Other talks to follow in due course. PFS 2023 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 262. This talk is from the recently-concluded Seventeenth Annual (2023) Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Sept. 21-26, 2023. Rahim Taghizadegan (Austria), “Competition as a Cover-Up Procedure.” Other talks to follow in due course. PFS 2023 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 261. This talk is from the recently-concluded Seventeenth Annual (2023) Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Sept. 21-26, 2023. David Dürr (Switzerland): “Swiss Confederation 2023: The Last 25 Years Ahead.” Other talks to follow in due course. PFS 2023 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 260. This talk is from the recently-concluded Seventeenth Annual (2023) Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Sept. 21-26, 2023. Jörg Guido Hülsmann (Germany/France): “Private Philanthropy As a Competitor of the Welfare State.” Other talks to follow in due course. PFS 2023 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 259. This talk is from the recently-concluded Seventeenth Annual (2023) Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Sept. 21-26, 2023. Thorsten Polleit (Germany): “The Economics of The “Great Reset”: Getting To The Truth.” Dr. Polleit has also posted his own audio as well as the text of his speech (soundcloud; text). Other talks to follow in due course. PFS 2023 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 258. This panel discussion is from the recently-concluded Seventeenth Annual (2023) Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Sept. 21-26, 2023. Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), Alessandro Fusillo (Italy), Anthony Daniels (Theodore Dalrymple) (England/France), “Discussion, Q&A.” Other talks to follow in due course. PFS 2023 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 257. This talk is from the recently-concluded Seventeenth Annual (2023) Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Sept. 21-26, 2023. Anthony Daniels (Theodore Dalrymple) (England/France): “History and Free Will: the Effect of Historiography on Our Psychology” Other talks to follow in due course. PFS 2023 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 256. Long-time PFS speaker Sean Gabb (England) was slated to deliver “The Institution of Ancient Slavery” at the recently-concluded Seventeenth Annual (2023) Meeting of the PFS, Bodrum, Turkey (Sep. 21–26, 2023). He was unable to attend but has submitted a video of the lecture (below). We include this in the podcast feed in the order it was slated to apepar. Slides: Gabb pfs 2023 Slavery in the Roman World. Other talks to follow in due course. PFS 2023 Youtube Playlist.  

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 255. This talk is from the recently-concluded Seventeenth Annual (2023) Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Sept. 21-26, 2023. Alessandro Fusillo (Italy): “The State of Emergency: The government’s Illegal Tool of Domination.” Other talks to follow in due course. PFS 2023 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 254. This talk is from the recently-concluded Seventeenth Annual (2023) Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Sept. 21-26, 2023. Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), “The War in the Ukraine in Libertarian Perspective.” This speech has been published as “The War in the Ukraine in Libertarian Perspective,” LewRockwell.com (Sept. 28, 2023). Other talks to follow in due course. PFS 2023 Youtube Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 253. These opening remarks are from the recently-concluded Seventeenth Annual (2023) Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Sept. 21-26, 2023. Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), “Welcome, Introductions, and Satirical Disclaimer.” Other talks to follow in due course. PFS 2023 Youtube Playlist.