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Revision as of 11:44, 6 August 2013 view sourceCarolmooredc (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers31,944 edits →Discussion on racial implications of Hoppe's views: yet another example of undue sectioning and prejudicial section titles; it never stops...← Previous edit Revision as of 11:59, 6 August 2013 view source Carolmooredc (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers31,944 edits →Democracy: The God That Failed: homosexuals NOT only group mentioned so don't push personal political agenda on Misplaced Pages articlesNext edit →
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], a colleague of Hoppe's at the ], asserts that Hoppe's arguments shed light "on historical occurrences, from wars to poverty to inflation to interest rates to crime". Block notes that while Hoppe concedes that 21st-century democracies are more prosperous than the monarchies of old, Hoppe argues that if nobles and kings replaced today's political leaders, their ability to take a long term view of a country's well-being would “improve matters.” Block also shared what he called minor criticisms of Hoppe’s theses regarding time preferences, immigration and the gap between libertarianism and conservatism.<ref>Walter Block, , ], Vol. 61, No. 3, July, 2002.</ref> ], a colleague of Hoppe's at the ], asserts that Hoppe's arguments shed light "on historical occurrences, from wars to poverty to inflation to interest rates to crime". Block notes that while Hoppe concedes that 21st-century democracies are more prosperous than the monarchies of old, Hoppe argues that if nobles and kings replaced today's political leaders, their ability to take a long term view of a country's well-being would “improve matters.” Block also shared what he called minor criticisms of Hoppe’s theses regarding time preferences, immigration and the gap between libertarianism and conservatism.<ref>Walter Block, , ], Vol. 61, No. 3, July, 2002.</ref>


===Comments on covenant communities===
===Controversial passage on homosexuality===


Regarding the "covenant entailed in a libertarian (proprietary) community" which he envisions, Hoppe wrote: Regarding the "covenant entailed in a libertarian (proprietary) community" which he envisions, Hoppe wrote:

Revision as of 11:59, 6 August 2013

Hans-Hermann Hoppe
Hans-Hermann Hoppe
Born (1949-09-02) September 2, 1949 (age 75)
Peine, West Germany
NationalityGerman American
Academic career
FieldAustrian Economics, Political Philosophy
InstitutionUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas
School or
tradition		Austrian School
Alma materGoethe University Frankfurt
InfluencesLudwig von Mises
Murray Rothbard
Jürgen Habermas
Karl-Otto Apel
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk
Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn
ContributionsArgumentation ethics, Analysis of democracy and public goods theory
AwardsThe Frank T. and Harriet Kurzweg Award (2004)
The Gary G. Schlarbaum Prize (2006)
Franz Cuhel Memorial Prize (2009)

Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Template:IPA-de; born September 2, 1949) is a German-born academic, libertarian theorist and an Austrian School economist. He also has described himself as an anarcho-capitalist social theorist, though he prefers to be known as an advocate of a "private law society". He is Professor Emeritus with the College of Business at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and currently resides in Istanbul, Turkey. He has written several books and his writings have been translated into several foreign languages. Hoppe's views have generated controversy among his colleagues.

Life and work

Hoppe was born in Peine, West Germany, did undergraduate studies at Universität des Saarlandes and received his MA and PhD degrees from Goethe University, Frankfurt. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, from 1976 to 1978 and earned his habilitation in Foundations of Sociology and Economics from the University of Frankfurt in 1981. In 1986, after a succession of teaching jobs in Europe, he moved from Germany to the United States, where he was associated with Murray Rothbard. until the latter's death in January 1995. Hoppe was a Professor in the School of Business at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, until his retirement in 2008.

Hoppe is a Distinguished Fellow of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, which has published much of his work. He has been editor of various Mises Institute periodicals. In 2006, he founded The Property & Freedom Society.

Hoppe is married to Margaret Hoppe who has lectured at the English Language Center of the University of Las Vegas.

Argumentation ethics

Main article: Argumentation ethics

Hoppe stated a theory which he named Argumentation ethics in an attempt to establish an a priori and value-neutral justification for libertarian ethics. Hoppe's argument asserts that arguments which in any respect contradict libertarian principles are logically incoherent.

Hoppe stated his view in the publication Liberty in September 1988. In the following issue, the argument met a mixed response from Hoppe's fellow libertarians, and included a rejoinder from Hoppe in which he addressed the responses. In his comment, Murray Rothbard wrote that Hoppe's theory was, "a dazzling breakthrough for political philosophy in general and for libertarianism in particular" and that Hoppe, "has managed to transcend the famous is/ought, fact/value dichotomy that has plagued philosophy since the days of the Scholastics, and that had brought modern libertarianism into a tiresome deadlock".

Democracy: The God That Failed

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Main article: Democracy: The God That Failed

In 2001, Hoppe published Democracy: The God That Failed which examines social and economic problems that Hoppe argues stem from democracy, including unemployment, expanding public debt and bankrupt social security systems. He attributes Democracy's failures to pressure groups seeking increased government expenditures and regulations. Hoppe proposes alternatives and remedies, including secession, decentralization of government to regions, and "complete freedom of contract, occupation, trade and migration introduced".

Hoppe argues that because democracy has led to increased state power, monarchy preserves liberty more effectively. He argues that if the king regards the government as his “personal possession” he will be careful to manage its resources which he expects to pass on to his heirs. Hoppe writes that to increase the value of his "personal property, he would systematically restrain himself in his taxing policies, for the lower the degree of taxation, the more productive the subject population will be, and the more productive the population, the higher the value of the ruler’s parasitic monopoly of expropriation will be.”

Walter Block, a colleague of Hoppe's at the Ludwig Von Mises Institute, asserts that Hoppe's arguments shed light "on historical occurrences, from wars to poverty to inflation to interest rates to crime". Block notes that while Hoppe concedes that 21st-century democracies are more prosperous than the monarchies of old, Hoppe argues that if nobles and kings replaced today's political leaders, their ability to take a long term view of a country's well-being would “improve matters.” Block also shared what he called minor criticisms of Hoppe’s theses regarding time preferences, immigration and the gap between libertarianism and conservatism.

Comments on covenant communities

Regarding the "covenant entailed in a libertarian (proprietary) community" which he envisions, Hoppe wrote:

In a covenant founded for the purpose of protecting family and kin, there can be no tolerance toward those habitually promoting life-styles incompatible with this goal. They – the advocates of alternative, non-family and kin-centred lifestyles such as, for instance, individual hedonism, parasitism, nature-environment worship, homosexuality, or communism – will have to be physically removed from society, too, if one is to maintain a libertarian order.

Commenting on this passage, Martin Snyder of the American Association of University Professors said Hoppe's words will disturb "hose with a better memory than Hoppe for segregation, apartheid, internment facilities and concentration camps, for yellow stars and pink triangles". Walter Block wrote that Hoppe's comments calling for "homosexuals and others to be banned from polite society" were "exceedingly difficult to reconcile it with libertarianism" because "the libertarian philosophy would support the rights of both groups to act in such manners". He continues: "As for homosexuality, it is entirely possible that some areas of the country, parts of Gotham and San Francisco for example, will require this practice, and ban, entirely, heterosexuality. If this is done through contract, private property rights, restrictive covenants, it will be entirely compatible with the libertarian legal code."

Stephan Kinsella observed that Hoppe's critics have accused Hoppe of "homophobia, bigotry, and the like" based on these passages. Kinsella argued that Hoppe's discussion of "physically removing" homosexuals and other groups only applied to "private, covenant-based communities" centered around traditional values.

Views on immigration

Though an anarchist who favors abolishing the nation-state, Hoppe believes that as long as states exist, they should impose some restrictions on immigration. Hoppe has equated free immigration to "forced integration" which violates the rights of native peoples, since if land were privately owned, immigration would not be unhindered but would only occur with the consent of private property owners. Hoppe's Mises Institute colleague Walter Block has characterized Hoppe as an "anti-open immigration activists" who argues that, though all public property is "stolen" by the state from taxpayers, "the state compounds the injustice when it allows immigrants to use property, thus further “invading” the private property rights of the original owners." However, Block rejects Hoppe's views as incompatible with libertarianism. Employing a reductio ad absurdum argument, he argued that Hoppe's logic implies that flagrantly unlibertarian laws such as regulations on prostitution and drug use "could be defended on the basis that many tax-paying property owners would not want such behavior on their own private property".

In terms of specific immigration restrictions, Hoppe argued that an appropriate policy will require immigrants to the United States to display proficiency in English in addition to "superior (above-average) intellectual performance and character structure as well as a compatible system of values". These requirements will, he argued, result in a "systematic pro-European immigration bias". Quoting the latter remark, Jacob Hornberger of the Future of Freedom Foundation argued that "the immigration test advocates to ensure" that immigrants to the United States are those whom Hoppe considers "superior people" would "probably prejudice against Latin American" immigrants, irrespective of their "strong work ethic and ... deep commitment to free enterprise, family values ... religious principles" and other positive qualities Hornberger believes they would bring to the country.

Academic freedom controversy over remarks on homosexuals

Following a March 4, 2004 lecture on time preference at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), a student complained that Hoppe created a hostile classroom environment by stating that homosexuals tend to be more shortsighted than heterosexuals in their ability to save money and plan (economically) for the future, in part because they tend not to have children. Hoppe also suggested that John Maynard Keynes' reputed homosexuality might explain his economic views. Hoppe told a reporter that the comments lasted only 90 seconds of a 75 minute class, no students questioned the comments in that class, and that in 18 years of giving the same lecture to students, no students had complained about the comments.

An investigation was conducted and the university's provost, Raymond W. Alden III, issued Hoppe a non-disciplinary letter of instruction on February 9, 2005, with a finding that he had "created a hostile or intimidating educational environment in violation of the University's policies regarding discrimination as to sexual orientation." Alden also instructed Hoppe to "...cease mischaracterizing opinion as objective fact", asserted that Hoppe's opinion was not supported by peer-reviewed academic literature, and remarked that Hoppe had "refus to substantiate in-class statements of fact...."

Hoppe appealed the decision, saying the university had "blatantly violated its contractual obligations" toward him and described the action as "frivolous interference with my right to academic freedom". He was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU threatened legal action. ACLU attorney Allen Lichtenstein said "The charge against professor Hoppe is totally specious and without merit". The Nevada ACLU executive director said "We don't subscribe to Hans' theories and certainly understand why some students find them offensive....But academic freedom means nothing if it doesn't protect the right of professors to present scholarly ideas that are relevant to their curricula, even if they are controversial and rub people the wrong way". Arden's decision was picked up by Fox News and several blogs and libertarians organized a campaign to contact the university. The university received two weeks of bad publicity and the Interim Chancellor (Nevada System of Higher Education) Jim Rogers expressed concerns about "any attempts to thwart free speech."

Jim Rogers intervened and UNLV President UNLV Carol Harter acted upon Hoppe's appeal on February 18, 2005. She decided that Hoppe's views, even if non-mainstream or controversial, should not be cause for reprimanding him. She dismissed the discrimination complaint against Hoppe and the non-disciplinary letter was withdrawn from Hoppe's personnel file. She wrote:

UNLV, in accordance with policy adopted by the Board of Regents, understands that the freedom afforded to Professor Hoppe and to all members of the academic community carries a significant corresponding academic responsibility. In the balance between freedoms and responsibilities, and where there may be ambiguity between the two, academic freedom must, in the end, be foremost.

Hoppe later wrote about the incident and the UNLV investigation in an article entitled "My Battle With the Thought Police". Martin Snyder of the American Association of University Professors wrote that he should not be "punished for freely expressing his opinions."

Nationwide controversies about academic freedom, including the Hoppe matter, prompted the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to hold a conference on academic freedom in October 2005. In 2009 UNLV proposed a new policy that included the encouragement of reporting by people who felt that they had encountered bias. The proposed policy was criticized by the Nevada ACLU and some faculty members who remembered the Hoppe incident as adverse to academic freedom.

Selected works

Books

Articles

References

  1. "The Gary G. Schlarbaum Prize". Mises Institute Awards. Ludwig von Mises Institute.
  2. ^ Wile, Anthony (March 27, 2011). "Dr. Hans-Hermann Hoppe on the Impracticality of One-World Government and the Failure of Western-style Democracy". The Daily Bell.
  3. Peter J. Boettke, Calculation and Coordination: Essays on Socialism and Transitional Political Economy Routledge Foundations of the Market Economy, Routledge, 2002, p. 295, ISBN 0203469682, 9780203469682
  4. Stephen Hunt Davis, Research and practice in education: the search for common ground, Rowman & Littlefield, 2008, p. 49, ISBN 1578868408, 9781578868407
  5. Steven Yates, Hans-Hermann Hoppe's Austrian Philosophy, Reason Papers: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Normative Studies, Issue 21, Fall 1996, p. 91.
  6. Block, Walter (1996). "Review of Hans-Hermann Hoppe, The Economics and Ethics of Private Property". Journal des Economistes et des Etudes Humaines. 7 (1). doi:10.2202/1145-6396.1205. In the pantheon of Austrian-libertarians, first there was Mises... These two are truly 'hard acts to follow'. But with the publication of The Economics and Ethics Private Property, Hoppe bids fair to one day claiming the mantle of worthy successor to these two pathbreaking thinkers. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help) link to paper
  7. Hans-Hermann Hoppe personal website, HansHoppe.com.
  8. ^ "UNLV Catalog" (PDF). p. 47. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  9. Translations at Hanshoppe.com.
  10. Jeff Tucker interviews Hans-Hermann Hoppe (1 October 2011)
  11. "Juan Ramón Rallo interviews Mises Institute scholar Hans-Hermann Hoppe at the Instituto Juan de Mariana's".
  12. "''The Property & Freedom Society''". Propertyandfreedom.org. Retrieved 2013-05-25.
  13. Hans Herman Hoppe, The Ethics and Economics of Private Property, Second Edition, Ludwig von Mises Institute, p. xii, ISBN 13: 978-0-945466-40-6 ISBN 10: 0-945466-40-4.
  14. Faculty Listing, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, accessed May 26, 2013.
  15. ^ Symposium: Breakthrough or Buncombe? with comments from Murray Rothbard, David D. Friedman, Leland B. Yeager, David Gordon and Douglas B. Rasmussen and from Hans-Hermann Hoppe.(Liberty, November 1988)
  16. Hans-Hermann Hoppe's Argumentation Ethic: A Critique, Robert Murphy and Gene Callahan. Relevant text on Page 3: "Therefore, concludes that the libertarian view of property rights is the only one that can possibly be defended by rational argument."
  17. Hoppe, Hans-Hermann (1988). "The Ultimate Justification of the Private Property Ethic" (PDF). Liberty. 2 (1): 20–22. PMC .pdf. The mere fact that an individual argues presupposes that he owns himself and has a right to his own life and property. This provides a basis for libertarian theory radically different from both natural rights theory and utilitarianism. {{cite journal}}: Check |pmc= value (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  18. Symposium (1988). "Hans-Hermannn Hoppe's Argumentation Ethics: Breakthrough or Buncombe" (PDF). Liberty. 2 (2): 44–54. PMC .pdf. {{cite journal}}: Check |pmc= value (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  19. R.M. Pearce, Book Review: Democracy: the God That Failed, National Observer (Australia), No. 56, Autumn 2003.
  20. David Gordon, Review of Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Democracy: The God that Failed, "The Mises Review" of Ludwig von Mises Institute, Volume 8, Number 1, Spring 2002; Volume 8, Number 1.
  21. Walter Block, Review of Democracy: The God that Failed: The Economics and Politics of Monarchy, Democracy, and Natural Order, The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 61, No. 3, July, 2002.
  22. Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Democracy: The God That Failed: The Economics and Politics of Monarchy, Democracy and Natural Order, Transaction Publishers, 2001, pp. 216-218
  23. ^ Snyder, Martin D. (March 1, 2005). "Birds of a Feather?". Academe. American Association of University Professors. Retrieved April 17, 2013, from HighBeam Research. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  24. Walter Block (Loyola University New Orleans), "Libertarianism is unique; it belongs neither to the right nor the left: a critique of the views of Long, Holcombe, and Baden on the left, Hoppe, Feser and Paul on the right", undated, published at Ludwig von Mises Institute website, p. 22-23.
  25. Stephan Kinsella Hoppe on Covenant Communities and Advocates of Alternative Lifestyles, LewRockwell.com, 27 May 2010.
  26. Hans Hoppe,On Free Immigration and Forced Integration, LewRockwell.com, 1999.
  27. Anthony Gregory and Walter Block On Immigration: Reply to Hoppe, Journal of Libertarian Studies, Volume 21, No. 3, Fall 2007, 25–42
  28. Walter Block and Gene Callahan, Is There a Right to Immigration?: A Libertarian Perspective, Human Rights Review, October–December 2003.
  29. Jacob Hornberger, Let’s Stick with Traditional American Values!, The Future of Freedom Foundation, February 1, 2000.
  30. Snyder, Martin. "Birds of a Feather?". Academe. Vol. 91, no. 2. p. 127. ISSN 0190-2946. So what ignited the controversy in Nevada? In March 2004, a student formally accused Hoppe of creating a hostile classroom environment during a lecture on time preference, a notion in economics identifying individuals' varying degrees of willingness to defer the immediate consumption of goods in favor of saving and investment. Hoppe opined that certain demographic groups, for instance homosexuals, tend to be more shortsighted in their economic outlook than those who have children.
  31. Snyder, Martin. "Birds of a Feather?". Academe. Vol. 91, no. 2. p. 127. ISSN 0190-2946. He also suggested that the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes might be explained by Keynes's reputed homosexuality.
  32. ^ Richard Lake, UNLV accused of limiting free speech, Las Vegas Review-Journal, February 05, 2005.
  33. Alden, III, Raymond W. (February 9, 2005). "Findings and non-disciplinary letter of instruction" (PDF).
  34. Justin Chomintra, Professor, ACLU may sue UNLV, The Rebel Yell, February 10, 2005; reprinted by Stephen Kinsella at Mises.org, February 10, 2005.
  35. ^ "Efforts to punish UNLV professor gains exposure". Las Vegas Sun. February 8, 2005. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  36. "Exoneration sought for UNLV professor". Las Vegas Sun. February 21, 2005. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  37. "Rogers nixes Hoppe sabbatical". Las Vegas Sun. February 23, 2005. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  38. Carol Harter (February 18, 2005). "Statement of Dr. Carol Harter, President of UNLV, regarding Professor Hans-Hermann Hoppe" (PDF).
  39. Hans-Hermann Hoppe, "My Battle With the Thought Police", Ludwig von Mises Institute web site, April 12, 2005.
  40. The role of academic tenure was included during the conference. "Teachers' tenure on front burner". Las Vegas Sun. October 13, 2005. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  41. ^ The proposed policy defined “bias incidents” as “'verbal, written, or physical acts of intimidation, coercion, interference, frivolous claims, discrimination, and sexual or other harassment motivated, in whole or in part, by bias” based on characteristics including actual or perceived race, religion, sex (including gender identity or gender expression or a pregnancy-related condition), physical appearance and political affiliation.'" Hsu, Charlotte (April 25, 2009). "ACLU airs free speech concerns on bias policy: Faculty express concern; UNLV official says proposal would encourage expression". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  42. Policy on Bias Incidents and Hate Crimes (Final draft), University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, Department of Police Services, Office of the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Policy on Bias Incidents and Hate Crimes.

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