Does one have to make a choice between ideological purity and success as an economist? Many free-market economists believe that one has to choose one or the other. Murray Rothbard (1926–1995) held views on economics and government far outside the accepted mainstream. Nevertheless he was...

There is a tension between libertarians' optimism about private supply of public goods and skepticism of the viability of voluntary collusion (Cowen 1992, Cowen and Sutter 1999). Playing off this asymmetry, Cowen (1992) advances the novel argument that the “free market in defense services”...