Customer Reviews
Democracy: caveat emptor :-). - By: S Smyth, 28 Sep 2007 
I liked this clearly writtten book with its novel viewpoint & analysis about the perils of government which is not limited in its scope & is firmly believed to be acting for the good by way of democracy. It occurred to me after reading chapter 1 that the current situation in Burma is simply the Junta exercising its high time preference to leapfrog the democratic process & go straight to the logical consequences of contemporary democracy. This would be a valuable book for the Burmese pro-democracy leadership to read, so that they might not repeat the mistakes of the world's most recently liberated states.
The conclusion that the state should be replaced by insurance companies & contracts is reasonable, & does currently work in certain classes of international business activity to circumvent the complications & delays of inter-state law, but I suspect--if computer security is anything to judge by--security & sophisticated scare-mongering would become a dominant preoccupation & divert capital from more productive activity.
The state as a monopoly is democraticallly granted its temporary monopoly, & although any constitution is simply a piece of paper which may be capable of abuse by interpretation & manipulation, it is up to the electorate to exercise good judgement in their electoral choices. Which is another good reason for many to read this book at this juncture in time. Furthermore--as a crude metaphor--just because a metal ladder doesn't specify that it should not be leaned against overhead electricity cables, sufficient 'a priori' knowledge should avoid this from happening instead of having to legislate for the banning of metal ladders & pursue claims for damage or death through the courts & seek compensation by way of insurance.
Butchering the holy cow of modern political thought - By: Peter Bjørn Perlsø, 27 Sep 2004 I won't say a lot, but I'll say this:
Some years back; I don't remember why I bought the book (I must have been on the recommendation of a friend), & it stood unread on my shelf for some time, before i finallly picked it up. The title was provoking, as I was still a firm believer in democracy before I read it, but when I finallly turned the first pages, I got hooked - it was like new doors of knowledge were opening up for me, & it was disconcerting, because (as many others who read this book can attest to, I'm sure), the message of the book broke down the political illusions we create for ourselves. And the more I read, the more I realized that a blind faith in democracy today is just as bad as outright supporting tyranny.
H.H. Hoppe convincingly shows how the rise of democracy (publicallly "owned" government, as opposed to privately owned government, such as monarchies) around the start of the 20th century has resulted in a massive success for socialism (and thus erosion of private property rights), & a dire failure of sound financial & monetary policies. And, of course, the eternal growth of the state, which is now invading more & more of our personal lives & taking away our economic freedoms.
You should not read this if you are reluctant to have your political opinions challlenged. Read it enough, & you may become an anarchist - consider yourself warned!
A Modern Classic? - Time Will Tell - By: Jack E. Heald, 11 Mar 2002 
Hoppe is not afraid to butcher, bleed & shrink-wrap that most sacred of sacred cows - democracy. As the title suggests, Hoppe considers democracy to be a horrible step backward in the evolution of human government, & he makes a compelling case for his thesis.
The book is actuallly a series of essays on the nature of government & economics, each of which stands on its own. However, the book is better consumed as a whole because he builds the case against democracy in an orderly, rational - an imminently readable - manner.
This would be a good book if Hoppe did nothing more than skewer western civilisation's sacrosanct belief in the innate superiority of democracy over other forms of government. He does that quite well, thank you.
But what sets DTGTF above your typical run-of-the-mill libertarian cant is that Hoppe not only destroys the theoretical foundations of democracy but also actuallly provides the theoretical & practical framework for an alternative form of government that might actuallly work.
I digested this book slowly over a couple of months' time just because my little mind needed the extra time to get wrapped around new & rather startling ideas. While not lengthy, it is extensively footnoted, & the footnotes alone make compelling reading.
DTGTF is not a perfect work, but then the subject does not lend itself to perfection. I would liken this work to that which a road builder undertakes when blasting a tunnel through a mountain. Dynamite does not lend itself to finely detailed work, but if you need to blow a hole through a mountain of faulty beliefs, nothing does the job quite like dynamite.
Recommended with no reservations.
