Become a Knowledgeable Libertarian in 30 Days

Robert Wenzel at the Economic Policy Journal has put together an excellent list of articles that can help anyone interested in libertarianism become proficient in the basics in just 30 days. Having read almost all of these essays in the past, I can attest to the quality of these articles and their capacity for informing someone about the essentials of liberty. I would probably add two more essays to the list, though. First, Rothbard’s seminal work The Anatomy of the State is what I like to call a “mental detox” from the perils of ingrained statism in our minds. I would additionally recommend Rothbard’s article Society Without a State as another essential piece.

Here is Robert’s description of his list, followed by links to every article he recommends:

The list below will not make anyone a scholar in libertarianism or an expert in Austrian Economics, it is designed to introduce to the busy individual the essence of libertarianism. There are 30 articles listed below. If one reads one article, slowly and carefully, per day, by the end of 30 days one should have a very strong grasp of libertarian principles and a basic understanding of Austrian economics. The list contains articles on a variety of topics, but does not cover all possible libertarian topics. More than anything it provides an overview of libertarianism and how libertarians think about issues of the day. The completion of the 30 days of reading should not be considered an ending point but rather the start of the beginning of more detailed study.

Day 1: The Task Confronting Libertarians by Henry Hazlitt
Day 2:  The Fascist Threat by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
Day 3:  Free Economy and Social Order by Wilhelm Röpke
Day 4:  The Peculiar and Unique Position of Economics by Ludwig von Mises
Day 5:  What Soviet Medicine Teaches Us by Yuri Maltsev
Day 6:  Economic Depressions: Their Causes and Cures by Murray Rothbard
Day 7:  Is Greater Productivity a Danger? by David Gordon
Day 8:  Taxation Methods Evaluated by Murray Rothbard
Day 9:  Hitler Was a Keynesian by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
Day 10:  Seeing the Unseen by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
Day 11:  The Watermelon Summit by Thomas J. DiLorenzo
Day 12:  Equality and Inequality by Ludwig von Mises
Day 13:  How to Think Like an Economist by Murray Rothbard
Day 14:  The Health Plan’s Devilish Principles by Murray Rothbard
Day 15:  Vices Are Not Crimes by Murray Rothbard (Read Lysander Spooner’s original essay here.)
Day 16:  Repudiate the National Debt by Murray Rothbard
Day 17:  The Fallacy of the ‘Public Sector’ by Murray Rothbard
Day 18:  The Road to Totalitarianism by Henry Hazlitt
Day 19:  The Many Collapses of Keynesianism by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
Day 20:  The Crippling Nature of Minimum Wage Laws by Murray Rothbard
Day 21:  Who Owns Water by Murray Rothbard
Day 22:  Defending the Slumlord by Walter Block
Day 23:  The Freedom of Association by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr
Day 24:  How to Help the Poor and Oppressed by Walter Block
Day 25:  Everything You Love You Owe to Capitalism by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
Day 26:  Is There a Right To Unionize? by Walter Block
Day 27: What If Public Schools Were Abolished? by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
Day 28:  Why Austrian? an interview with Robert Higgs
Day 29:  Economics and Moral Courage by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
Day 30:  Do You Hate the State? by Murray Rothbard