Defending the Undefendable

Jeff Riggenbach reads Professor Block's Defending the Undefendable! It is among the most famous of the great defenses of victimless crimes and controversial economic practices, from profiteering and gouging to bribery and blackmail. However, beneath the surface, this book is also an outstanding work of microeconomic theory that explains the workings of economic forces in everyday events and affairs. Murray Rothbard explains why: "Defending the Undefendable performs the service of highlighting, the fullest and starkest terms, the essential nature of the productive services performed by all people in the free market. By taking the most extreme examples and showing how the Smithian principles work even in these cases, the book does far more to demonstrate the workability and morality of the free market than a dozen sober tomes on more respectable industries and activities. By testing and proving the extreme cases, he all the more illustrates and vindicates the theory." F.A. Hayek agreed, writing the author as follows: "Looking through Defending the Undefendable made me feel that I was once more exposed to the shock therapy by which, more than fifty years ago, the late Ludwig von Mises converted me to a consistent free market position. … Some may find it too strong a medicine, but it will still do them good even if they hate it. A real understanding of economics demands that one disabuses oneself of many dear prejudices and illusions. Popular fallacies in economic frequently express themselves in unfounded prejudices against other occupations, and showing the falsity of these stereotypes you are doing a real services, although you will not make yourself more popular with the majority."

The contents of this book include:

Foreword by Murray N. Rothbard
Commentary by F.A. Hayek
Introduction

Sexual
The Prostitute
The Pimp
The Male Chauvinist Pig

Medical
The Drug Pusher
The Drug Addict

Free Speech
The Blackmailer
The Slanderer or Libeler
The Denier of Academic Freedom
The Advertiser
The Person Who Yells "Fire!" in a Crowded Theatre

Outlaw
The Gypsy Cab Driver
The Ticket Scalper
The Dishonest Cop

Financial
The (Non-Government) Counterfeiter
The Miser
The Inheritor
The Moneylender
The Non-Contributor to Charity

Business and Trade
The Curmudgeon
The Slumlord
The Ghetto Merchant
The Speculator
The Importer
The Middleman
The Profiteer

Ecology
The Stripminer
The Litterer
The Wastemakers

Labor
The Fat Capitalist-Pig Employer
The Scab
The Rate Buster
The Employer of Child Labor