Anarcho-Capitalist Threads in Modern Libertarianism: The Social Thought of Murray Rothbard

Murray Rothbard\u27s anarcho-capitalism represents an largely unexplored portion of American political thought. Despite an overwhelming array of publications on politics, economics, history, methodology, and other realms of social theory, his writings have received very little attention from the community of social theorists. A significant reason for the lack of analysis concerns the unique and radical nature of Rothbard\u27s thought. Although this research concludes that his form of anarchism is surely an American phenomenon, he combines the influences upon his writings in ways which ultimately separate him from even his libertarian colleagues. Still, he is an extremely influential figure in the largely successful revival of contemporary American libertarianism or classical liberalism, despite his overly radical anarchist tendencies. This project integrates Rothbard\u27s social theory and critiques it from within the confines of a libertarian negative rights framework which defines ethical parameters around the notion of individualism and non-interference. It focuses upon five components of Rothbard\u27s work: 1.) Methodological and epistemological foundations; 2.) Economic theory; 3.) Political ethics; 4.) Anarcho-capitalist society; and 5.) Strategies in the achievement of the libertarian system. After a thorough analysis of each of these areas, the research concludes that Rothbard\u27s system of libertarian ethics and his society of anarchy and property rights are quite feasible theoretically and potentially provide practical advantages over current State-imposed alternatives in many arenas. However, some major concerns remain. Concerning the private provision of defense, Rothbard underestimates the propensities for free riding which may only be overcome (as in other arenas entailing spillover effects) with time, which makes the removal of the State apparatus highly problematic without complete international consensus. In the case of external opposition, transitional costs make his theoretical framework untenable. Moreover, the entire libertarian model faces serious tactical problems--in which Rothbard\u27s absolutist and monistic style and theory do not relieve. He is never clearly able to guarantee that his brand of anarchism necessarily protects or cultivates the ethics of libertarianism. A rigid ethical dichotomy of the market and political processes tends to cloak this fundamentally crucial issue in his theory. Nevertheless, Rothbard is a significant figure both in the historical understanding of the modern libertarian revival in America and in the theoretical advancement of these ideas

Siouxland Dairy Lenders Seminar Focus On Dairy Enterprise Issues

Agricultural lenders in the six Northwest Iowa counties serve over 100 dairymen, representing production from over 57,000 cows. Add to that Siouxland producers in the surrounding states and the numbers double. A review of programing for dairy lenders in Siouxland found that little programing had been directed to dairy lenders specifically in recent years. With the stresses of low milk prices, variable feed prices and high land prices, lenders were often using dated budgets and formulas to evaluate profitability of dairy enterprises. A Dairy Lenders Seminar for the Siouxland area was developed based on the Tri- State Lenders Conference (IA, IL, WI) as a template, conducted and evaluated in November 2017. 41 lenders came from four states, representing 14 lending institutions plus four other industries. From those that returned program evaluations their attendance translated to 65 dairies, 69,725 milking cows and 97,400 acres producing feed for those cows. Overall, 88 percent of respondents were mostly, or completely satisfied with the activity and 100 percent would recommend the activity to others. In addition, 65 percent anticipated benefiting economically as a direct result of what they learned from this Extension activity. When asked about the presenters, 100 percent were mostly or completely satisfied with their knowledge and responses to questions. Over 73 percent of the lenders indicated that one or more of their clients planned on expanding their herds; Fourteen percent predicted at least one of their clients would exit the industry; and 17 percent believed that one or more of their clients would add robotic milkers to their operations. We evaluated increase in the level of understanding and found that the highest change was in the understanding comparing profitability of conventional, organic and grazing dairies at 88 percent. Next, was dairy component markets and how it affects farm-gate prices plus the information on analyzing enterprises for profitability, both at 55 percent. Finally, plans to adopt a practice or technology as the result of a program is the truest measure of success for Extension programs, with 100 percent of respondents indicating the commodity market updates would be most likely. Overall, this initial Siouxland Dairy lenders Seminar was highly successful and will be held annually in the future

Factors Influencing and Steps Leading to the Adoption of Best Management Practices by Louisiana Dairy Farmers

A logistic regression procedure was used to assess the impact of socioeconomic attributes on the best management practices (BMPs) adoption decision by Louisiana dairy farmers relative to cost-share and fixed incentive payments. Analysis of the steps in the BMP adoption decision process indicated visits between producers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture–Natural Resource Conservation Service significantly increase likelihood of BMP adoption. Producer willingness-to-pay results indicate that marginal increases in dairy BMP adoption and associated improvement in environmental quality require increased technical and financial assistance.best management practices, bootstrap, cost-share, manure, steps in BMP adoption, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Q16, Q25, Q53,

Willingness to Participate in Dairy Programs to Reduce Manure Related Problems in Louisiana's Major Dairy Production Region

Logistic and tobit models were used to understand the factors affecting dairy program participation and stated bid values by respondents. Results indicated that past participation is the key variable in regression. Bootstrap result confirms that most of the estimated parameters fall within the range of bootstrap confidence interval.Livestock Production/Industries,

Influence of Cost Share and EQIP Incentive Payments on Adoptions of Best Management Practices by Louisiana Dairy Farmers

Adoption of best management practices (BMPs) minimizes the negative externalities created by the manure by-product of milk production. Logistic regression procedure was used to understand the impact of socioeconomic attributes of Louisiana dairy farmers on BMP adoption decision relative to the cost share and incentive payment.Farm Management,

Determination of BMP Adoption Effectiveness in the Louisiana Dairy Production Region.

AVGWLF and PRedICT softwares were used to estimate the Louisiana dairy industry's effect on water quality. Results indicated a 20 percent decrease in N and P but little decrease in sediment pollution even when best management practices were adopted in 75% of land.Livestock Production/Industries,

Calibrating Online Survey Sample for Economic Impact Analysis

Online surveys have emerged as low-cost data collection approach in empirical researches; however, the validity of data remains questionable. Therefore, we employed a stochastic frontier estimation method to calibrate online recreational expenditure. Study results suggested the presence of inefficiency on online surveys. Analysis was extended to estimate economic impact of nature based recreation on a local economy.calibration, online survey, onsite survey, stochastic frontier approach, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Introduction

The large number of submissions to and excellent attendance at the Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes IV conference reflects the strong and growing interest in the astronomical and engineering communities. More than 250 papers were submitted to this year's conference, the largest number in the series' history. This year's conference included 28 oral sessions and two poster sessions

Introduction

The large number of submissions to and excellent attendance at the Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes IV conference reflects the strong and growing interest in the astronomical and engineering communities. More than 250 papers were submitted to this year's conference, the largest number in the series' history. This year's conference included 28 oral sessions and two poster sessions