WEBVTT NOTE Introduction 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.040 Speaking of Liberty by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. 2 00:00:03.040 --> 00:00:07.760 Copyright 2003 by the Ludwig von Mises Institute 3 00:00:07.760 --> 00:00:10.120 Dedicated to Murray and Rothbard 4 00:00:10.120 --> 00:00:13.920 Scholar, teacher, gentleman 5 00:00:13.920 --> 00:00:15.520 Introduction 6 00:00:15.520 --> 00:00:18.760 A common response to a good article is to say to the author, 7 00:00:18.760 --> 00:00:20.720 you should write a book. 8 00:00:20.720 --> 00:00:26.960 I've heard this for years, but from what I've seen of such efforts, most articles should remain articles. 9 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:29.920 Looking at the corpus of writing in the Austrian tradition, 10 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:35.040 For more than a century ago, through the latest books brought out by the Mises Institute, 11 00:00:35.040 --> 00:00:38.880 there are more than enough books available containing systematic expositions of theory 12 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:44.040 and history that need to be read and studied. There was nothing I could say systematically 13 00:00:44.040 --> 00:00:48.640 in a book-length treatment that would add to the articles I write weekly. Articles and 14 00:00:48.640 --> 00:00:54.120 books constitute separate literary genres, taking a different pace and designed for different 15 00:00:54.120 --> 00:00:59.480 purposes. The same is true of non-academic public speeches. They're not designed to give 16 00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:35.480 is a dated material, and thus some do refer to events of the Clinton years without reference to later events. 17 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:40.480 The material on the current state of the economy is subject to withering with time. 18 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:46.480 Some of the material on war predates the change in public sentiment after September 11, 2001, 19 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:52.480 a date which has become something of a hinge of history in American foreign policy. 20 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:57.480 But there are two senses in which the material itself will always remain relevant. 21 00:01:57.480 --> 00:02:02.480 First, the principles are always the same. Second, events tend to repeat themselves. 22 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:08.480 I recently watched a video about the Federal Reserve that the Mises Institute made in the early 1990s. 23 00:02:08.480 --> 00:02:16.480 It described the recessionary environment of that time. Watching it again in 2003 seemed up to the minute. 24 00:02:16.480 --> 00:02:21.480 I've organized the speeches by topic, though there is plenty of overlap between sections. 25 00:02:21.480 --> 00:02:27.480 Economics is tied to politics, which leads to issues of war and peace and back again. 26 00:02:27.480 --> 00:02:37.480 I've added another footnote to bibliographies, knowing that Mises.org and Google searches can instantly yield more references for further study than I could possibly add. 27 00:02:37.480 --> 00:02:40.480 Reading through all these, I find common themes. 28 00:02:40.480 --> 00:02:42.480 The corruptions of politics. 29 00:02:42.480 --> 00:02:46.480 The universality and immutability of the ideas of freedom. 30 00:02:46.480 --> 00:02:49.480 The centrality of sound money and free enterprise. 31 00:02:49.480 --> 00:02:59.480 The moral imperative of peace and trade, the importance of hope and tenacity in the struggle for liberty, and the need for everyone to join the intellectual fight. 32 00:02:59.480 --> 00:03:03.480 These are themes I hope to convey in my speeches over the years. 33 00:03:03.480 --> 00:03:12.480 Reading them is no substitute for keeping up with the news through short commentaries, and they are certainly no substitute for extensive reading in the scholarly literature. 34 00:03:12.480 --> 00:03:23.480 If someone asked me whether he should read this book or something by Ludwig von Mises or Murray Rothbard, I wouldn't have to consider the question very long. It's always better to do deep study. 35 00:03:23.480 --> 00:03:36.480 And yet I find value in this genre. And I hope you do too. Mostly I hope you consider supporting the ideas that led me to write them and deliver them. Also I've included two longer interviews that are a bit more personal.