Murray Newton Rothbard (born March 2, 1926 - January 7, 1995) - American political philosopher, economist, representative of the Austrian school of economic theory and historian, whose writings and personal influence played a major role in the development of modern libertarianism Rothbard was the founder and leading theorist of anarcho-capitalism and libertarianism, a staunch supporter of historical revisionism and a central figure in the American libertarian movement of the 20th century. He has written over 20 books on political theory, revisionist history, economics and other subjects.
Rothbard argued that all the services provided by the "monopoly system of the corporate state" could be more efficiently provided by the private sector, and wrote that the state is "an organization of robbery, systematized and large-scale." He called fractional reserve banking a form of fraud and opposed central banking. Rothbard is adamantly opposed to any military, political and economic interventionism in the affairs of other nations. According to his protégé Hans-Hermann Hoppe, "there would not have been an anarcho-capitalist movement here that could have been spoken of without Rothbard."
Rothbard rejected mainstream economic methodologies and instead adopted the praxeology of his most important intellectual predecessor, Ludwig von Mises. To promote his economic and political ideas, Rothbard joined Lew Rockwell and Burton Blumert in 1982 to found the Mises Institute in Alabama.
Murray Rothbard is known as the principal enemy of the state. His book Anatomy of the State is the most succinct and powerful exposition of anti-etatism. Following Franz Oppenheimer and Albert Knock, Rothbard views the state as a dangerous predatory creature. It does not produce anything, but only steals resources from those who are engaged in the production of goods. In Anatomy of the State, Rothbard shows us how the state tramples on and transgresses everything that law-abiding citizens adhere to, and how it operates under the false guise of "good intentions."