Kudos

The Corkboard. Whatever. Feel free to add your own man-love, kudos or hate mail in the comments field. Selected ones will be added below. See also praise for Legal Foundations for a Free Society.

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“I believe that once the dust settles, LFFS will rank with Ethics of Liberty and Theory of Socialism and Capitalism as one of the libertarian greats.”

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From a friend whose son in college just went on a family vacation with parents and friends: “X is about half way through your book. Says he is really enjoying it. We had a long conversation about several of the topics he learned for the first time. We went into [city] today but he just wanted to stay in the cabin and read (and sleep). Contract theory, common law vs legislated law, alienation of the will. No one talks about this anywhere else.”

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See Mark Maresca’s review of LFFS on Amazon.

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“Stephan I have been listening to many of your podcasts lately and have become a big fan. I am currently listening to your Hoppe Social Theory lectures and they are so good. In this and elsewhere, you explain the big picture while addressing those little (but important) questions which have built up in my mind as I learn about libertarianism and economics. Thank you much.” —PM on Facebook

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I normally always agree with Dr. Kinsella, and I mean always. Where I initially didn’t, he has won me over. Nobody does careful, step-by-step logical reasoning like Dr. Kinsella. —Jan Masek

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“Dear Dr Kinsella I am writing to you because I am currently working on my master’s thesis dedicated to the issue of initial appropriation from libertarian perspective. I have been listening to you lectures, read your papers and consider you as a major specialist in clarifying libertarian theory that is why I would be grateful for your opinion (or libertarian position as you perceived it) on following question ….” —Mirosław Karczmarczyk, Jagiellonian University student

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“Against IP is a unique contribution to libertarian thought, I will never forget the impact it had on me. Forever grateful.” Twitter

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Reading ‘Against Intellectual Property’ at 1:15am and @NSKinsella is one of the clearest and most accessible libertarian writers I have yet come across. Highly recommended reading. —(Twitter)

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“Hi. You dont know me but its ok – im happy reader/viewer of your stuff on the internet. Become ancap cuz you wallter block and hoppe. You have a brilliant thing for identification of problems and sharp ways of solving them. You made my life unimaginately richer. Thank you sir. Wish nothing less but a good health and happiness to you and your family. Best regards . [x]” [March 2020]

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“to Kinsella’s credit, he is not only blunt but also good-natured” —LiberLaw

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From someone attending Mises University and asking for an inscribed copy of my Against Intellectual Property: “Evening Mr. Kinsella, I just dropped off the book to be shipped through FedEx and included a pre-paid return label. They asked that it be dropped off with an employee and not in one of their boxes. Thank you again for this favor. I always rank it in my top 5 favorite liberty literature. It’s very concise and clear. The Causation and Aggression essay is another good one with explaining criminal conspiracies.”

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“The only one I haven’t listened to at least 3 or 4 times is the IP one (I’m almost as tired of it as you seem to be. It’s so obvious, why are we still talking about it?). They are actually the best things on the internet. I can honestly say that listening to them gave me a full and correct understanding of what libertarianism is that I’m not sure I would have gotten any other way” —David Reid (regarding my 2011 Mises Academy lectures on Libertarian Legal Theory)

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“Kinsella is brilliant – but very rude.” —David Warshaw (me: “Better than the opposite”)

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“@NSKinsella is a guy I hate that I love so much. His overt rudeness in the public sphere through the years hasn’t been my style, and had turned me off from time to time. But style aside, the guy is always right… And friggin brilliant. Look forward to listening to this.” —Branden Espinoza, Twitter

“Stephan, your single 45 minute speech at Porcfest on patents had me convinced patents were bad.. And I’m not easily convince. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge.” —Emmanuel Dion-Weiss

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“Subject: Thank you for your work

I wanted to show my thanks to you Stefan.

I’ve been recently watching your Mises U lectures on Hoppe, and your Contract lecture at the PFS.

I think you’re the clearest and most precise libertarian writer/speaker alive today, surpassing Hoppe in your specialties. Every topic you teach clicks faster than anyone else for me.

Last year I watched you speak on IP, and you changed my 20+ year view on IP in less than 10 minutes, by the force of logic alone.

I saw you as the “IP guy”. Now I see you as the “contract guy.” Soon you’ll be the “legal guy”, and you might even become the heir to Hoppe.

Keep up the great work, I look forward to more of your content” —P (10/2017)

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“Stephan. Btw I read your estoppel and proportionality article and I thought a lot about it since. I think it is genious and I consider myself an “estoppelist”.” —József Vizkeleti

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Re: Thank you for your work

“Many thanks for your tireless work in libertarian legal theory and for libertarianism in general. I for one, benefit greatly from reading your publications and listening to your podcasts. Additionally, I am eagerly waiting for your new book, Law in a Libertarian World, to be published.

I wanted to send this simple email to thank you the best I can at the moment. You have actually inspired me to begin an entrepreneurial venture; which will hopefully change my current status tremendously (long story for another time). Perhaps one day I will be afforded the opportunity to thank you properly in person.” —M

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“I recently had a year in between careers.  During that time I listened to a lot of Austro-libertarian podcasts and read a lot of liberty-oriented books and articles, to build on the self-learning I’d been undertaking for years.  I then set to formulating my own compendium on libertarianism vs. statism, a copy of which I’m attaching to this email.  I am not sending this to you for you to necessarily read; rather, since you have been an enormous influence in the development of my philosophy – both in your own right, and as an explainer of Hoppe – I just wanted to you to see one tangible result of your tireless efforts to educate others about anarcho-capitalism.” —S

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“Greetings Mr Kinsella

First, I must say that I am grateful to you for helping me to properly and comprehensively understand the case against ‘intellectual property’ as it was among the last concepts for me to drop before becoming a proper an-cap!

… Thank you very much for your time and cheers to freedom and liberty!” —Mr. X

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“Here is some good advice: Read More Stephan Kinsella. Read about children and self-ownership, read about IP, read about Montessori, read it all. He’s sound, he’s clear, he’s direct, and he’s an honest broker. He’s also willing to entertain new ideas and to change his mind.

(Edit: Do we read Kinsella to our sons? Darned right we do. Does it matter if they don’t understand? Read it often enough over their favorite breakfast and they’ll come to understand.)”—The Libertarian Homeschooler

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“I am a big fan of your work, not just on IP but on anarcho-libertarian theory in general, and have listened to just about all of your podcast episodes since I discovered the feed a few months back! I regularly listen to Stefan Molyneux as well, and he puts out a lot of great material; but you explain difficult concepts with such clarity that I feel my learning has really accelerated since I started reading and listening to you.” —K.D.

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“Stephan, if IP and the state are ever abolished, you should start a DRO. You have quite a reputation of justice and rigorous reasoning. I would totally subscribe.” —Victor Weis

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“Stephan, I have to say, you are the clearest, most precise, and most rigorous libertarian writer currently alive. IMO.

“I wish more people understood just how brilliant and important your work is.” —[FB message]

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“Just wanted to say thanks for being awesome. Been watching your KOL series and lectures all week. You’re the only person who has persuaded me to disagree with Walter Block so I commend you for that!” — J.H.

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“you are a snippy little bitch, aren’t ya” —Robert Wenzel

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“characteristically clear and pugnacious…” —Gary Chartier

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–“Libertarianism derives its ideas from many sources, including the Austrian Scool of Economics, Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard, Henry Hazlitt, Walter Block, Hans-Hermann Hoppe and Stephan Kinsella. Other strands from which the Libertarian cloth is woven include the minimal-government American revolutionaries, J.S. Mill, Adam Smith, the classic liberals of the eighteenth and ninetheenth centuries, Lysander Spooner, Benjamin Tucker, Frederick Bastiat, Gustave de Molinari and many others.” –Irish libertarian philosopher Gerard Casey

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“Kensella [sic] is an unhinged and dishonest bit of nastiness, and he deserves to be shunned by all reasonable people — not treated as a civilized interlocutor.” —An Objectivist

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“You’re the foremost enemy of property rights …” —J. Neil Schulman

“Stephan Kinsella follows me around the Internet posting crank theories that nullify the very concept of property rights, then warps reality in an attempt to call his ravings a defense of property and distort the writings of real property-rights advocates in an attempt to flim-flam the innocent into being deceived. He’s a nice guy but intellectually the very devil.” —J. Neil Schulman

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“[A]s far as the libertarian movement is concerned, I regard Stephan Kinsella as our leading legal theoretician.” —Walter Block

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“Against intellectual Property is by far one of the most important documents in libertarian theory. As far as condensed information goes only Gustav de Molinari’s ‘The Production of Security’ or ‘Anatomy of the State’ rival ‘Against IP’.” —Abject Dogma

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Stephan, let me just take a second to say you are quite a Man, in the truest sense of the term. Your contributions to the body of ideas that inspire me is one thing, and your personal charm is second-to-none, but what triggered this email is my admiration of your website. Sheesh, what a wonderful resource. It provides almost as much trawling pleasure as the LvMI website, so rich in hidden treasures to be discovered, downloaded and enjoyed.
Best wishes,
–X

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“I am a great admirer of your writing on intellectual property.  In fact, Against Intellectual Property was a watershed event in my study of libertarianism.  Once I got over the mental hurdle of IP my understanding of a number of other important issues became much clearer.  Thank you for that.” –Allen Lewis, CFA

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“Back in 1995, I came across this fabulous journal article … Legislation and the Discovery of Law in a Free Society. It made a huge impression on me and I will never forget its insights and teachings.” —Dr. Tim Evans

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“my favorite libertarian writer”
—Jayel Aheram

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“As always with Stephan Kinsella he makes some very interesting sharp points and again appears to be at the cutting edge of libertarian thought. This is the reason I respect him a lot. He has applied some simple common truths in a fresh way.”
—Scott F.

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“Huge fan of your work. Some of my first and most infliential readings from mises.org were from you.” –C.B.

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“one of the best writers anywhere”
—Michael Boldin

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“Kinsella, I love your pugnacious and lucid writing style, but I cringe when I hear you speak–just not used to that Louisiana backwoods accent!“–Daniel Roncari

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Fascinating point Stephan, as always. I find your illuminating and often surprising blog entries refreshing and evidence against the accusation that libertarianism is becoming dogmatic and cult-like.
—LightBringer

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Just finished reading [What Libertarianism Is]. I think its the single greatest libertarian essay I’ve read all year.

–John David

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[Re: What Libertarianism Is:] You are becoming our cutting edge thinker. So many thought provoking analyses. A few years ago I disliked your [Kelo piece] but I may have missed your nuances there. However I’m impressed with your intellectual energy and published output.

Best, M–

I stumbled across your website and enjoyed reading. Keep up the good writing. I will surely read more. Thanks.
–Russ

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Recently, I have been doing some research into argumentation ethics. … Your estoppel approach stuck me as brilliant.  When I read your review of Hoppe’s masterpiece I found that you had the same lament I did: no one had seemed to fill in the argumentation lines for issues like babies, children, the definition of rights, the existence of free will and a million other things related to libertarianism in some fashion or another. I was wondering if you knew of anyone who has filled in the blanks over the past 15 years?

–T.H.

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I really enjoyed your Mises article on IP.  I find you to be a clear and entertaining author. And any Austro-Anarchist Libertarian with a sense of humor (Simplify…) is a friend of mine…

–Prahas

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I recently discovered you through your “IP and Libertarianism” article ….  I’m relatively new to libertarianism and Austrian economics in that I’ve actively studied them (as a hungry freethinker, not as an academic) only in the last few years.  I started with Charles Murray and David Boaz, then started following Cato and the Reason Foundation, and have recently studied Hayek with great satisfaction. In my long and tedious detox from progressivism, I’ve been eager to discover new voices — voices of intellectual vigor, voices not beholden to hysteria — and am glad that you are now one of them.

Because of you (I’m particularly fascinated by your Constitutional points of view), I don’t have to roll my eyes and beg off when progressive acquaintances accuse me of being one of those wacky anarchists.  I love learning things I don’t know, from people who can frame a position with such precision that I can’t help but want to know more.

It’s a strange and lonely way of life, being always and categorically beyond the edge of the mainstream, but if it means that one is closer to some sort of truth, I’ll homestead on the edge any day.

Thanks for your inspiration.

–Andrew

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“When at the ASC some years back …, I asked Tom DiLorenzo what he thought the most thought-provoking and mind-changing article was in recent memory within the libertarian academic community. He thought it was Stephan’s anti-IP article in the JLS.” —Gil Guillory

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“I [wanted] to tell you how much I liked your IP talk.  You are a careful and articulate system builder, and thus a worthy student of Hoppe.”

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“Your talk tonight was brilliant. I am just sorry I missed the actual presentation, but when I got to the room, … all seats were taken. … You are an important and creative libertarian intellectual ….“

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