German Philosopher Hans-Hermann Hoppe on This Day in History

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Today in History: German political philosopher Hans-Hermann Hoppe was born on this day in 1949. Hoppe, who can be described as an Austrian school libertarian anarcho-capitalist economist who is best know for his book "Democracy: The God that Failed."

In this book, Hoppe argues that democracy is not an improvement over monarchy. Politicians in a democracy have a very high time preference (they value immediate gratification) because they have to please their constituents in the short span of a term in order to get re-elected. Thus, democracy is short-sighted and favors short-term gains over long-term losses. Monarchy, on the other hand, is the opposite. Monarchs have low time preference for three reasons: (1) their reign lasts for a lifetime (2) they will pass their kingdom on to their heirs, and (3) they have total ownership of their kingdom. Hence, monarchs have a greater incentive to maintain their society over time.

Of course, Hoppe would rather have neither system, but it is food for thought.

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