On Intellectual Integrity and What a Difference one Crook can Make

Related:

• An Open Letter to Walter E. Block
• Milei Praised instead of Booed at Mises Institute
• Hoppe: Mises Institute: Quo Vadis?
• Chiocca, The most Zionist president in the world is now the greatest Austro-libertarian hero of all time
• Kinsella tweet on HdS Milei praise

Upon publishing this: “An Open Letter to Walter E. Block,” LewRockwell.com (Jan. 31, 2024), Jesus Huerta de Soto (JHS) sent me this note:

Dear Hans:

Congratulations for your article on Block’s position. I mostly agree with your, as always, impeccable arguments.
Best wishes
Jesus Huerta de Soto

Block, following up his original piece by several more in the same vein was then removed as a Senior Fellow of the MI. The same happened to him at the Ron Paul Institute, the Libertarian Institute, the Future of Freedom Foundation, and Anti-War.com.¹

Javier Milei, the self-described world’s greatest Zionist president,² essentially shares Block’s views, as Block has proudly noted.

Does JHS now also condemn the views of Milei as he did those of Block? No. He hails him as the greatest anarcho-capitalist spokesman ever. And that although Block (apart from his despicable Zionism and Israel First stand) is actually an accomplished Austrian economist, while the equally evil Zionist Milei is at best a dilettantish apprentice.

Was JHS removed as Senior Fellow of the MI (as was Block) on account of his celebration of the the world’s greatest Zionist, or Block reinstalled to his former position? Not as far as I know. Rather, JHS was celebrated by the MI.

And some people, who were apparently only born yesterday, complained that I dared to criticize this celebration arguing that JHS only said a few words about Milei and his “great” speeches. But that is precisely the scandal: namely what he did NOT say about Milei and yet everyone born before yesterday did know or at least should have known about Netanyahu’s best friend and his rather unlibertarian actions.³

1. See Kinsella, Mises Institute email: “Rothbard’s Ideas Live On: Three Books That Defend Liberty,” n.2 and idem, Van De Haar and Besada on Hayek, Mises, Rothbard on Zionism, citing Walter Block, interviewed by Made in Ancapia (Youtube, Jan 2, 2026); “They kicked me out of Mises Institute for saying this,” Walter’s Newsletter (Substack; Feb 16, 2026); idem, “I have been fired from the Advisory Board of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity,” Israpundit [you can’t make this up. —SK] (May 16, 2025). Mises Institute: Ryan McMaken, “We Have Standards,” Power & Market (05/30/2024); David Gordon and Wanjiru Njoya, “Orwellian Libertarianism: The Topsy-Turvy World of Walter Block,” Mises Wire (Nov. 30, 2024). Libertarian Institute: Joseph Solis-Mullen, “Walter Block Succumbs to the Fake China Threat,” Libertarian Institute (May 28, 2024); Patrick Macfarlane, “Hoppe Kicks Walter Block Out of Libertarianism,” Vital Dissent with Patrick MacFarlane/Libertarian Institute, Ep. 268 (Feb 1, 2024); Jeremy R. Hammond, “Walter Block Is a Zionist Extremist, Not a Libertarian,” Libertarian Institute (Sep 11, 2024). Other: Oded Jacob Kohn Faran, “Exiling Block: What the Mises Institute Split Reveals About Libertarian Fragility,” The Savvy Street (May 14, 2025). [↩]
2. Hoppe: Mises Institute: Quo Vadis?; Chiocca, The most Zionist president in the world is now the greatest Austro-libertarian hero of all time.  [↩]
3. As Stephan Kinsella tweets, Lucas M. Engelhardt’s claim that HdS only said that Milei has “done a lot to advance the ideas of the Austrian school” omits that HdS actually said “We cannot fail to mention the unprecedented impact of our disciple Javier Milei, who has done more than anyone to spread the ideas of the Austrian school.” and that in any case, “Ron Paul in his years in Congress and multiple and notable runs for President did far more than Milei to spread the ideas of the Austrian school and liberty—and without the neocon warmongering”. [↩]