Why my early books are Misesian and not Rothbardian

I’m a Rothbardian, but you would never know it if you read the earliest works in my Renegades Epic, which take a more Misesian approach. 

I’ve been cleaning up, polishing, and uploading my backlist to The Rebel Lore Vault, a store that bucks Amazon’s algorithms, doesn’t show you a thousand products on a single sales page, and doesn’t harvest your data.

Readers who start their journey with my dark paranormal fantasy Cursed Mage might do a double take when they read books like Wind Wielder, given the latter’s Misesian tones as opposed to the Rothbardian nature Cursed Mage and the Catenarian Chronicles dive into.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, I’ll separate Misesian vs. Rothbardian libertarianism. Misesians believe in a minimal State that provides enough funding at the local level, along with upholding a military for defense purposes only. Rothbardians reject the State outright, which is what I’ve slowly turned into — a far cry from my Marxist leanings during my high school and early college days.

I spent a few years as a Misesian before going full Rothbardian

For years, I slowly deviated from Marxism to Democratic Socialism to right-wing conservatism to a militant brand of libertarian anarchism to the Libertarian Party to Misesianism and, finally, to Rothbardianism. When I started writing my Renegades Epic shared universe, I was ceding my Libertarian Party views into Misesian views, so you’re getting a different side of TC Marti with earlier books like Wind Wielder.

You’ll find those same Misesian views throughout the first four books in Elementals of Nordica, and I even go as far as to justify the existence of the State. Books in Terrian Chronicles follow suit, and I even heavily imply I’m Misesian in books like Civil War and BattleFront. The same even went for my old-world fantasy series, Cymraeg Tales.

In case you’re wondering, all of the above books are in that same shared universe and they’re entwined with one another from series to series.

What caused the Rothbardian shift?

In early 2024, I read Chaos Theory by Dr. Robert Murphy, and it erased any doubt I had about the military-sized elephant in the room. While I was, even in my Misesian years, convinced local services could roll over into the private sector — which would leave us better off thanks to an increase in the accountability factor — I couldn’t explain military and defense. Again, strictly defense — not surrounding “enemy” nations with bases and calling it defense.

Murphy outlined how contractors independent from the State — because in Murphy’s work, no State exists — would operate. It wouldn’t be one major monopoly on the military. Nor would government contracts exist. Ditto for selective tax breaks, subsidies, and any other “regulation” that would stifle competition and bring about a few winners at the expense of many losers. No modern-day mercantilism, in other words, that a lot of people mistake as capitalism.

Still, skeptics could read Chaos Theory and have their doubts. What about larger companies and what if they become more predatory? If a company gets too big and too powerful, then a de facto State would emerge, no?

These are good questions, and it’s why I decided to answer them in one of my newer books.

The Arcane Prophecy tackles the burning questions

In my YA academy fantasy, The Arcane Prophecy, I take on these concerns. While Arcane is magical realism at its core and rich in elemental magic, I don’t hedge with the small subplot regarding a massive defense contracting company in the stateless and Rothbardian Northern Region.

The owner, Ukko Sharpe, could easily throw his weight around and crown himself the leader of a de facto State that would erupt. In most superficial reads in the genre, that would be the plot. Girl named Yote Diamondback arrives in unfamiliar region, she sees corruption because of some “evil capitalist,” she takes on said “evil capitalist,” wins, and becomes the catalyst for “much-needed reforms” or a “much-needed State with the right people in charge.”

I could sell out and go in that direction. Instead, Ukko explains why he and his company, Sharpe Defense, would get their asses handed to them if he tried it. Long story short, Ukko’s aware of checks and balances, and that those smaller and less powerful companies, especially micro-companies that specialize in one unique area, would outmaneuver him despite their limitations.

Ukko dives into deeper depths in Arcane and it becomes a recurring theme throughout the series. Catch the first three chapters of The Arcane Prophecy, meet Yote Diamondback, and see what sets the stage for her and Ukko’s paths eventually crossing.