The Production of Security
1849
Summary
Molinari's short but explosive 1849 essay — the first systematic argument that security and defense, like any other commodity, should be produced by competing private firms on the free market rather than monopolized by the state. Molinari applies standard economic logic: monopoly in any industry raises costs and lowers quality; there is no reason why policing and protection should be exempt. He concludes that consumers would be better served by freely choosing among competing security providers. The essay is the founding document of what would later be called anarcho-capitalism and market anarchism.