ABSTRACT
The aim of the present book is to investigate the putative theoretical desirability, both from the economic and the ethical point of view, as well as the practical inevitability of the presence of a monopoly of force in any given system of political economy. The primary methodological tool used for this purpose is praxeological analysis in the spirit of the Austrian School of Economics, coupled with the analysis of institutional robustness of the relevant economic and social frameworks. The main contribution of the book is to show that the combined analytical power of the these two methodological approaches is uniquely suited to presenting a comprehensive socioeconomic alternative to the view that sees the territorial monopoly of force as the foundation of institutional order in any working society. This chapter contains a detailed overview of the contents of the ensuing chapters that further clarifies the aim and scope of the present work.
