In 1985, Gordon worked with Walter Block on a law review article, "Extortion and the Exercise of Free Speech Rights". In this article, they explored the contradictions and paradoxes in laws against blackmail and the conditions under which such laws may be acceptable.[15][16]
Gordon's 1991 book Resurrecting Marx: The Analytical Marxists on Freedom, Exploitation, and Justice was described by Mises Institute scholar Yuri Maltsev as "a refutation of neo-Marxist attempts to save the system from itself".[17] The book refutes the arguments of Marxist political philosophers, including G. A. Cohen, Jon Elster, and John Roemer, and opposes every form of Marxism as theoretically nonviable.[18] Gordon argues that capitalism could not be exploitative and that laissez-faire capitalism could serve a just world, concluding that Marxism is "a complete failure".[19] The American Political Science Review said Gordon's argument was "rather crude", and Contemporary Sociology said Gordon failed to show that analytical Marxists were "a formidable weapon in the hands of anti-Marxists such as himself."[1]Contemporary Society also said that Gordon had shown little competence in anti-Marxist argument, falling into "easily avoided mistakes".[1]Paul Gottfried, writing in The Review of Metaphysics assessed the book more positively, stating that Gordon had demonstrated that Cohen, Elster, and Roemer had failed to "rehabilitate Marx's economic theories". The review said that Gordon's explanation of his own libertarian stance was "by far the most stimulating".[20] Oxford political scientist David Leopold noted that Gordon’s “thumbnail test” for classifying a writer as an analytical Marxist reflects a common, though “misleading and unfortunate”, understanding of the school. Gordon wrote that a favorable stance on dialectics meant that the writer must be "crossed off the list".[21]
Gordon's book The Philosophical Origins of Austrian Economics (1992), which explores the philosophical origins of Carl Menger's economic theories, was highly praised by Murray Rothbard.[22] Writing in The Review of Austrian Economics, Barry Smith criticized the book for its over-simplistic division of philosophers into two camps—German (Hegelian, organicist, and anti-science) and Austrian (Aristotelian, individualist and pro-science)—despite philosophers having more complex interrelations. For example, Franz Brentano, a model of Austrian thought, was born in Germany and was strongly influenced by German philosopher Friedrich Adolf Trendelenburg.[23] Gordon later wrote an essay, "Second Thoughts on The Philosophical Origins of Austrian Economics", to provide some additions and corrections to his book.[24][independent source needed]
In 2002, Gordon edited Secession, State & Liberty, a collection of essays arguing that secession should be seriously considered. The essays analyze U.S. history, examine theoretical issues, and apply these ideas to the modern world.[25]
In 2011, Gordon and Swedish consultant Per Nilsson analyzed books published by Harvard University Press in their paper "The Ideological Profile of Harvard University Press: Categorizing 494 Books Published 2000–2010" in Econ Journal Watch.[26] They concluded that the press's ideology is predominantly leftist, although they acknowledged that they had not read all the books they categorized.[11][27]
Assessments
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Murray Rothbard described him as a learned figure.[28] In The Myth of National Defense, Luigi Marco Bassani and Carlo Lottieri referred to Gordon as a "semiofficial reviewer" within the libertarian movement.[29] In the foreword to Strictly Confidential: The Private Volker Fund Memos of Murray N. Rothbard, Reason magazine journalist Brian Doherty noted that Gordon has written extensively on the historical, philosophical, and economic foundations of libertarianism.[30]
↑Mayer, Jane (2017). Dark money: the hidden history of the billionaires behind the rise of the radical right (First edition, paperbacked.). New York: Anchor Books. pp.107, 488. ISBN978-0-307-94790-1.
↑Hardisty, Jean (2000). Mobilizing Resentment: Conservative Resurgence From The John Birch Society To The Promise Keepers. Beacon. p.174. ISBN9780807043172.
↑Murray Rothbard, " The Present State of Austrian Economics"Archived January 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine , paper delivered October 9, 1992; reprinted in The Logic of Action One: Method, Money, and the Austrian School, Glos, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., 1997, pp. 111–172. Rothbard writes: "For a brilliant and incisive discussion and demolition of the logical empiricist contention on many levels, see David Gordon, The Philosophical Origins of Austrian Economics."
↑Murray N. Rothbard, "Mr. Bush's shooting war," February 1991, published in Llewellyn H. Rockwell, editor, The Irrepressible Rothbard: The Rothbard-Rockwell Report Essays of Murray N. Rothbard, Center for Libertarian Studies, 2000, ISBN978-1-883959-02-9
↑Murray Rothbard, Strictly Confidential: The Private Volker Fund Memos of Murray N. Rothbard, Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2010, p. x, in foreword by Brian Doherty, ISBN978-1-933550-80-0
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