Libertarian Papers

A Journal of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

  • Home
  • Aims & Scope
    • Editors & Editorial Board
    • Submissions
  • Podcasts
  • Print & Ebook Versions
  • News and Updates
  • Subscribe
  • LP Store
  • Contact

“Marco Polo on the Mongol State: Taxation, Predation, and Monopolization”

Abstract: In Marco Polo’s Travels, the market is depicted as a voluntary means of production and exchange, leading to the creation of material abundance and wellbeing, whereas the Mongol state, by contrast, is repeatedly engaged in the extraction of wealth at the point of a sword. This paper examines Polo’s descriptions of the economic and political features of the Mongol empire through the lens of Austrian economics, with particular attention to taxes and tariffs, government spending, predation, state monopolies, currency manipulation, prohibitions and regulations, and control and surveillance.

Keywords: Marco Polo, Kubilai Khan, taxation, monopolization, predatory state, fiat money, inflation

Download Paper: “Marco Polo on the Mongol State: Taxation, Predation, and Monopolization”

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

November 6, 2015, By Stephan Kinsella (Editor) Filed Under: Libertarian Papers, Volume 7 (2015)

Search

Journal Archives

  • Volume 10 (2018)
  • Volume 9 (2017)
  • Volume 8 (2016)
  • Volume 7 (2015)
  • Volume 6 (2014)
  • Volume 5 (2013)
  • Volume 4 (2012)
  • Volume 3 (2011)
  • Volume 2 (2010)
  • Volume 1 (2009)

News and Updates

  • David Gordon’s JLS EditorialMay 29, 2022
  • Volume 9 of Libertarian Papers is Now Available in Print |August 10, 2018
  • Volume 8 of Libertarian Papers is Now Available |April 24, 2017
  • Jakub Wiśniewski Joins the Libertarian Papers Editorial Board |April 12, 2017
  • Libertarian Papers Archived by the Library of Congress |July 11, 2016
Contributor Login

Copyright © 2025 · Libertarian Papers