I would, at the outset, like to give my thanks and appreciation to all those who, in one way or another, assisted me in producing this dissertation. Although, it is hard to distinguish how much the assistance from each affected the product here, I must begin by thanking my dissertation committee for their encouragement and comments. The committee's director, Professor Viktor Vanberg, has assisted and encouraged me from the days that I was just postulating a topic for my dissertation. Although, Professor Vanberg bears no responsibility for the final product, it is fair to say that without his encouragement this dissertation might not have been produced. The other committee members, Professors Buchanan, Wagner, Liggio, and Líndal, not only showed great interest in the work but offered many suggestions that have affected the final shape of the product. Professor Líndal deserves special thanks for taking the time and showing patience in reading the historical parts of the dissertation.

The faculty and my fellow students in the department of economics at George Mason all showed great interest in my work and offered unmeasured encouragement, which they deserve thanks for. I would especially like to thank Tyler Cowen for his helpful comments. All the staff, faculty, and fellows at the Institute of Human Studies deserve thanks for their interest and assistance. I cannot escape to mention Jeremy Shearmur, Emilio Pacheco, Sheldon Richman, and John and Chris Blundell, all of whom deserve special thanks. The Center for Study of Public Choice and the Center for Study of Market Processes, their faculty and staff, I thank for accepting me as part of their scholarly communities.

Without funds I would not have been able to afford the time to work on this dissertation, and I therefore thank the Humane Studies Foundation, the Earhart Foundation, and the Bradley Foundation, for their financial assistance.

Last but not least, I would like to thank Sólveig Singleton for her editorial comments, without which this dissertation's English would have been far less comprehensible.

My sincerest appreciation are acknowledged to all those mentioned and to others whom for lack of space I do not mention here. Finally, I should say that none of these bear any responsibility for the product as it is offered here. That responsibility is exclusively mine.