Rothbard was an extremely prolific and active author, managing to make libertarianism an autonomous current of thought and a movement with specific characteristics. In a very original way, he managed to combine Austrian economics, an ethics based on natural rights, the American individualist-anarchist tradition, and a great passion for the history of economic thought, explaining all the while, through an elaboration of the anti-statist legacy, how and why the government oppresses and robs the majority of the population. From an institutional point of view, he helped to found or otherwise worked with the major libertarian organizations from the 1940s to the 1990s, including the Foundation for Economic Education, the Volker Fund, the Institute for Humane Studies, the Libertarian Party, the Cato Institute, and the Ludwig von Mises Institute—the dream of a lifetime. Through his commitment, he has contributed to the formation of new generations of Austrian economists and libertarians in the United States and internationally.