Both Mises and Rothbard Reject Standard Free Rider Justifications for Government Subsidization or Direct Provision of Any Goods or Services

Mises, on the other hand, rejects all natural law arguments for property rights, adopting a strictly utilitarian approach. This allows him to be more flexible in considering alternative property rights arrangements. The underlying conclusion though, on the part of both authors, is that once property rights are clearly established a policy of strict laissez faire is seen as best promoting social welfare, even in the face of any external benefits or "free rider problems" that might still exist. Both Mises and Rothbard reject standard free rider justifications for either government subsidization or direct provision of any goods or services. Even though Mises is in favor of a minimal state apparatus to provide for the enforcement of property rights, there is no indication in his writings that the justification is based on free rider arguments.

--Roy Cordato, Efficiency and Externalities in an Open-Ended Universe: A Modern Austrian Perspective (Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2007), 22.