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Articles by Patrick Carroll

The Anatomy of the Statist

December 12, 2023

The statist is a complex creature, composed of many parts, some of which are more obvious than others. No two statists are exactly the same, but many of them share a set of common elements. Studying these elements can shed light on why the statist is so wedded to their statism, and it can also shed light on what can be done to transform them into a civilized human being.
The following list of elements is by no means accurate or complete. This is, after all, still a budding science, and progress is sure to be made in the coming years and decades to correct and add to this list. Nevertheless, a first stab must be made, a first attempt to chronicle and categorize those elements which are likely to be found in your typical statist. This list may be regarded as such a

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How Politicians Use Regulations to Deflect Blame

March 31, 2023

Thanks to their adoring media, politicians create crises and then blame businesses for them. And the political "solutions" are worse than the original problems.

Original Article: "How Politicians Use Regulations to Deflect Blame"
This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. 

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How Politicians Use Regulations to Deflect Blame

March 23, 2023

The pro-life activist Randall Terry has a famous quote that anyone who cares about politics should be familiar with: “He who frames the question wins the debate.”
Politicians are well aware of this fact, which is why they spend much of their time directing the political conversation into frameworks that benefit them. If they can get us arguing over how best to “reform” the education system, for instance, there will be little discussion about the bigger question of whether education should be handled by the state at all. It doesn’t really matter how the reform conversation goes after that. The framing that every reform combatant implicitly buys into grants that education should be handled by the state. The educational establishment wins before a single shot is even

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Mandatory Holidays Mean Less Freedom and Flexibility for Workers

December 29, 2021

One of the things people tend to appreciate throughout the year, and especially during the Christmas season, is statutory holidays. These days off are taken for granted by many, and few people stop to think about whether they have any drawbacks. But as any good economist will tell you, everything comes with tradeoffs, and holidays are no exception. The trick, then, is to figure out where the cost lies, and who, ultimately, is paying it.
The True Cost of Statutory Holidays
At first blush, it may be tempting to assume that our employers are the ones taking the hit. After all, they are losing productive work hours from their employees. And if all else were equal, that would certainly be correct. Shareholders, ultimately, would bear the cost of this lost

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