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Robert P. Murphy



Articles by Robert P. Murphy

Murphy Gives Post-Game Analysis of ZeroHedge Dollar Debate

February 16, 2024

On February 13, 2024, Bob participated (with Jim Rickards, Brent Johnson, and Michael Every) in a ZeroHedge debate on the fate of the USD. In this episode of the Human Action podcast, Bob highlights some of the key issues and explains why he thinks his side won.

Murphy Gives Post-Game Analysis of ZeroHedge Dollar Debate

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The ZeroHedge Debate: Mises.org/HAP435a
Brent Johnson’s Milkshake Theory: Mises.org/HAP435b
Egert’s Article on the Public Debt Threshold: Mises.org/HAP435c
Bob’s Article on the Latest CBO Federal Debt Report: Mises.org/HAP435d
Human Action Podcast listeners can get a free copy of Dr. Guido Hülsmann’s How Inflation Destroys Civilization:

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Responding to James Lindsay’s Critique of “National Divorce”

February 9, 2024

Bob goes solo to give a point-by-point rebuttal to James Lindsay’s recent essay arguing that "national divorce means national suicide." Bob argues that James employs inconsistent claims and ignores the tremendous economic boon to an independent Texas.
James Lindsay’s Article "National Divorce is National Suicide": Mises.org/HAP434a
Bob’s Book "Common Sense: The Case for an Independent Texas": Mises.org/HAP434b
AntiWar.com Article on Gaza: Mises.org/HAP434c
Scott Horton’s Interview with Arnon Soffer: Mises.org/HAP434d
 
Join Tom DiLorenzo, Joe Salerno, and Patrick Newman in Tampa on February 17: Mises.org/Tampa2024Use code "Action24" for 15% off admission.
 
Human Action Podcast listeners can get a free copy of Dr. Guido Hülsmann’s How Inflation Destroys

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The Fed and the Fate of the Dollar

November 10, 2023

Recorded at the Mises Circle in Fort Myers, Florida, 4 November 2023.
Special thanks to Murray and Florence M. Sabrin for making this event possible.
Read Bob’s book Understanding Money Mechanics: Mises.org/Mechanics

The Fed and the Fate of the Dollar | Bob Murphy

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Responding to Yaron Brook’s Critique of Anarcho-Capitalism

October 27, 2023

Recently Yaron Brook and Bryan Caplan debated the merits of anarchism at the Soho Forum. Bob critiques Brook’s opening statement.

The Soho Forum Debate: Mises.org/HAP419a
Bob’s Book on Market Anarchy, Chaos Theory: Mises.org/HAP419b
Rothbard’s Book on Natural Rights and the State, For a New Liberty: Mises.org/HAP419c
Hans-Herman Hoppe’s Book on Private Defense, The Private Production of Defense: Mises.org/HAP419d

Responding to Yaron Brook’s Critique of Anarcho-Capitalism

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Join us in Fort Myers on November 4 to cut through the campaign talking points and offer an uncompromising look at what is coming next. Use Code "FL2023" for $10 off admission:

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Why ChatGPT Failed an Economics Exam

June 16, 2023

University of Rochester economist Steve Landsburg joins Bob to discuss the abysmal performance of ChatGPT on his undergraduate exam. They also discuss the importance of market prices in guiding behavior and the unexpected problems with the government handing out "free" goodies.
Bob’s article "Superman Needs an Agent:"  Mises.org/HAP400a
Steven’s Book The Armchair Economist: Mises.org/HAP400b
More Economic brainteasers: Mises.org/HAP400c

Why ChatGPT Failed an Economics Exam

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It’s Not Paranoid to Worry about a Central Bank Digital Currency

April 27, 2023

Contrary to Krugman, DeSantis and others warning about a CBDC aren’t being paranoid: they are simply drawing the obvious conclusions from history.

Original Article: "It’s Not Paranoid to Worry about a Central Bank Digital Currency"
This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. 

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It’s Not Paranoid to Worry about a Central Bank Digital Currency

April 17, 2023

In a recent NYT column, economist Paul Krugman mocks Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who warned that a central bank digital currency (CBDC) would give the government too much power over Americans. Specifically, DeSantis argued that the feds could use a CBDC to further implement the “woke” agenda, penalizing Floridians if they bought too much gas or guns.
Human Action Podcast: Krugman Says It’s Paranoid to Worry About a Fed Digital Currency with Robert Murphy and Jonathan Newman
Krugman ridiculed the very notion that a CBDC might threaten civil liberties:
If this sounds crazy, that’s because it is. I have no idea whether DeSantis believes any of it, or even knows what a central bank digital currency is or what it would do (more on that later). And it’s possible that

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The Inverted Yield Curve and Recession

June 17, 2022

The “yield curve” refers to a graph showing the relationship between the maturity length of bonds—such as one month, three months, one year, five years, twenty years, etc.—plotted on the x axis, and the yield (or interest rate) plotted on the y axis.1 In the postwar era, a “normal” yield curve has been upward sloping, meaning that investors typically receive a higher rate of return if they are willing to put their funds into longer-dated bonds. A so-called inverted yield curve occurs when this typical relationship flips, and short-dated bonds have a higher rate of return than long-dated ones.

Investors and financial analysts are very interested in this phenomenon, because an inverted yield curve (defined in a particular way) has been a perfect leading indicator

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The New World Order and Dehumanization on the Left and Right

April 29, 2022

Bob critiques the economic views of Yuval Harari, who predicts “useless people” because of technological advances. Bob then showcases similar thinking from right-wingers. He ends by addressing a common critique of the Christian God.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5 of the BMS series on Klaus Schwab and the Great Reset
Bob’s book with Silas Barta on Understanding Bitcoin
Source for NWO compilation
Source for World Government Summit panel on blockchain
Source for Harari audio
Tim Pool episode featuring Michael Malice discussing NPCs (around 1:04:30)
Schwab’s books The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Covid-19 and the Great Reset
​For more information, see BobMurphyShow.com. The Bob Murphy Show is

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Jon Stewart Asks Great Questions of Federal Reserve Chief

April 21, 2022

In a recent episode of “The Problem With Jon Stewart,” the former Daily Show host asks former president of the Kansas City Fed Thomas Hoenig why the Fed couldn’t have bailed out homeowners, or just “quantitative ease” away the Treasury’s debt. Hoenig gives muddy answers, so Bob tries to clarify.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:
Jon Stewart’s full interview with Thomas Hoenig
Jon Stewart skewers Paul Krugman
Jon Stewart interviews Kelton and Gray on MMT
Bob’s book Understanding Money Mechanics
​For more information, see BobMurphyShow.com. The Bob Murphy Show is also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and via RSS.

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Keynesians and Market Monetarists Didn’t See Inflation Coming

April 19, 2022

The government’s latest report puts the twelve-month official consumer price inflation rate at 8.5 percent, the highest since December 1981:
As economists debate the causes of, and cure for, this price inflation, it’s worth recounting which schools of thought saw it coming. Although individuals can be nuanced, generally speaking the Austrians have been warning that the Fed’s reckless policies threaten the dollar. In contrast, as I will document in this article, two of the leaders of the Keynesian and market monetarist schools didn’t see this coming at all.

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My Worst Professional Mistake
Before diving into it, I need to address a problem: my hands-down worst professional mistake occurred during the early years of the Fed’s “QE” (quantitative easing) programs,

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Behind Klaus Schwab, the World Economic Forum, and the Great Reset: Part 3

March 11, 2022

Bob continues his series on Klaus Schwab and the Great Reset, highlighting an interesting remark in Biden’s SOTU, Strobe Talbott’s open support for global government, and the introduction to Schwab’s book on Covid-19 and the Great Reset.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:
Part 1 and Part 2 of this series
The WEF’s bio for its founder, Klaus Schwab
Schwab’s books The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Covid-19 and the Great Reset
Bob’s first co-hosted Human Action podcast with Jeff Deist
Forbes’ article on Schwab the power broker
​For more information, see BobMurphyShow.com. The Bob Murphy Show is also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and via RSS.

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Behind Klaus Schwab, the World Economic Forum, and the Great Reset: Part 2

January 29, 2022

Bob continues his series on Klaus Schwab, explaining the WEF’s plans for redesigning the world, and providing quotes from Schwab’s book on the fourth industrial revolution.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:
Part 1 of this series
The WEF’s bio for its founder, Klaus Schwab
Schwab’s books The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Covid-19 and the Great Reset
The WEF’s Global Redesign Summit and the Global Redesign Initiative
Nick Buxton’s article on Davos and the danger to democracy
Forbes’ article on Schwab the power broker
FEE article on the socialist roots of fascism
1983 article in Harper’s on the Bank of International Settlements (BIS)
​For more information, see BobMurphyShow.com. The Bob Murphy Show is also available on Apple Podcasts, Google

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Behind Klaus Schwab, the World Economic Forum, and the Great Reset: Part 1

January 28, 2022

Bob starts a series looking into Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum and, along with Prince Charles, proponent of the “Great Reset.”

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:
Klaus Schwab and Prince Charles promoting the “Great Reset”
The World Economic Forum’s page on the Great Reset
An example of a session from the WEF’s Davos Agenda 2021 conference
The WEF’s bio for its founder, Klaus Schwab
Schwab’s books The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Covid-19 and the Great Reset
The video of Schwab explaining his connection to Kissinger
The “red pill” documentary Wake Up Call
Murphy’s new book from the Mises Institute, Understanding Money Mechanics
​For more information, see BobMurphyShow.com. The Bob Murphy Show is also available on Apple

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Mark Spitznagel Teaches the Economists How to Invest

September 16, 2021

Bob reviews Mark Spitznagel’s latest book, Safe Haven: Investing for Financial Storms, on which he was a consultant. Bob explains that Spitznagel rejects the alleged dichotomy between risk and return, and then gives a numerical example to illustrate the two schools of thought.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:
Bob’s appearance on Jordan Peterson‘s podcast
Bob’s surprisingly high ranking among influential economists
His episode with Winston Ewert (who helped design the AI that produced the ranking)
Mark Spitznagel’s new book Safe Haven: Investing for Financial Storms and his previous book, The Dao of Capital
​For more information, see BobMurphyShow.com. The Bob Murphy Show is also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher,

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Mark Spitznagel Teaches the Economists How to Invest

September 16, 2021

Bob reviews Mark Spitznagel’s latest book, Safe Haven: Investing for Financial Storms, on which he was a consultant. Bob explains that Spitznagel rejects the alleged dichotomy between risk and return, and then gives a numerical example to illustrate the two schools of thought.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:
Bob’s appearance on Jordan Peterson‘s podcast
Bob’s surprisingly high ranking among influential economists
His episode with Winston Ewert (who helped design the AI that produced the ranking)
Mark Spitznagel’s new book Safe Haven: Investing for Financial Storms and his previous book, The Dao of Capital
​For more information, see BobMurphyShow.com. The Bob Murphy Show is also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher,

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“They Said What?!” John Lennon edition

August 6, 2021

Bob unveils a new recurring series, in which he gives the context of infamous quotations. In this episode, he covers two allegedly shocking quotes from John Lennon, John Maynard Keynes’ “in the long run we’re all dead,” Trump on Nazis being very fine people, Dan Quayle misspelling potato, Obama’s “you didn’t build that,” and Bohm-Bawerk on Karl Marx.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:
Wikipedia entry on John Lennon’s “more popular than Jesus” comment. Lyrics to “Revolution.”
Bob and the Music City Friends of Liberty cover “Come Together.”
Video for Trump’s “very fine people” remark. Video of Obama’s “you didn’t build that.”
Nancy Pelosi on “We have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it.”
Bohm-Bawerk’s Karl Marx and the Close of His

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The Fed’s Policies since the 2020 Coronavirus Panic

June 3, 2021

[This article is part of the Understanding Money Mechanics series, by Robert P. Murphy. The series will be published as a book in 2021.]
In chapter 7 we summarized some of the major changes in how central banks have operated since the 2008 financial crisis. In the present chapter, we detail some of the even more recent changes in Federal Reserve operations since the onset of the coronavirus panic in March 2020.

Size of the Fed’s Balance Sheet
The most obvious change in Fed policy has been the dramatic expansion of its balance sheet since March 2020.
As figure 1 indicates, the explosion in Fed asset purchases since March 2020 dwarfs even the three rounds of QE (quantitative easing) following the 2008 financial crisis. Indeed, from March 4, 2020, through March 3,

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What Really Happened With the Texas Power Grid

March 14, 2021

Since the deep freeze in February caused millions of Texas homes to lose their power, partisans have been fighting over the blame. The governor blamed wind turbines and the green agenda, whereas Paul Krugman said the fault was with natural gas. Bob shows the numbers; natural gas was to blame only in the sense that nobody expected wind to be useful during a winter crisis.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:
Bob’s article at Mises.org, which gives links to all the relevant sources
The Foundations of IBC
​For more information, see BobMurphyShow.com. The Bob Murphy Show is also available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and via RSS.

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Weekly SNB Sight

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Nonviolent Solutions to Social Problems

March 9, 2021

Bob discusses three separate items all related to nonviolence: (1) Gene Sharp’s work, (2) Bob’s old dream of how to topple a tyrant, and (3) the winners of the Louis CK contest.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:
Gene Sharp’s book, From Dictatorship to Democracy
The trailer for the documentary “How to Start a Revolution”
Sharp’s list of 198 methods of nonviolent action
The original Louis CK clip that inspired Bob’s contest
For more information, see BobMurphyShow.com. The Bob Murphy Show is also available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and via RSS.

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Weekly SNB Sight Deposits and Speculative Positions: SNB selling euros and dollars
2021-03-08

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Econtradictions: Bob Discusses Free Trade, Welfare Benefits, Price Gouging, and Utility Theory

October 26, 2020

Bob unveils a new series in which he explains and then evaluates apparent contradictions in the way free-market libertarians handle certain issues.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:
Bastiat’s “Petition of the Candlemakers”
Bob’s article on price gouging
For more information, see BobMurphyShow.com. The Bob Murphy Show is also available on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and via RSS.

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Dusty Wunderlich on FinTech Financing: Entrepreneurs Helping Entrepreneurs
Key Takeaways and Actionable Insights. Consider these findings from a 2017 report from the G20 Global Partnership For Financial Inclusion, titled Alternative Data: Transforming SME Finance.

Police

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Bob Murphy Analyzes “The Hunt” and “The Purge” Movies as an Anarchist

October 19, 2020

Bob offers his commentary on the movies “The Hunt” and “The Purge”—both produced by Blumhouse Productions—and focuses on whether The Purge storyline offers a challenge to Rothbard’s depiction of anarcho-capitalism.

For more information, see BobMurphyShow.com. The Bob Murphy Show is also available on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and via RSS.

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The “Old” vs. the “New” Liberalism
It is not disputed that the popular meaning of liberal has changed drastically over time. It is a well-known story how, around 1900, in English-speaking countries and elsewhere, the term was captured by writers who were essentially social democrats.

A Rothbardian Analysis of the Constitutional

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A Critique of the Labor Theory of Value

October 13, 2020

[This selection is adapted from “The Labor Theory of Value: A Critique of Carson’s Studies in Mutualist Political Economy,” Journal of Libertarian Studies 20, no. 1 (2006). Please see original for full references and footnotes.]
Before proceeding, we should be clear on what an economic theory of value is supposed to do: its task is simply to explain the exchange value of particular goods and services. That is, an economic theory of value must explain why someone selling good X can receive x berries in exchange for it, whereas someone selling good Y will only find someone willing to give up y berries in exchange for his good (where y< x).
In the context of a money economy, of course, an economic theory of value must explain the money prices of various goods and

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Explaining the Plan to Dismantle Schools and the Fed’s Alchemy

October 6, 2020

Bob reads from an article recently tweeted out by the NEA, which calls for an end to schooling as we know it in order to promote anti-racism. He then discusses what the Fed has been up to since the coronavirus panic began.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:
The YouTube version of this episode (with lots of visuals).
Karlyn Borysenko’s YouTube episode on the NEA tweet.
Jamilah Pitts’ article on school transformation.
Fed article talking about dividend payments to member banks.
Total assets of the Federal Reserve System.
For more information, see BobMurphyShow.com. The Bob Murphy Show is also available on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and via RSS.

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The “Old” vs. the “New”

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Hayek’s Plan for Private Money

September 14, 2020

The most famous Austrian economist is 1974 Nobel laureate Friedrich Hayek. Because of his moderate views excusing state interventions in various circumstances, hardcore Rothbardians tend to regard Hayek as less than pure in many areas.
However, one area where Hayek is certainly more radical (though perhaps not correct!) than even Murray Rothbard is monetary institutions, as detailed in his fascinating (1978) pamphlet The Denationalisation of Money.
When it comes to the free market’s handling of money, the typical Austrian argument is over fractional reserve banking (FRB). Some think FRB is perfectly legitimate (so long as the banks do not receive special privileges from the government), while others consider it inherently fraudulent. But both groups agree that

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A Review of Stephanie Kelton’s The Deficit Myth

June 30, 2020

The good news is that Stephanie Kelton has written a book on MMT that is very readable and will strike many readers as persuasive and clever. The bad news is that Stephanie Kelton has written a book on MMT that is very readable and will strike many readers as persuasive and clever.

Narrated by the author.
Original Article: “A Review of Stephanie Kelton’s The Deficit Myth“.

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Some Conservatives Want Americans to Abandon Classical Liberalism. Don’t Listen to Them.
Donald Trump’s economic populism, and his break with the established post-war conservative movement, has created an opening for new types of conservatism. Among these is the anti-market wing of the movement characterized by a

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The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People’s Economy

June 27, 2020

[Review of Stephanie Kelton, The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People’s Economy (New York: PublicAffairs, 2020).]
I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that Stephanie Kelton—economics professor at Stony Brook and advisor to the 2016 Bernie Sanders campaign—has written a book on modern monetary theory (MMT) that is very readable and will strike many readers as persuasive and clever. The bad news is that Stephanie Kelton has written a book on MMT that is very readable and will strike many readers as persuasive and clever.
To illustrate the flavor of the book, we can review Kelton’s reminiscences of serving as chief economist for the Democratic staff on the US Senate Budget Committee. When she was first selected, journalists

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Keynesians on the Cause of, and Cure for, Depressions

June 17, 2020

[This article is part of the Understanding Money Mechanics series, by Robert P. Murphy. The series will be published as a book in late 2020.]
In chapter 8 we presented Ludwig von Mises’s explanation of how bank credit expansion causes the boom-bust cycle, what is now known as Austrian business cycle theory. However, the reigning view today in both academia and the popular media is the Keynesian explanation, derived from John Maynard Keynes’s famous 1936 book The General Theory.
In contrast to the Austrians, Keynes viewed depressions as something that could naturally plague market economies when total spending (“aggregate demand”) was insufficient to support full employment. Keynes argued that markets didn’t possess a self-correcting mechanism and that left to

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Central Bankers Gone Wild: It’s a New Era at the Fed

June 8, 2020

Editor’s Note: We keep hearing from the Fed’s defenders that the current spate of new stimulus and bailouts from the central bank are really not a big deal and are all very prudent and moderate. I asked Senior Fellow Bob Murphy to provide some much needed perspective.
Ryan McMaken: We’re in a very odd situation right now in terms of evaluating the state of the economy. We can see that there is rising unemployment, and there is likely to be a wave of missed mortgage and rent payments. Is this all just due to the government-mandated “shutdowns” or are there deeper economic issues here?
Robert P. Murphy: In economics there are no controlled experiments, so partisans on a policy dispute can both continue to claim that the evidence is on their side. That’s why

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