In our modern world, most states are democracies or at least call themselves “democratic.” The adoption of democracy is hailed as one of humanity’s greatest achievements. Once upon a time, humanity broke out of the shackles of monarchies and has never looked back since. Nowadays, all citizens in democratic countries are free and safe from despots. Except, that is far from the truth.Democratic systems have been around for a long time. Ancient Greece comes to mind as the most prominent example of democracy in antiquity. While modern democracies are wildly different from the ones in ancient Athens, they are still susceptible to the pitfalls applicable to all democracies.Democracies violate freedom of association. Proponents of democracies often argue that everyone is

The “ease of doing business” rankings is a list of countries ranked according to how easy it is to register, start, and maintain a business in that country. While its methodology is not perfect, it does attempt to take into account several important factors such as cost and time to start a business, property registrations, tax burdens, and the enforcement of contracts. It should be no surprise that the countries that hover around the top of these rankings are some of the most prosperous in the world.Politicians often use improvements in the ease of doing business as an electoral promise to boost their popularity. Fortunately, when some of these programs are implemented properly and serve to create a freer business environment, it can be good for economic

Private property rights are crucial to economic prosperity. Without them, it becomes impossible to set up a system of free markets that allows for rational economic calculation. Despite this, property rights are under attack in today’s world by progressives seeking to build a more “just” society through equity.When property is originally appropriated, it belongs to its owner. The owner may use, transform, sell, or even not use his property at all, based solely on his own discretion. The owner of something has the most incentive to use his property responsibly. This might occur in the form of consuming a good with moderation or using a tool in the most efficient production process. The appropriation of property is a path towards wealth. In a free market system, one

What is the Mises Institute?

The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard. Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.

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Time preference refers to the preference of satisfaction in the present as compared to a future time. A person who heavily prefers current consumption to future consumption has a high time preference as he places a heavy premium upon satisfaction as soon as possible. By contrast, a person who does not place a heavy premium upon instant satisfaction has a low time preference. People with low time preferences are more likely to save and invest their money for greater future rewards. This tendency to delay consumption for the sake of increased production leads to the accumulation of wealth that propels the process of civilization.In Democracy: The God That Failed, Hans-Hermann Hoppe states:However, no matter what a person’s original time-preference rate or what the

Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito

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