Tag Archives: 6b) Mises.org

On Friday, July 7, 2023, news broke in the financial market media that the “BRICS” (that is, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) will implement their plan to create a new international currency for trading and financial transactions, and that this new currency will be “gold-backed”. Most recently, on June 2, 2023, the foreign ministers of the BRICS – as well as representatives from more than 12 countries – met in Cape Town, South Africa (interestingly at...

It is no surprise to libertarians that what is in the interest of the government might not be in the interest of people in general. More often than not, the government’s interest is directly at odds with the interests of people in general. The countless wars waged by governments throughout history, for which common people paid ultimately with their lies, bear witness to this fact. Wars are also waged on the domestic populations that the government supposedly serves...

In this episode, Mark looks at the "minor issue" of the value of the dollar. While everything in the economy seems great—including stock markets, price inflation, unemployment, and consumer confidence—the value of the dollar index has fallen 12% during the rebound in stocks since last October. Be sure to follow Minor Issues at Mises.org/MinorIssues. [embedded content]...

Mercantilism has had a "good press" in recent decades, in contrast to 19th-century opinion. In the days of Adam Smith and the classical economists, mercantilism was properly regarded as a blend of economic fallacy and state creation of special privilege. But in our century, the general view of mercantilism has changed drastically: Keynesians hail mercantilists as prefiguring their own economic insights; Marxists, constitutionally unable to distinguish between free...

Stories cannot substitute for historical facts even when people want these stories to be true. With the influence of Black Lives Matter, resurrecting the atrocities of Western colonialism has become fashionable. The death of George Floyd revived a torrent of anticolonialism sentiment in Western societies fueled by resounding demands for governments to atone for the sins of colonialism. Although the colonial legacy of Western powers is tainted by dastardly acts,...

Robbie "The Fire" Bernstein is a co-host with Dave Smith of the popular podcast Part of the Problem, as well as his own podcast Run Your Mouth. He joins Bob to walk through the shocking and hilarious moves by Biden officials to downplay recent allegations of corruption. Find More from Robbie Including His Tour Dates: Mises.org/HAP404a $5.1M Payment to Biden Businesses: Mises.org/HAP404b Biden Attorneys on The Hunter WhatAspp Message: Mises.org/HAP404c...

Moral Progress in Dark Times: Universal Values for the 21st Century by Markus Gabriel, translated by Wieland Hoban Polity Press, 2022; xii + 281 pp. It would be easy to give this book a negative review, as it advocates a number of policies that from our standpoint are wrongheaded. Gabriel is especially alarmed by the dangers of “climate change” and also extols the spirit of cooperation that the German people displayed in acceding to the necessary measures to cope...

Do we have a right to sunlight? How do we assert those rights? Murray Rothbard provides some answers. Original Article: "How Should We Regulate the Sun (Since Our Government Regulates Nearly Everything Else)?" [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter

The recognition of the insuperable limits to his knowledge ought indeed to teach the student of society a lesson in humility which should guard him against becoming an accomplice in men’s fatal striving to control society—a striving which makes him not only a tyrant over his fellows, but which may well make him the destroyer of a civilization which no brain has designed but which has grown from the free efforts of millions of individuals. —Friedrich A. Hayek, “The...

Free rider is a term related to the political commons and rent seeking. It is like rent seeking, except it is perhaps more nuanced and eventually discourages the effective use of public goods found in the political commons. When I was a young adult, my wife, Cyndi, and I went out with a group of people. My father warned me that if the group split the bill evenly, we could wind up paying for other people’s dinner. We were pressed for cash, so we ordered frugally. Sure...