Introduction: Division, friction and polarization have been on the rise in the West for at least a decade, but the escalation we saw during the “covid years” was especially worrying. Over the last year, this “worry” has become a truly pressing concern, even a real emergency one might argue, as inflationary pressures and an actual war were added to the mix of political and social tensions. Going into 2023, there are many reasons for responsible investors and for...
Read More »Defining a Good: The Intersection of St. Thomas Aquinas and Carl Menger
While the average person thinks economics begins with Adam Smith and his Wealth of Nations, readers of the Mises Wire know that the story goes back much further than that. Members of the Austrian school commonly describe their earliest intellectual predecessors, the late Scholastics, as “proto-Austrians.” In Jesús Huerta de Soto’s chapter on Juan de Mariana in 15 Great Austrian Economists, Huerta de Soto writes of ten major contributions to what would go on to be...
Read More »Historical Christianity as a Liberating Force in China
The Chinese Community Party's crackdown in Christian churches reflects the perceived antiauthoritarian nature of Christianity and the party's fear of a competing alternative worldview. Original Article: "Historical Christianity as a Liberating Force in China" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. [embedded content]...
Read More »How Marxism Abuses Ethics and Science to Deceive Its Followers
While socialists posit socialism as a humane and ethical system, it is anything but that. Mises understood its brutality long before socialism gripped the world. Original Article: "How Marxism Abuses Ethics and Science to Deceive Its Followers" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. [embedded content]...
Read More »Student Debt: It Is and Has Been a Personal Choice
Progressives demanding that the government forgive student debt forget that student loans were made voluntarily by students that promised to pay back what they owe. Original Article: "Student Debt: It Is and Has Been a Personal Choice" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. [embedded content]...
Read More »Woke Egalitarianism and the Elites
In the research paper Egalitarianism and the Elites, published in 1995 in the Review of Austrian Economics, one of Murray Rothbard’s most brilliant insights was that even the implementation of an egalitarian society requires leadership. As the fall of one system to the implementation of a new model of society cannot come out of nowhere, someone must command and lead this process. And naturally, these leaders will occupy powerful positions. Indeed, Rothbard’s...
Read More »Authoritarianism Is Not Compatible with Economic Progress: Freedom Is Indivisible
Is it possible, or even desirable, for economic freedom and progress to be compatible with authoritarianism? Although some may believe so, this is a fallacy. Freedom is indivisible. Political and economic freedom cannot be separated. This is the position of Ludwig von Mises himself. In Planning for Freedom, he says, “Tyranny is the political corollary of socialism, as representative government is the political corollary of the market economy.” Regarding a citizen’s...
Read More »Despite Broad Opposition in Congress, US Policy toward the War in Yemen Is Unchanged
Those in the antiwar movement are accustomed to disappointment in this long-standing environment of militarism, but this one truly stings. Up until the middle of December, there had been a strong push across many grassroots organizations to urge the US Congress to invoke the War Powers Resolution and end military support for the War in Yemen. Hopes were high that America would finally pull the plug on this terrible conflict. That momentum was dashed just a week prior...
Read More »Austerity: A Real Solution to Help Heal the US Economy
Economists like Paul Krugman have claimed that practice of austerity in government would damage the US economy. As Mark Thornton points out, the opposite is true: austerity works. Original Article: "Austerity: A Real Solution to Help Heal the US Economy" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. [embedded content]...
Read More »The Human Action Podcast Predictions for 2023
Bob and Jeff make their provocative 2023 predictions for the economy, the Fed, politics, world events, and cultural issues. [embedded content] [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter
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