Tag Archives: 6b) Mises.org

The Failure of American Conservatism and the Road Not TakenBy Claes G. RynRepublic Book Publishers, 2023; 468 pp.Claes Ryn, a leading conservative intellectual who taught politics for many years at the Catholic University of America, is by no means a libertarian, but readers of The Misesian can learn much from this book. I’d like to discuss two topics: first, the criticism of Harry Jaffa and his mentor, Leo Strauss; and second, the full-scale assault on the Wilsonian...

The Biden administration’s recent decision to pause an arms sale to Israel elicited predictable reactions from advocates for both sides of the Gaza War represented in the United States, and while that decision did not stop other arms shipments to Israel, it underscores the political significance of arms sales as an instrument of US foreign policy and intervention in foreign conflicts. Joe Biden’s Department of State recommended the pause in arms sales over concerns...

I realize that this is not usually the forum for television critiques, and I am certainly no television critic. Nonetheless, while I very much enjoyed the show, there were some issues raised in the new Prime drama Fallout that made my Austrian senses tingle. I often find that when I discuss politics or philosophy with people, I am constantly asked or expected to defend positions that I have never occupied and would never occupy.This seems due to imprecise...

Earlier this month, The Atlantic ran an article by Rogé Karma arguing that after nearly half a century of commitment to unmitigated free trade, politicians and thought leaders in both parties are making a historic turn toward protectionism. This characterization has been gaining popularity in recent years, appearing in articles and reports by both opponents and proponents of America’s supposed protectionist turn.From The Atlantic article:Since the 1980s, American...

Rick Rozoff recently sent me a message that helps us understand a basic feature of socialized medicine. It is closely associated with death. Socialists complain that the free market makes medical care “too expensive” for the poor and middle class. Because of this, they propose to provide “free” medical care for everybody. Of course, it isn’t free. It’s either paid for by taxes or inflation, which is itself a cruel tax.But once the “free” care is...

Those unfamiliar with American electoral politics may be puzzled by America’s presidential elections. Recently, it seems as though most elections result in two largely unpopular candidates winning their party’s nomination, but no viable third option emerges. While the United States does allow candidates to run as independents or under third-party banners, these candidates rarely make an impact at the national level.The reasons for this are largely found in the...

For more than thirty years, lecturing at Mises University has been the highlight of my academic year. Students arrive filled with excitement about this experience—a weeklong intellectual feast that for many of them will be life changing. What a delight for an economics professor like me to have the opportunity to teach free market, Austrian economics to intelligent, motivated, and wonderful young people with a genuine passion for learning. Opening night at Mises...

In case you haven’t read it lately—or perhaps you’ve never read it—the mission statement of the Mises Institute states that the Institute “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.”For those who find this mission statement to too non-specific, I recommend consulting the decades’ worth of commentary and research...

President Biden recently raised taxes on American consumers and businesses and may have hastened the end of the dollar’s world reserve currency status. President Biden did this by increasing tariffs on Chinese imports.Specifically, President Biden raised tariffs on products including Chinese-produced steel and aluminum and many components imported from China for use in manufacturing electric vehicle batteries. Tariffs on Chinese-made semiconductors are rising from 25...

Central banks’ monetary policies are the most perverse government intervention. Their consequences are dire, last for a very long time, and people don’t perceive them as problems or don’t comprehend the damage they are doing. Monetary policy (monetary expansion and artificially low interest rates) has five main consequences that harm overall living standards.Price InflationThis is the most obvious consequence, and yet, it is very misunderstood by voters. If the money...