The major cities of the world have been facing housing problems for years. With the increase of immigrants and of people experiencing homelessness, the discussion about housing regulation has intensified.The West, once a bastion of ideas of freedom and free markets, continues to harbor central planners whose delusions of omnipotence are paid for by the misfortune of ordinary people as the regulation attempts of these planners fail because such rental laws were not...
Read More »The Population Explosion Disaster that Never Happened
I do not hear much talk about world population these days, the way I did growing up in the 1960s and ’70s. People were supposedly starving, dying, with tens of millions more sure to die. The problem back then was that there were just too many, well, people.Population numbers coming out of China and India were unthinkable, and projections indicated many more people were going to be born into this dire situation. There were over twenty thousand people in my hometown...
Read More »On 100-Percent Reserves, Milei, and Argentina
Unsurprisingly, Javier Milei´s monetary reform plans are discussed intensively in libertarian circles. For the first time, a real libertarian reform of the monetary and financial system is in sight. One of the main issues of contentions is Milei´s plan to introduce a 100% reserve banking system. Such a move would be truly revolutionary. The Argentinian banking system would be sound and stable. Harmful credit expansion would be ruled out. Unfortunately, but perhaps...
Read More »Unmasking Democracy: A Moral Virtue or a Flawed Tool?
This year, more than sixty countries will hold or have already held elections; a quarter of the population will participate in democracy. Most people in the free world would consider that a victory for liberalism (“liberalism” in the traditional meaning of the word, not the corrupted definition used in the United States). Democracy is often staged as the epitome of freedom and prosperity, a noble system where the voices of the people not only reign supreme, but a...
Read More »Trump Is Right about Abortion and Lindsey Graham Is Wrong
Donald Trump last week said he opposes any national legislation on abortion, and said he supports state governments adopting their own policies. According to USA Today: "Former President Donald Trump said individual states should choose their own abortion restrictions, avoiding talk of any kind of federal government ban and drawing criticism from Democrats and anti-abortion Republicans alike on a pivotal election issue. ...At the end of the day, this is all about...
Read More »Why Libertarianism Is Flourishing in Polish Universities
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Read More »Summer 2024 Virtual Mises Book Club
In June 2024, the Mises Institute will hold its next Mises Book Club, a program that promotes deep reading in Austrian economics.The reading for this book club will be one of Ludwig von Mises's most popular works: Economic Policy: Thoughts for Today and Tomorrow. This year marks the 45th anniversary of its publication.This work is one of the best introductions to the ideas of Ludwig von Mises. It is based on six lectures he gave in 1959, covering a wide array of...
Read More »The Siren Song of Equality
The “racial equality” debates are characterized by evolving concepts and terminology in a constant search for better ways to express the ideals and values of the protagonists. The mantras of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) are now under increasing attack as several states move to ban DEI programs. In search of an alternative conceptual foundation for their equality schemes, many liberals (both progressive and conservative) who wish to promote equality have...
Read More »Finklestein’s Folly: How Not to Discredit One’s Opponents
The ongoing Israeli-Palestine conflict continues to captivate podcasters and listeners. So, Lex Friedman tapped into this interest by assembling a panel of experts to debate the issue. However, his decision to invite online personality Destiny as a commentator to defend Israel elicited criticisms, as Destiny is a college dropout who was parachuted to fame as a videogame streamer before becoming a political commentator.Since then, he has established a reputation for...
Read More »“Desire Paths” and the Problem with Central Planning
I recently attended the Austrian Economics Research Conference, which is held annually at the Mises Institute on the campus of Auburn University. After an inspiring day of presentations, I began my trek back to the Auburn University Hotel. As I made my way down the sidewalk, I found myself walking along a well-trodden dirt path. Soon enough I was back on the sidewalk, and I turned around, quickly realizing I had taken the “wrong” path. The correct one entailed taking...
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