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
Read More »Ethics for Inhumans
What We Owe the Futureby William MacAskillBasic Books, 2022; 333 pp. William MacAskill, a philosophy professor at Oxford and a leading light of the effective altruism movement, has recently been in the news owing to the frenzied and fraudulent finance of his protégé Sam Bankman-Fried, who now awaits trial. The “effective altruists” took seriously the implications Peter Singer drew from his famous thought experiment: Suppose you come across a small child who is...
Read More »Father Time versus Central Bankers
Only Father Time helps us cut through the policy nonsense and understand interest rates conceptually. Original Article: "Father Time versus Central Bankers" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter
Read More »A grateful goodbye to 2022, a hopeful hello to 2023
Even though what we saw during the height of the pandemic was shocking enough for most people, what we saw during 2022 was arguably even more astonishing. During the lockdowns and quarantines and the forced business shutdowns, the sheer number of all the rights and freedoms that were coercively “suspended”, as though that’s a thing one can do with true liberty, left so many fellow citizens in disbelief. However, what many people found even more horrifying...
Read More »Latin America’s Descent into Interventionism Continues
The latest estimates from consensus for the main Latin American economies show a continent facing a lost decade. The region GDP growth has been downgraded yet again to a modest 1.1% for 2023, with rising inflation and weakening gross fixed investment. Considering that the region was already recovering at a slower pace than other emerging markets, the outlook is exceedingly worrying. The poor growth and high inflation expectations are even worse when we consider that...
Read More »And So It Begins: Digital Currency Becomes Possible in our Future
While monetary authorities and progressives would like to have a digital currency implemented, it is a backward step for monetary freedom. Original Article: "And So It Begins: Digital Currency Becomes Possible in our Future" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. [embedded content] Tags:...
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