In my last article on these pages, I offered criticism of a New York Times article that had praised the Lincoln administration’s property violations in pursuit of military objectives. Today I want to focus on a regular Wall Street Journal columnist who praises the Obama administration’s plans to violate property rights in pursuit of socializing
Paul Krugman has concentrated his fire recently on those “thumping their chests” over the falling dollar. He has particular scorn for those recommending a return to the gold standard. In Krugman’s view, a simple look at the historical facts will show that it was a superstitious fetish for the yellow metal that prolonged the Great Depression. A
“Readers of these pages know that I am no fan of Paul Krugman. But I do want to explain that I understand why he and Romm freaked out about this chapter.” One of the ugliest battles in the blogosphere climate wars has involved the newly released Superfreakonomics , sequel to the best-selling Freakonomics . In their new book’s final chapter,
“Krugman has convinced me of the virtues of currency debasement. I henceforth want to devalue my checking account.” Long-time readers know that I am second only to Bill Anderson in my constant criticism of Paul Krugman. Indeed, I quite recently defended the gold standard from Krugman’s ridicule. Given this context, I am very surprised to
We economists have a reputation for being dry and boring. That’s why Ben Stein’s scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off works so well — and why this guy is such a novelty. Given our dismal reputation, I am happy to report that some economists’ recent defenses of the efficient-markets hypothesis are laugh-out-loud funny. Outside Cirque du Soleil, you
Ever since the Obama administration released its report detailing the number of jobs “saved or created” from the $787 billion stimulus package, cynics have been having a field day playing with the numbers. Investigations have revealed that many of the respondents’ claims of job creation are bogus , and simple division shows that some states
One of the more awkward situations facing Austrian economists today is that we are divided on whether to expect price deflation or inflation. Although it’s good that we publicly disagree with each other — rather than bury our disagreements to reassure the lay public that we know what we’re talking about — it’s nonetheless unsettling that our
It’s one thing to criticize Paul Krugman for his views on Austrian economics , but only a brave soul would have the temerity to question Krugman’s discussion of the Keynesian approach to international trade, right? Since Krugman is the world’s most famous living Keynesian, and he won the Nobel (Memorial) Prize for his work on trade theory ,
While driving my son to school one morning, I heard a National Public Radio interview with John Cassidy, author of the new book How Markets Fail . Fortunately, we got to the front of the line before Cassidy let out the zingers. A few minutes earlier, and my son would have seen Daddy lose his temper. Cassidy first caricatures the case for free
Mario Rizzo has an interesting take on Robert Lucas’ recent essay on prediction of business cycles. Lucas’ post is quite an odd defense of the mainstream economics gurus who were caught flat-footed. Here are some good excerpts: One thing we are not going to have, now or ever, is a set of models that forecasts sudden falls in the value of financial
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that 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.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.