Joe Kissell writes today on the Antikythera Mechanism , which seems to be an analog computer constructed by a Greek in 82 BC. Much of the technology embodied in the device was lost, only to be reinvented hundreds of years later. What does this teach us? It reminds us that the “historian’s bias” is conservative, but can lead us into error. Just
Davd Gelernter’s post confuses me. I think it is because he is confused. He says “capitalism strikes me as the spoiled brat of the political and philosophical universe... Everyone knows about capitalism’s successes; we need to spare a little attention for its failures too.” And what is an example of the failure of capitalism? Why, the highly
While I have not read Hidden Order by David Friedman, he offers up this selection today on hawk-dove equilibria. I regard it as an error for such analysis to be silent on internal motives for behavior. In particular, lots of people wish to be virtuous, and work at it; and lots of people struggle against their vices. A great number of people are
On p.557 of Steven Landburg’s Price Theory and Applications (6th international edition), I find this: It is widely believed that Treasury bills carry essentially no default risk and that the U.S. Treasury has never defaulted on its obligations. This is untrue. For example, the Treasury defaulted on bill #GS7-2-179-46-6606-1. In order to purchase a
This post is in response to Stephan’s . My objection to limited liability is actually one that he passes over quickly, and is not quite the same as van Eeghen’s. He says, “As for voluntary debts being limited to the corporation’s assets; this is no problem since the creditor knows these limitations when he loans money.” This is a bit of legal
Volume 1, Article 12 (2009) Introduction Subscription-based patrol and restitution (SPR) services of one type or another were suggested by Molinari (1849), Tannehill and Tannehill (1970), Rothbard (1970), and Friedman (1973). Alternative arrangements have been suggested by Barnett (1998) and Murphy (2002). Thorough and serious criticism has most
In my work as an engineering manager, I recently received a very nice letter from an instrumentation and electrical contractor that has several offices from Bakersfield, CA to Pascagoula, MS. Responding to an inquiry we had about mobilizing instrumentation and electrical craft workers to a site in the panhandle of Texas for a major revamp, he
In 1977, the US Department of Justice conducted an interesting auxiliary study as part of the National Crime Victimization Survey. They asked 60,000 people how severe 204 crimes were (each person rated 25 criminal events). Yes, yes, interpersonal utility alert; but let’s go on. On a scale where 10 = “a person steals a bicycle parked on the
Murphy’s latest response to Frum is excellent. There is one point that he did not meet that merits special attention. Frum says : Gold is a commodity. Like all commodities, its price is highly volatile. A money fixed to gold must be highly volatile too. Signing up for a true gold currency would be signing up for an unending monetary roller-coaster
Was it Thomas Aquinas? In his Summa Theologica he writes II-II-62-7 : ...persons in authority who are bound to safeguard justice on earth, are bound to restitution, if by their neglect thieves prosper, because their salary is given to them in payment of their preserving
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.