“Nobody thinks in terms of human beings. Governments don’t. Why should we? They talk about the people and the proletariat. I talk about the suckers and the mugs. It’s the same thing. They have their five year plans, and so have I.” Orson Welles’ mysterious Harry Lime lurks over this classic film set in post-World War II Vienna. When
The last time I heard a non-leftist argue that “false consciousness” was a legitimate concept (properly understood) was from Guido Hulsmann during a presentation at a Mises Institute conference several years ago. Now, in the latest issue of the Independent Review (Vol. VIII, Number 1, Summer 2003), Donald J. Boudreaux and Eric Crampton argue at
USA Today discusses the rise of private cities in a fascinating article today. [all italic emphasis below mine] “ These fast-growing unincorporated areas reflect a national shift toward turning some government functions over to private companies and away from multiple layers of government. For people in these areas, becoming a traditional city is
Those who have derided the Austrian school as a “cult” or as having “amen sessions” should see the Rothbard Graduate Seminar this week. It is clear that Mises and Rothbard are held in high regard. But it is also obvious that both the professors and students like nothing better than finding ways in which the masters erred. The underlying
For those interested in how the Internet is changing traditional ways of doing commerce, here’s an interesting article on publishing books electronically, “Electronic Book Experiments Continue” : “ We’re used to authors writing lengthy books for publishers, who then rely on bookstores for sales, but in the electronic book publishing world, roles
A reader sent this comment on the great Mises.org: “please give my regards to the web master. mises.org is the best streamlined site on the net. I do hope that they don’t junk it up.”
Economics for Real People reviewed (Washington Witness): “Mr. Callahan leads us gently through the fruit of hundreds of years of reflection on human action with prose accessible to any layman. In fact, he does such an excellent job of being clear, interesting and witty that some readers may think that all economic reading is this
The PBS Special “Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy” is now available as a broadband webcast . Based on the pro-market book by Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw, it is structured around the debate between Keynes and Hayek, including footage of interviews with Hayek.
What does it mean to say that there has been “education inflation”? It is an analogy to money inflation. Austrians understand money inflation in this way: money substitutes are created that do not represent actual goods and services, (e.g. counterfeiting). So to draw an analogy to education, we might say that education inflation would be the
This TidBITS article discusses a new California statute that is the most aggressive anti-spam legislation yet, “The new California statute definitely pushes the envelope. It bans all unsolicited commercial email unless the recipient has agreed to receive it.” But the author wonders whether laws will accomplish anything: “...spam laws won’t stop
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.