The Free Market 32, No. 1 (January 2014) Although not related in quite the heroic terms it once was, the transcontinental railroads retain their place as one of the great alleged success stories of nineteenth-century America. According to the popular myths, the railroads, these great monuments to the ingenuity of American industrialists, united
The Free Market 14, no. 1 (January 1996) The Gold Standard Act of 1890, which officially established the gold standard in America, was the culmination of a twenty-year battle between inflationists, who favored unlimited government purchase of silver (the “Free Silver” movement), and the advocates of sound money based on the gold standard. The
The Free Market 14, no. 8 (August 1996) In a truly free society, it wouldn’t matter who the president was. We wouldn’t have to vote or pay attention to debates. We could ignore campaign commercials. There would be no high stakes for ourselves, our families, or the country. Liberty and property would be so secure that we could curse him, love
The Free Market 15, no. 3 (March 1997) My idea of a great president is one who acts in accordance with his oath of office to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Not since the presidency of Grover Cleveland has any president achieved greatness by this standard. Worse, the most admired have been those who failed
The Free Market 15, no. 7 (July 1997) Jack Kemp, former HUD secretary and failed vice presidential candidate, recently proved that academic leftists aren’t the only ones intolerant of politically incorrect ideas. He interrupted a luncheon speech I was giving at an academic conference by squirreling around in his seat, ostentatiously rolling his
The Free Market 16, no. 1 (January 1998) History books and the popular culture are full of stories about how “the white man” brutally mistreated the American Indians during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Greedy capitalists are usually portrayed as the villains, killing Indians by the thousands to make way for the railroads in
The Free Market 16, no. 2 (February 1998) In recent months, we have been inundated with a pro-Teddy Roosevelt barrage from PBS to the Weekly Standard . He was, writes David Brooks, “a distinctly American kind that married nationalism to individualism.” His bust adorns the desks of Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, Bob Dole. His profile is carved into
The Free Market 16, no. 3 (March 1998) While American “liberals” tend to view Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and Bill Clinton as their political and philosophical idols, conservatives at the Weekly Standard magazine and elsewhere have begun touting Henry Clay as their first political icon. But Henry Clay can only be considered to be
The Free Market 16, no. 7 (July 1998) Far from having been reformed, much less abolished, welfare continues to grow. The most recent example is the attempt by the Clinton administration to convince Americans that there is a “child care crisis,” which can only be “solved” through expansion of government. The welfare state has become a deeply
The Free Market 16, no. 8 (August 1998) November and December mark the bicentennial of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolves. Penned by Jefferson and Madison, the Resolves are peerless for their brief but masterful explication of the Constitution. Though there will be no parades or celebrations of the Resolves 200 th birthday, the subjects—formerly
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.