Interventionism

The government can prevent market forces from operating by channeling resources into artificial channels.

So long as governments remain under the sway of environmentalist philosophy and arrogate massive tracts of land to their own inept control, no amount of legal tinkering will prevent the next bushfire.

The amazing fact is that the great majority of British people are not yet consciously aware that they are living in a very severe economic crisis.

The inflationary environment causes savers to divert savings from paper assets to the safer harbor of hard assets such as precious metals, commodities, or even goods used for daily use.

In a free market, no shortages would exist. In fact, it is very unlikely any of the earth's resources would be used up.

"We are seeing the disintegration of the fractional-reserve banking system all over the world. It is being held together by bailouts, which are the government equivalent of bailing wire and chewing gum."

My own preference is, first to allow market adjustments to take place.

"Let's go back to using real money."

The present crisis is not a crisis of capitalism but a crisis of state interventionism, and it is also a consequence of a mechanicist approach to economic problems.

Presented at the Mises Institute’s Brown Bag Seminar series. Recorded on 10 January 1996.