Other Schools of Thought

Governments and their intellectual front men believe that nothing unites a population like a war. Actually, that's not quite true. If you truly want to unite a population, here is a key: drive the dictator out of the country. The fleeing of a despot always leads to unparalleled and authentic celebration.

[Excerpted from chapter 4 in part 1 of the The Turgot Collection

In the standard Austrian theory of the business cycle, the question is not "How do we get out of a recession?" Rather, the question is "How do we avoid the boom?" According to the Mises-Hayek theory, the preceding boom makes the corrective bust <i>inevitable</i>.

Here is an archetype of disgusting protectionism — benefiting special interests, pillaging consumers, and impoverishing foreigners.

The underpricing of risk led Icelandic banks to take on liabilities denominated in foreign currency.

There is always some great excuse for the trashing of the human freedom that built civilization as we know it. If the state cannot find one, it is glad to invent one. A population that is ideologically gullible or afraid for its security will permit government to run roughshod over rights and liberties.

A man would die of hunger who, having decided that money is real wealth, should carry out the idea to the end, writes Frédéric Bastiat (1801–1850).

The last few years as an executive in a manufacturing company gave me a frighteningly close look at the inner workings of regulators in our government. Maybe I'm just naïve, but what I discovered was shocking. They are not "creating jobs" or "improving the economy" &mdash; precisely the opposite.