Philosophy and Methodology

Bob concludes his series on areas where he’s changed his mind. This episode covers the economics of climate change, fractional reserve banking, the US gold standard, and more.

The only relevant thing is that indirect exchange and money exist because the conditions for their existence were and are present.

Dr. Roberta Modugno and Jeff Deist finish examining Rothbard's The Ethics of Liberty. Dr. Modugno elaborates on Rothbard's disagreements with Mises regarding ethical justifications for a free society, and defends his uncompromising views on the nature of the state.

Ryan McMaken joins the show to tackle the toughest and most controversial chapters ofThe Ethics of Liberty—abortion, the rights of children, defamation, and all the "what-ifs" contained in lifeboat situations.

Mises: "The experience with which the sciences of human action have to deal is always an experience of complex phenomena. No laboratory experiments can be performed with regard to human action."

Is it justifiable to accept money from government? Almost always, say Jonathan Gress and Walter Block--but not for everyone.

Metaphysical principles of political life discovered by Aristotle and clarified by Thomas Aquinas can provide a framework of political philosophy that is compatible with the Austrian school.

Mises: "The experience with which the sciences of human action have to deal is always an experience of complex phenomena. No laboratory experiments can be performed with regard to human action."

The socialists cannot help admitting that capitalism has the tendency to improve the material conditions of mankind. But, they say, it has diverted men from the higher and nobler pursuits.

When people think of Rothbard as a philosopher, they often have in mind only his work in ethics and political philosophy, but he wrote about other areas of philosophy as well.