Many advocates for free markets often mistakenly speak of "the market" as if markets by themselves somehow solve problems or provide incentives. Only people can do these things, and markets are just a means to an end.
The new trend among famous economists is pointing out the times they changed their views in light of new empirical findings. Far from defending economics as a science and a profession, this trend actually reveals the unscientific and ideological nature of mainstream economics.
Populism was in the air this week as ranchers in the Western US opposed the spread of federally-owned lands, and reformers in Switzerland look to a referendum on fractional reserve banking.
Murray Rothbard dreamed of a fellowship program at the Mises Institute where students could become new Austrian scholars. In the twenty years since Rothbard’s death, the Mises Institute has worked with hundreds of young academics to build a new generation of Austrians.
Political Correctness is best understood as propaganda. But unlike propaganda, which is particular campaign or effort, PC is all-encompassing. It seeks to mold us into modern versions of Marx’s un-alienated society man, freed of all his bourgeois pretensions and humdrum social conventions.
As an exciting year comes to a close, we want to thank all of our incredible members that allow us to do the work we do in advancing Austrian economics, freedom, and peace.
In his new book Political Illiberalism Peter Simpson poses a fundamental challenge to John Rawls’s Political Liberalism. Though Simpson cannot be classified as a libertarian, his bold arguments will be of great use to all of us who oppose the state.
This week, the Federal Reserve raised the target Federal Funds Rate ever so slightly. The Fed perhaps felt it had to raise rates to protect its credibility, as credibility problems seem to be plaguing similar institutions worldwide.
Luckily for us all, Mises survived the war and went on to live a life that fundamentally altered the world. He overcame the Nazis, academic blacklists, and the personal hardships that tends to haunt any man who refuses to sacrifice his principles.
In a capitalist world, socialists would be free to form their own socialist communities. They're largely free to do so now, although few do. This may be due to the fact that even the utopian version of socialism seems unpleasant.
