Political Theory

Murray Rothbard discusses the veil of sanctity that has been wrapped around Gandhi by his numerous disciples and exposes his thoughts to the rigors of individual freedom and genuine civil disobedience.

Many commentators focus on immigrants when declaring that people who live off government spending should not be able to vote. However, there is no lack of longtime citizens who also have an incentive to keep the tax money flowing as long as possible.

Recorded at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, on 23 July 2015.

Recorded at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, on 23 July 2015.

For starters, consider that personal and business reputations might well become even more important in a more libertarian society. Our reflexive aversion to cheats, liars, and secrecy is very much in accord with human nature, and there’s every reason to believe a private legal system would reflect this. In an uncertain world of scarce resources, a lack of trustworthiness in others creates huge transaction costs. This is especially true of our interactions with strangers, where we’re forced to create elaborate legal contracts before doing business-- a handshake no longer suffices.

Recorded at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, on 21 July 2015.

Recorded at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, on 21 July 2015.

Mises had diagnosed these problems long before they became apparent.  In a series of essays written between the two World Wars—but also in Omnipotent Government published in 1944—, Mises showed that in a world where governments interfere in their domestic markets, and with the monetary system, and where (economic) nationalism prevails, it is pointless to hope for any political and economic resolution from supranational organizations. The best these institutions can do is prolong the disastrous effects of government policies, and postpone—though loans and bailouts—their inevitable collapse.

Frédéric Bastiat would have turned 214 today. Although primarily remembered for The Law, Bastiat's book Economic Sophisms, filled with Bastiat's unique wit, and his ability to destroy bad economic theories, is as timely as ever.

Sardinia has a long history of agitating for secession from Italy. Now some Sardinians want to secede form Italy in order to become a new region of Switzerland. Ludwig von Mises defended this "secede-and-join" tactic and called it "self-determination."