Political Theory

The 2015 Houston Mises Circle, "Breaking Away: The Case for Secession" begins this Saturday morning. Watch all the lectures online, live from Houston.

Revolutionaries often place their trust in unlimited government to remake the world in their image, but unrestrained states have a habit of turning on those who support them.

On behalf of everyone at the Mises Institute, we wish you a very happy, healthy, peaceful, and productive New Year! In this talk, Murray Rothbard reflects on the past while looking to the future of peace and free markets in our society. 

Mises Daily Weekend by David Gordon.

David Gordon explains how Hans-Hermann Hoppe, while avoiding undue pessimism, takes the conventional view of "progress" in Western society and turns the narrative on its head.

In less than 20 minutes David Gordon surveys Plato, Aristotle, Stoic philosopher Zeno of Citium, Frenchman Frederic Bastiat, Franz Oppenheimer, and Albert Jay Nock.

Mises Daily Weekend by David Gordon: Thinkers Who Challenged the State

This essay is adapted from David Gordon’s talk at the Costa Mesa Mises Circle. Click here to register for January’s Houston Mises Circle.

While we are told today that an anarchist society is unachievable, the ancients believed such a society to be achievable but undesirable. The world would have to wait for later theorists like Bastiat and Oppenheimer, who explained the true costs of the state.

Michael Oliver witnessed the beginning of the modern anarcho-capitalism movement, meeting Rothbard in the early 1970s. His graduate thesis was on Rothbard's description of a libertarian society and attempted to reconcile Rothbardian thought with the work of Ayn Rand.

If you like debating Rothbard vs. Rand — or anarcho-capitalism vs. limited government — you’ll enjoy this interview with Michael Oliver.