Political Theory

Recorded at the Ludwig von Mises Institute; Auburn, Alabama; 9 October 2010.

Recorded at the Ludwig von Mises Institute; Auburn, Alabama; 9 October 2010.

Recorded at the Ludwig von Mises Institute; Auburn, Alabama; 9 October 2010.

Recorded at the Ludwig von Mises Institute; Auburn, Alabama; 9 October 2010.

Ordinarily I agree with John Stossel.

The leading Baconian in political economy, who was also, fittingly, a pioneer in statistics and in the alleged science of "political arithmetic," was the fascinating opportunist and adventurer Sir William Petty (1623–1687).

Regardless of their relative merits, bribes are a phenomenon distinct from taxation and regulation. Examining where and to what extent illicit bribes exist sheds further light on the distinction between the private, voluntary economy, and the public, coercive one.

Many elected officials are already wealthy by most people's standards. What makes the wealthy and otherwise successful want to hold office? Is it an  overweening ego and an insatiable hunger for public adulation?

The Tea Party, no matter how successful it is at the polls in November, will certainly betray the party of liberty. There are several reasons for this, but the fundamental one is intellectual. The Tea Party does not have a coherent view of liberty.

Rocker was awful on economics, but his focus was not on that. He wrote about nationalism and culture, and here Rocker is fantastic. "States create no culture; indeed, they are often destroyed by higher forms of culture."