Private Property

No, the authors are not really Austrian, and I'm not even sure that they can be called libertarians, but they understand the competitive process in ways that would make Hayek and Mises proud.

Not state capitalism, not crony capitalism, not mixed-market capitalism, not fascism and interventionism under the guise of capitalism, but unfettered, laissez-faire, free-market capitalism.

It is imperative that we remain realistic in our assessment of human nature and not forget that the basic principles which produced our prosperity still govern human action."

People must relearn that free-market money, or sound money, as Mises put it, is the indispensable element for preserving the free societal order.

To believe that, absent government, folks would not help the poor is to turn one's back on history. In addition, to destroy capital in the name of ending poverty simply impoverishes us all.

We should be worried about building Battlestar Galactica.

Bob Higgs' 1997 article "Regime Uncertainty," now appears in slightly revised form as the first chapter of his 2006 book Depression, War, and Cold War.

The state punishes those who do good (those who provide services that customers are willing to pay for at a price they are willing to pay) and rewards those who do evil (those who use the coercive power of the state to prevent people from entering the marketplace and earning a living).

In fact, the government has already tried and failed to alleviate the Maryland crab crisis. Perhaps we should let capitalism have a crack at this problem.

From “Choice in Currency: A Path to Sound Money”; the Mises Circle in Vancouver. Recorded 13 September 2008.