Most interpretations of American free banking experiences in the nineteenth century focus on the failure of what is commonly believed to have been an experiment in unregulated banking. In this dissertation completed in 1988, economist Karen Y. Palasek advances the thesis that not only was free banking a strictly regulated system, but the reasons for its failure stem directly from the regulations themselves and from the regulatory ties between bond collateral requirements for competitively issued redeemable banknotes and a large volume of government debt which was essentially used as a reserve by free banks.
To illustrate the impediments presented by free banking laws, Palasek compares free banking experiences in New York to bank experiences in New England under the Suffolk System. She argues that the New England regional banking system that developed under the Suffolk was essentially a laissez-faire banking system, producing stability and safety for noteholders and depositors through market-driven behavioral constraints on the banks. New York, arguably the best example of American free banking, compares unfavorably on both stability and safety to the more laissez-faire system. The implications of this reexamination of free banking and the recent debates over the causes of instability in the free banking era have a bearing on modern reconsideration of deregulation and the self-regulating properties of a laissez-faire monetary system in the areas of stability, safety, and adequacy of banking facilities.
Ronald Reagan: An Autopsy
How did Murray Rothbard view Ronald Reagan's legacy? A mood of blind "feel-good" Americanism, entrenched big government, and the evisceration of libertarian gains—leaving only one positive (repealing the 55 mph speed limit).
Criticism of causal-scientific social research: Investigations into the foundations of sociology and economics
English translation of Hans-Hermann Hoppe's Kritik der kausalwissenschaftlichen Sozialforschung (Opladen 1983). Translated by Andreas Tank.
Steve Hanke join CapitalCosm to Discuss Trump and Powell, Interest rates, and Inflation
Following Jerome Powell’s latest signal on rate cuts, economist Steve Hanke explains why markets and policymakers keep fixating on the wrong variable. Interest rates don’t drive the cycle, he argues—changes in the money supply do, with long and variable lags.
The Alaska Summit in Perspective: Steve Hanke on U.S. Strategy and Russia’s Position
In a candid interview, economist Steve Hanke calls the Trump–Putin Alaska summit “a photo-op,” arguing Russia already holds the upper hand in Ukraine. He explains why Moscow has the leverage and what it means for U.S. strategy and global security.
An Interview with Steve H. Hanke on His Life and Work in Economics
Hanke is Professor of Applied Economics at The Johns Hopkins University. His work is on the economics of water, natural resources, privatization, currency boards, dollarization, and finance. He has been a market commenter, and economic adviser to presidents and prime ministers.
Was the American Revolution Radical?
[Chapter 80, “Was the American Revolution Radical?,” from Murray N.
Was the American Revolution Radical?
[Chapter 80, “Was the American Revolution Radical?,” from Murray N.
The History of Freedom in Christianity
“The only influence capable of resisting the feudal hierarchy was the ecclesiastical hierarchy; and they came into collision, when the process of feudalism threatened the independence of the Church...”
How Would Anarchy Work?
We eliminate the main problem that plagued "limited government": we are relying on the government — a monopoly agency — to police itself.
The History of Freedom in Antiquity
Liberty, next to religion, has been the motive of good deeds and the common pretext of crime, from the sowing of the seed at Athens, two thous
Free-Market Reforms in Argentina and Chile: A Comparative Analysis of Structural Challenges and Long-Term Prospects
Submission for the Kenneth Garschina Undergraduate Student Essay Contest (2025).
Something Is Rotten in the (Welfare) State of Denmark: A Hazlittian Analysis of Danish Welfarism
Submission for the Kenneth Garschina Undergraduate Student Essay Contest (2025).
The Relevance of Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson for Current Economic Discourse
Submission for the Kenneth Garschina Undergraduate Student Essay Contest (2025).
The Sociology of the Ayn Rand Cult
The rereading of Atlas was ... important to the cult because the wooden, posturing, and one-dimensional heroes and heroines were explicitly supposed to serve as role models for every Randian.
Jean-Baptiste Say: Neglected Champion of Laissez-Faire
J.B. Say deserves to be remembered, especially by Austrian economists, as a pivotal figure in the history of economic thought. Yet, one finds him discussed very briefly, if at all.
Jean-Baptiste Say: Neglected Champion of Laissez-Faire
J.B. Say deserves to be remembered, especially by Austrian economists, as a pivotal figure in the history of economic thought. Yet, one finds him discussed very briefly, if at all.
The Cultural War in Economic Science
The challenge facing economic science is to counter the reactionary counterrevolution by states and governments that smother voluntary cooperation and free human interaction based on liberty. The chains must be thrown off in favor of the libertarian ideal of an anarchocapitalist system.
FDR: The Man, the Leader, the Legacy
Roosevelt stands for the national government as we know it today, a vast, unfathomable bureaucratic apparatus that recognizes no limits whatsoever to its power, either at home or abroad.
American Foreign Policy — The Turning Point, 1898–1919
Were the Founding Fathers somehow to return, they would find it impossible to recognize our political system. War has warped our constitutional order, the course of our national development, and the very mentality of our people.
The American Empire
The Roman Empire never doubted that it was the defender of civilization. Americans have added freedom and democracy. Yet the more that may be added to it the more it is the same language still. A language of power.
Dr. Palasek is Assistant Professor of Business at Barton College, and serves as the Director of Educational and Academic Programs at the John Locke Foundation.
The amazing fact is that the great majority of British people are not yet consciously aware that they are living in a very severe economic crisis.
