Liberty and American Civilization

Liberty and American Civilization

1. Lincoln's Tariff War

U.S. HistoryWar and Foreign Policy

06/05/2006Mises Media
The War to Prevent Southern Independence is the more proper title for the Civil War. The South did not want to take over DC or the North. There exists a vitriolic Lincoln Cult who cannot countenance that Lincoln might have been motivated by money and power in engaging in the Tariff dispute which...
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Liberty and American Civilization

2. Abraham Lincoln and the Triumph of Mercantilism in America

U.S. HistoryInterventionism

06/06/2006Mises Media
Alexander Hamilton wanted the colonies to be just like Britain, but without a king. He pushed mercantilism in America by arguing that public debt was positive and central banking was necessary.
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Liberty and American Civilization

3. Lincoln vs. the Constitution

Legal SystemU.S. History

06/06/2006Mises Media
There is no provision in the US Constitution allowing for a dictator. Yet, Lincoln was one. He suspended habeas corpus . Any disagreement with Lincoln was treated as treason. Political prisoners were everywhere, including the mayor of Baltimore.
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Liberty and American Civilization

4. The Classical Liberal States' Rights Tradition

U.S. HistoryPolitical Theory

06/07/2006Mises Media
States’ Rights have been ignored or misrepresented. Thomas Jefferson was an originator of States’ Rights. Citizens of a state ought to have sovereignty – dual sovereignty. Government was merely to protect the lives, liberty and property of citizens.
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Liberty and American Civilization

5. The Revolution of 1913

The FedTaxes and SpendingU.S. History

06/07/2006Mises Media
In 1913, economics and liberty collided when the Federal Reserve Bank was created, the 15th Amendment created the income tax, and the 17 th Amendment instituted direct election of Senators.
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Liberty and American Civilization

6. Protectionist Origins of Antitrust

Corporate WelfareU.S. HistoryInterventionism

06/08/2006Mises Media
The myth of antitrust, the myth of the New Deal and labor union myths are three economic fallacies. All three declare that government must save capitalism from itself.
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Liberty and American Civilization

7. The Myth of Natural Monopoly

Corporate WelfareU.S. HistoryInterventionism

06/08/2006Mises Media
This second myth about market failure is again a call for interventionism and support for bigger government. Natural monopolies don’t exist. The theory was made up after the fact. The only monopolies existing are those propped up by government privilege.
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Liberty and American Civilization

8. Labor Market Superstitions

U.S. HistoryInterventionism

06/09/2006Mises Media
There are labor market myths and there are labor union myths. The biggest myth is that capitalists always exploit the working class. Basic economics about marginal productivity theory contradicts this. Examples abound in all areas.
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Liberty and American Civilization

9. The Truth about the Great Depression

Booms and BustsU.S. History

06/09/2006Mises Media
The interventionist myth is that Federal meddling in domestic or foreign economics can make anything better. Instead, meddling produced the American Great Depression. Doing nothing with a depression in 1920 produced resolution within eighteen months. Nobody hears of the depression of 1920-21.
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Liberty and American Civilization

10. Is Voluntary Government Possible?

U.S. HistoryPolitical Theory

06/10/2006Mises Media
Walter Block and Tom DiLorenzo have looked at Constitutional Economics, and determined that politics are not just another market. There is only a curious analogy to the public choice approach. Social contract theory has been used as an excuse for all types of state intervention.
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