Fourteen years ago, when Portugal decriminalized most illegal drugs, drug war proponents claimed the move would drive Portugal into chaos. Today, Portugal has the second-lowest death rate from illegal drugs in Europe with no sign of chaos on the horizon.
Surprisingly, Marx and Lenin were occasionally insightful when it came to the problems and consequences of fiat money in the economy. In principle, they opposed unbacked currency. But of course, once communists seized political power, those principles went right out the window.
Like Argentina and Venezuela, Greece's economy is plagued not just by institutional problems, but by a pervasive anti-capitalism that continually cripples the ability of individual Greeks to build wealth and a solid economy.
Jurassic World is the latest film to portray deadly disasters supposedly caused by profit-seeking run amok. But would the private sector really produce a super-smart dinosaur that is likely to eat many of the customers?
The Greek government has spent freely for many years to enrich itself and its special interests at the expense of taxpayers. And now, it is not the Greek politicians who will suffer, but the taxpayers who face a future of unending debt payments.
Since the revolution, many acts of Congress under the Constitution have done much to undo the Spirit of 1776. Here are a few of the worst.
Much of Bolivia's alleged socialist miracle relies on the commodity boom, but there is a real laissez-faire element behind the boom, too. Bolivian President Evo Morales is allowing Bolivia's small-businesses and informal economies to truly thrive and grow.
Thanks to the higher-education bubble, times are great for those who make money off of college students. Tuition continues to climb while a building boom produces expensive new housing and classrooms. Meanwhile, the students themselves may not be getting their money's worth.
Frédéric Bastiat would have turned 214 today. Although primarily remembered for The Law, Bastiat's book Economic Sophisms, filled with Bastiat's unique wit, and his ability to destroy bad economic theories, is as timely as ever.
Sardinia has a long history of agitating for secession from Italy. Now some Sardinians want to secede form Italy in order to become a new region of Switzerland. Ludwig von Mises defended this "secede-and-join" tactic and called it "self-determination."
