When people speak of “social justice,” they are not speaking of justice in any historical form but rather an imaginary state of affairs in which the state enforces a progressive view of equality. F.A. Hayek wrote that “social justice” is “wholly devoid of meaning or content.”
Although government officials and true believers in “green energy” are denying it, the collapse of the electric grid in Spain and Portugal proves that reliance on renewables for electric production is doomed to failure. Whether people listen is another story.
Although politicians, pundits, and the media claim that a trade deficit is harmful to a country, the reality is much different. In a free economy, individuals interact with each other in mutually-beneficial exchanges. As Murray Rothbard noted, free exchanges do not produce winners and losers.
Have Americans forgotten how to be free? When warfare erupted between American colonists and the British government, the colonists believed that they had God-given rights that protected them against state power. Would that Americans today believed the same thing.
When intellectuals and political elites call for equality, they usually mean creating social conditions that are make believe at best and harmful at worst. Their latest hustle is “equity,” which means the state should guarantee equal outcomes for everyone.
Murray Rothbard believed that the right to engage in voluntary exchange has long been understood as a natural right, not just a good, practical idea. Tariffs and other trade barriers violate that right.
A past article, presenting a “libertarian” viewpoint of nuclear weapons, has two choices, but pointedly leaves out a third choice: nuclear disarmament. According to Murray Rothbard, disarmament is the only true moral choice and also the most practical.
As egg prices rise, the usual progressive suspects claim it is due to monopoly power by egg producers, calling for government intervention. However, the real reason is government intervention itself.
Trump has even dubbed himself “a Tariff Man.” This is nothing new, however, his frequent claims regarding the US economy during the Gilded Age need scrutiny.
When politicians claim they are “creating jobs,” they usually mean hiring people for tax-funded government employment. Jobs in private enterprise, however, help to create real wealth and contribute to economic growth and higher living standards.
