People readily line up on one side or another of great economic debates. How do they choose which side to take?

This is clearly a question worth asking. I have asked it of myself, and it has led me to being an Austrian and especially a Misesian.

To try to answer the question of why people decide about economics, let’s begin at the beginning, by asking how people decide anything. As a general rule, they rely on emotion, factual observation, logic, or intuition.

Your dollar has lost 96-97 percent of its purchasing power since 1913. This is not bad luck or mysterious market forces. It is the result of deliberate policy choices that steadily, quietly drained your wealth—and convinced you it was being done for your benefit.

Housing costs in New York City have reached a level that many people can no longer afford. The response has been to push for more control—limits on rent increases and expanded tenant protections. The intention is clear. However, housing markets respond to incentives, not intentions.

If there is a mantra among progressive American political and media elites, it would be “our democracy,” usually preceded by what they believe to be a threat from the Right. For example, progressives deemed the recent reversal of Roe “a threat to our democracy” because it removed laws regulating abortion from Supreme Court jurisdiction and returned the issue to democratically elected legislatures.

Chilean President Kast said Chile had been “violated by illegal immigration, drug trafficking and organized crime.” 

Late last year, German lawmakers passed new legislation paving the way for military conscription.