In an article published by Chronicles, titled “Wokeness and Capitalism,” Neema Parvini argues that “the woke prerequisites – mass immigration, feminism, equality laws, etc. – are the inevitable fruits of capitalism.” He argues that capitalism “pretends to make individuals ‘sovereign’ after drawing them into the labor pool, while neutralizing their attempts at political organization.”

History often remembers the 1962 coup in Myanmar as a sudden seizure of power by a power-hungry general. However, from the failed 1948 coup to the one-party authoritarian socialist regime of the 1960s, the roots of Myanmar’s military dictatorship were grown in the soil of radical leftism and their totalitarian ideology. To understand why the military refuses to leave the political stage today, it’s important to look at the politicians who taught the generals that they were the only ones capable of leading a revolution.

Timothy Terrell is the T. B. Stackhouse Professor of Economics at Wofford College and Senior Fellow with the Mises Institute. He is the Senior Associate Editor of the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. He received his PhD in economics from Auburn University. His research focuses on regulatory and environmental policy issues.

The Misesian: What was your journey to Austrian economics and the Mises Institute?

[Reinterpreting Libertarianism: New Directions in Libertarian Studies
Edited by Łukasz Dominiak, Igor Wysocki, Stanisław Wójtowicz, and Dawid Megger
Routledge, 2026; x + 245 pp.] 

This article is adapted from a lecture presented at the Mises Student Circle “Why the Economy Is Failing Generation Z” on November 1, 2025, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

We live in politically interesting times.

The popularity of Donald Trump as a candidate and his two victories has been framed as a big shift on the American right, mirrored by the same shift on the left with the popularity of figures like Bernie Sanders, AOC, and now Zohran Mamdani. So what’s causing this? What factor or central dynamic lies at the core of all this change?

This article is adapted from a lecture presented at the Mises Student Circle “Why the Economy Is Failing Generation Z” on November 1, 2025, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

I teach at Ferris State University and most of my students are members of Generation Z. When I ask them what they are stressed about, they often mention passing my course, of course—but beyond that, it seems that they are stressed about dismal economic prospects regarding jobs and housing. In many cases, this concern is understandable. They face serious challenges.

Britain and the United States are often described in the same breath: advanced economies that have moved beyond industry into services, finance, and knowledge work. On paper, the similarity looks strong. Services dominate employment and output in both countries, manufacturing has receded, and global cities anchor national growth. Yet the resemblance is superficial. The kinds of services each country produces, and the economic roles those services play, are profoundly different.