Principles of market economics, particularly those emphasized in Austrian economic thought, are not confined to modern systems but persist across epochs. Ancient narratives, such as Mesopotamian epics, reflect profound insights into human decision-making, resource allocation, and the dynamics of power and exchange. I have become fascinated by deciphering the economic principles embedded within and underlying these ancient texts.

It will not have escaped many people’s attention that one of the main strategies in America’s “reckoning on race and Southern identity” involves depicting the Confederate battle flag as a symbol of racial oppression. Against this, Patrick J. Buchanan argued that:

The student loan crisis will end, “not with a bang but with a whimper.” After the presidential election, student debt will remain an embarrassing and thorny issue. Both parties have DNA at this crime scene. Neither party is in control. The prime mover in all of this is the “Nanny Campus” and a captured Education Department. Universities are the engine room of this education industrial-complex. 

US coins in circulation get damaged and are eligible to be redeemed through the US Mint Mutilated Coin Redemption Program, begun in 1911. Individuals and businesses can exchange bent, damaged, or partial coins (also known as mutilated coins) for reimbursement when no longer acceptable as legal tender.

Murray Rothbard is well known as an opponent of warfare perpetrated by states. This includes acts of war by states against other states, as well as acts of war by states against non-state organizations and individuals. Consequently, Rothbard’s historical scholarship and his political commentary is characterized by consistent opposition to aggressive warfare and imperialism as practiced by states in general, and by the United States government in particular. 

[The World at War by Ralph Raico. Transcribed and annotated by Edward W, Fuller. Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2024, 198pp.]

Often the arguments in support of the state are grounded on the state’s ability to restrict “the bad” in society, or to defend from other states in a defensive war. While it is true that individuals harmful to the health and property of others are the main problem that a society faces, arguments for a centralized power to have any positive effect on this issue are slim at best.

The issue of secession has been present in American history since the Declaration of Independence—itself an act of secession followed by a war for independence! The debate continued, involving discussions of National versus Compact Theory, the nature of the Union, the true vision of the Founders, under what circumstances secession might be legitimate, how a territory could theoretically secede, etc. All these things were discussed before, during, after the Civil War.

As President Bashar al-Assad flees Syria, neocons and Zionists celebrate throughout the world, while those who will truly suffer—the people of Syria—will be left to clean up the mess of American and Israeli ambitions. Despite the accusations against Bashar al-Assad, those who have replaced him are much worse—the Hay’at Tahir al Sham.