“Production” is the general term for the natural and artificial processes by which indirect goods (or uses) are combined and advanced one or more stages toward ripeness or readiness for direct use by men.1 In the processes of production, goods are changed in various ways in their s
Today is the eighth anniversary of the death of Burt Blumert. It’s still hard for me to believe that Burt isn’t here anymore. Burt was the person you could always go to if you faced a difficult situation. His insights and good humor made you understand exactly what you needed to do. To get some idea of what Burt was like, I recommend his collection Bagels, Barry Bonds, and Rotten Politicians.
Compared to the general population, advocates of a minimal state and those of a stateless society overwhelmingly agree on a vast majority of political issues. I wish to argue here that there should be at least one more agreement between them than there traditionally has been: policing services need not be monopolized by the state and would be more efficiently provided by the private sector.
The current Liberty Matters debate on the work of Israel Kirzner offers some fascinating insights into the modern history of Austrian economics. It’s particularly valuable because it highlights the numerous strands of Austrian research that have developed from the writings of Menger and his followers, especially from Mises.
Higher education professionals have become increasingly specialized in ‘cheating the system’ over the past 50 years. The table below excellently summarizes the findings of Edwards and Roy in their recently published work on “Maintaining Scientific Integrity in a Climate of Perverse Incentives and Hypercompetition.”
Los Angeles, home to one of the least affordable housing markets in North America, is now proposing to expand rent control to “fix” its housing problem.
As with all price control schemes, rent control will serve only to make housing affordable to a small sliver of the population while rendering housing more inaccessible to most.
As often noted, the Fed’s economists and bureaucrats operate on the assumption that everything they do is part of the solution, but they are never part of the problem.
[Editor’s Note: This is part 4 of a multi-part series.]
A Chinese fable called “Three in the Morning and Four in the Evening,” relates this story: An old man in ancient China wanted to reduce his pet monkeys’ food as he can’t afford the previous amount any longer. He first told them that he would reduce the monkey’s ration to three acorns in the morning and four acorns in the evening. Thereupon, his monkeys protested angrily. Then the old man said, “How about four in the morning and three in the evening?” Knowing that he would get four acorns the next morning, the monkey became ecstatic.
