In response to the argument in favor of closing loopholes, Ludwig von Mises once noted that “capitalism breathes through those loopholes.”

In many ways, special economic zones (SEZs) are the ultimate loophole. But, like all loopholes, they benefit the politically connected few who know how to take advantage of them as opposed to the masses.

Since the beginning of this year, the entire world has seen a rise in prices which caused panic and surprise among people; however, the inflation we are observing these last months is not a surprise to those who have seen the monetary and fiscal policy of the governments around the world since the pandemic started. With the excuse of the virus, States have implemented huge spendings which were financed, at least in part, by printing money and other expansionist policies and the results are clear now.

“What starts here changes the world.”

The University of Texas at Austin’s motto not only applies to the research university’s overall impact on world affairs, but also to the outsized role cultural and political developments within the United States have on the rest of the planet.

CNN touts San Jose as being “poised to take a step closer to first-in-the-nation gun ownership requirements.” At first, I had thought that the poorly worded headline must be mistaken, as there are cities, such as Kennesaw, GA, that have required residents own guns. In San Jose’s case, “gun ownership requirements” means paying an annual tax and being required to purchase insurance to exercise the right (privilege?) to own a firearm.

The answer to the question of Adolf Hitler’s position on private ownership and nationalization appears to be fairly simple. It is generally accepted that Hitler recognized private ownership of the means of production and rejected nationalization. To leave it at that, as is generally done, would mean being superficial because this statement is far too undifferentiated and leaves too many questions unanswered. In my book Hitler’s National Socialism I analyze the dictator’s economic and sociopolitical thinking.

In December 2021, the US unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent from 4.2 percent in the month before. The number of unemployed individuals fell by 500,000 to 6.3 million. Many commentators have expressed satisfaction with the decline in unemployment. According to commentators, the fall in unemployment is indicative of a strong economy.

Why do individuals assign a greater value to gold than to bread, when bread seems to be more “useful” than gold? To provide an answer to this question economists refer to the law of diminishing marginal utility. The concept of diminishing marginal utility is the essential building block of economics. There is, however, a difference in the way this law is discussed by mainstream economics and the Austrian school of economics.

François-Marie Arouet (1694-1778), who took on the name Voltaire after one of his imprisonments for running afoul of French authorities, was a poet, writer, philosopher and historian of the French enlightenment.