Writing in his 1922 treatise Socialism, Ludwig von Mises expressed support for democracy, but took a very limited view. Specifically, he suggested the only purpose of democracy is to “make peace, to avoid violent revolutions.” That is, democracy is purely a means to an end and its value lies in providing a way to remove agents of the state without the need to resort to military tools: “The essence of democracy is ... that  lawgivers and rulers ...

I have come to realize, since writing this essay, that I overweighted the contributions and importance of Adam Smith on the division of labor. And to my surprise, I did not sufficiently appreciate the contributions of Ludwig von Mises.

The authors of American Amnesia, well-known political scientists from Yale and Berkeley, argue that supporters of the free market have forgotten a fundamental truth. Defenders of the market often point to the “Great Fact,” as the distinguished economic historian Deirdre McCloskey terms it, i.e., the amazing increase in human well-being and wealth that began about two hundred years ago, when trade and production in parts of Europe and America became freer than ever before.

This week the world’s attention turned to Rio this week with Brazil’s Olympics games. As the biggest corporatist scam of all time, these games have cost the Brazilian people $12 billion dollars, most of it going to the pockets of the politically well connected.

Writing this week for Bloomberg, Tyler Cowan made the case that Brazil is “still the country of the future.” While I share Cowan’s optimism for the nation’s future, his focus on the country’s diversity, size, and vaguely federalized political structure overlooks the real story – that Austrian economics and libertarianism is winning the battle of ideas within the country.

Most experts regard consumer’s psychological disposition as the driving force of an economy. If consumers are optimistic and happy with the economy, no recession can occur — so it is believed. According to the popular way of thinking, if consumers are active, this is said to be a good sign for economic health. If consumers do not spend enough then it is seen as bad news. Indeed surveys of business activity show that during a recession, businesses emphasize a lack of consumer demand as the major factor behind their poor performances.

Complaining that they can’t keep up with all the changes to the law, police departments in Colorado are demanding that the legislature impose a moratorium on any new cannabis-related legislation. 

The Colorado Springs Gazette reports: 

Socialism, Economic Calculation, and Entrepreneurship • By Jesús Huerta de Soto • Edward Elgar, 2010 • 320 pages