Many people familiar with Austrian economics are familiar with the Skyscraper Index, popularized by Mark Thornton. And while there may not be a perfect correlation between the building of large skyscrapers and business cycles, it is still the case that the same conditions that lead to the building of mega-skyscrapers are those that lead to the boom and bust of the business cycle.
Liberty means to exercise human rights in any manner a person chooses so long as it does not interfere with the exercise of the rights of others. This means, above all else, keeping government out of our lives. Only this path leads to the unleashing of human energies that build civilization, provide security, generate wealth, and protect the people from systematic rights violations. In this sense, only liberty can truly ward off tyranny, the great and eternal foe of mankind.
For years, those who face the costs of educating themselves or their children hear a nearly incessant drum beat of how expensive a college education is, and how much debt they’ll likely be taking on. On the other hand, we’re told repeatedly that a college education is absolutely essential because people with a college degree allegedly make a million dollars over a lifetime more than those who do not attend college.
Neocon political commentator, comedian, actor and “economist,” Ben Stein ridicules Donald Trump for his recent forecast of a “a very massive recession soon” in the US while labeling Trump’s views on the economy as ”sheer idiocy.&
As Harry Potter fans are well aware, the wizarding world runs on a trimetallic standard of gold galleons, silver sickles and bronze knuts. There is no mention of any form of paper money in the magical world, with everyone handling their purchases with metal coins.
It is often maintained that what divides present-day political parties is a basic opposition in their ultimate philosophical commitments that cannot be settled by rational argument. The discussion of these antagonisms must therefore necessarily prove fruitless. Each side will remain unshaken in its conviction because the latter is based on a comprehensive world view that cannot be altered by any considerations proposed by the reason. The ultimate ends toward which men strive are diverse.
Institut Coppet in France has recently made available a French translation of Murray Rothbard’s Education: Free and Compulsory.
The French version is available for purchase, here.
