[This article is part of the Understanding Money Mechanics series, by Robert P. Murphy. The series will be published as a book in 2021.]

[An interview with Dr. Hulsmann, originally published in German by Die Freie Welt.]

As a result of the corona crisis, economic life was severely restricted in many countries. How long can the economy take this?

In a column containing a rebuke of the Mises Institute, Medium Marker writer Will Oremus has come up with what he fervently believes is The Explanation for the empty shelves in big-box and grocery stores that once had toilet paper for sale.

With the spread of the coronavirus, leaders across the United States are dipping into their governing toolboxes—treasure troves of both so-called legitimate and usurped power—in order to attempt to stop the virus’ spread. The federal government has suggested social distancing and quarantining, while states have simply imposed compulsory mandates. Some cry that it is a necessity for the state to intervene, and that the market could not accomplish these measures. This begs the question of whether these measures could occur in a stateless society.

The relationship between ends and means has long been debated. For instance, the legacy of “the end justifies the means” traces back to Sophocles’s Electra four centuries before Christ, Ovid’s Heroides, and Machiavelli’s The Prince. And more recently, Leonard Read pointed out that if the ends are just hopes that will not, in fact, be achieved, they cannot justify means that infringe on others’ rights.

If you are hungry for a productive diversion amidst the destructive government lockdown decrees and social distancing mandates, I highly recommend listening to this audio recording of Murray Rothbard’s talk “On Milton Friedman.”  Recorded in 1970, it features Rothbard at the top of his game, delivering a comprehensive and penetrating critique of Friedman’s signature economic policy positions as well as their underlying theoretical rationale.