The law of necessity states that the price of a good essential for an individual to achieve his ends (i.e., an inelastic good) cannot remain excessively high for an extended period of time. Human beings act purposefully in the pursuit of their ends, employing certain means to achieve them. If the price of a necessary good rises to the point where it impedes an individual’s ability to attain his ends, he experiences uneasiness.
Egalitarians sometimes deny that there is any conflict between equality and the doctrines of individual liberty—free speech, contractual freedom, freedom of conscience and belief, freedom of association, and the right to private property.
In light of recent developments in New York City, specifically on the recent primary elections and the emergence of self-described democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as a potential mayoral candidate, as well as the increasingly aggressive public engagement of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in their tour around the United States, and the fact that AOC’s chances of becoming the 2028 Democratic presidential nominee have doubled within one week, it has become clear t
“...that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”—Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, 1863
According to the US President Donald Trump, the Fed is failing at its job in supporting the economy by not lowering the policy interest rate. The president believes that the lowering of interest rates by the central bank will prompt businesses to increase production and investment, which will spur stronger economic growth. Lower interest rates, according to such thinking, strengthen consumer spending, which is popularly considered to be the key driver of economic growth.
The Scandinavian model is often misrepresented as a humane and efficient form of socialism. In reality, it is a distinctly coercive and oligarchic form of statism.
While the system preserves the formal legality of civilized concepts like human rights, justice, and private property, in practice, it operates on a Marxist-fascist foundation: it systematically violates the individual through taxation, regulation, and bureaucratic entrapment—leaving only a small, politically-connected class permitted to engage in a narrow, state-sanctioned form of commerce.
Anarcho-capitalism is a libertarian vision of a stateless society, where security, law and dispute resolution would be provided by private, for-profit companies. Proponents of this system believe that it would be both more ethical and more effective than the state. However, not everyone is convinced. Critics of anarcho-capitalism have raised serious doubts about the feasibility of such an order. I discussed these briefly in a previous article.
Ludwig von Mises served on the front lines of World War I. As an artillery captain in the Austro-Hungarian army, he was surrounded by gore and bloodshed, horrors that he never forgot. In recognition of his service and his brilliance, he was offered a plush position serving as an economic advisor in the war department. Ease and comfort in a time of conflict was his. All he had to do was agree to the demands of his government.
But Mises was not a man to betray his principles.
