The King of Prussia, Frederick II (“the Great”), confessed that he had seized the province of Silesia from the Empress Maria Theresa in 1740 because, as a newcomer to the throne, he had to make a name for himself. This caused a war with Austria that developed into a worldwide war (in North America, the French and Indian War), and went on to 1763. Of course, many tens of thousands died in that series of wars.
One of Ludwig von Mises’ most insightful parts of Human Action is his discussion on the reason to hold a cash balance. By using his construct of the “evenly rotating economy”, Mises shows that the only reason why an individual would not hold cash is because he is fully certain of his future monetary expenditures.
The Economist ran a good article last week about the enormous difficulty of being an entrepreneur. In particular, the piece emphasizes the importance of doing away with the mythology of entrepreneurship as a life of romance, adventure, and the heroic pursuit of greatness.
As a follow-up to his recent Mises Daily article on the topic, Mateusz Machaj and Tom Woods discuss the Taylor Rule, its history, and its errors.Also here.
These days, a lot of people are worried about their rising healthcare costs. In the Netherlands, this had been one of the most important factors in introducing a collectivist and obligatory basic insurance policy in 2006. Only a few years later, in the United States, the federal government implemented a similar scheme. At least, that was the original plan.
Government authorities in the UK have declared that the “Yes” campaign for secession has failed by a margin of approximately 55 percent to 45 percent. Yet, even without a majority vote for secession, the campaign for separation from the United Kingdom has already provided numerous insights into the future of secession movements and those who defend the status quo.
Lesson 1: Global Elites Greatly Fear Secession and Decentralization
Mark Thornton, Mises Institute Senior Fellow, recently traveled to the United Kingdom to take part in Oxford University’s Oxford Union Debates.
Mises Institute: Why were you invited to debate at Oxford?
