Argentina’s economic minister, Axel Kicillof, has become famous for his assertion that it is possible to centrally manage the economy now because we have spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel. This assertion comes from the mistaken view that the cost of production determines final prices, and it reveals a profound misunderstanding of the market process. This issue, however, is not new. The first half of the twentieth century witnessed the debate over economic calculation under socialism. Apparently, Argentine officials have much to learn from this old debate.

The following is the transcript from a talk delivered at the 2014 Houston Mises Circle. Video of the talk is available here.

In the ebb and flow of interventionist politics, there are some issues that surface periodically regardless of how many times and how completely they are proven to be harmful to the very people they are purported to help. Currently the tide is once again carrying the minimum wage to the forefront of collective attention. Supporters of this and similar measures often use straw-man arguments, like the one in the picture below.

In February, the Federal Reserve made a cursory observation that the unusually severe winter was partly to blame for the stagnant pace of the US economy. The news media, ranging from liberal to conservative, all highlighted the Fed’s report and provided their respective “spin” on how the weather damages the economy. But soon enough, focus turned back to the brutally cold temperatures and not winter’s economic impact.

Recently the Fed released research stating that it encouraged moral hazard and risk taking with its QE programs. Never one to fall behind, now the International Monetary Fund is in on the trick.

“Every man,” argued the philosopher William Godwin, “has a certain sphere of discretion, which he has a right to expect shall not be infringed by his neighbours. This right flows from the very nature of man.” Market anarchists agree with Godwin and thus oppose the state simply as one specific example of invasion or aggression against peaceful individuals. After all, by definition, governments must aggress against innocents just to exist.

[Editor’s Note: Non-profits are often wrongly characterized as being “creations of government” that arose only as a response to the tax rules. In this Mises Daily article from 2006, Karen De Coster defends non-profits on historical and philanthropic grounds.]

Nonprofit organizations play an integral role in a free market economy. The establishment of a voluntary nonprofit organization is not merely an exercise for obtaining tax-exempt status for wealth protection within a burdensome tax system, though that is a splendid end in its own right.

According to mainstream economics textbooks, one of the primary functions of money is to measure the value of goods and services exchanged on the market. A typical statement of this view is given by Frederic Mishkin in his textbook on money and banking. “[M]oney ... is used to measure value in the economy,” he claims. “We measure the value of goods and services in terms of money, just as we measure weight in terms of pounds and distance in terms of miles.”

One of the great economic myths of our time is Japan’s “lost decades.” As Japan doubles-down on inflationary stimulus, it’s worth reviewing the facts.

The truth is that the Japanese and US economies have performed in lock-step since 2000, and their performances have matched each other going as far back as 1980.

Either Japan’s not in crisis, or the US has been in crisis for a good thirty-five years. You can’t have it both ways.

What does it take to change the world? Do you need to launch an intellectual revolution, such as Martin Luther? Must you commit murder in the name of egalitarianism à la Joseph Stalin? Is it possible to make a difference while living a humble life?