[From Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis, by Ludwig von Mises, pp. 113–22.]

Mervyn King is the British Ben Bernanke. An eminent academic economist, who now teaches both at New York University and the London School of Economics, King was from 2003 to 2013 Governor of the Bank of England. In short, he is a very big deal. Remarkably, in The End of Alchemy he frequently sounds like Murray Rothbard.

According to the writings of Carl Menger and Ludwig von Mises, the driving force of interest rate determination is individual’s time preferences. What is this all about?

As a rule, people assign a higher valuation to present goods versus future goods. This means that present goods are valued at a premium to future goods.

This stems from the fact that a lender or an investor gives up some benefits at present. Hence, the essence of the phenomenon of interest is the cost that a lender or an investor endures.

On this Mises wrote,

Merry Christmas from everyone at the Mises Institute. After a year dominated by the political pageant, we hope your holidays are dedicated to what’s most important: family, friends, and communities that transcend the pettiness of politics.

Terror attacks, civil wars, and political upheaval around the world are clear signs that debate about immigration isn’t going to disappear any time soon. However, troubled times can also be a good opportunity to revisit our basic arguments and assumptions about controversial issues. They’re also a way to remind ourselves of how much we can still learn from great scholars like Mises.

 Annali D’Italianistica, “Speaking Truth to Power: From Medieval to Modern Italy.” Volume 34, 2016. Edited by Jo Ann  Cavallo and Carlo Lottieri.

Ludwig von Mises truly was an intellectual giant among men. He was perhaps the greatest economist of the twentieth century, and a tireless advocate for political liberalism and laissez-faire. Human Action, his magnum opus, stands among the truly great works of social science. But his work, based on the study of human action, transcends both economics and social theory.

Say what you want about the Obama economy, but one aspect of it must be stated up front:  It was the “Happy Time” of crony capitalism. I know this statement departs from the glowing narrative being promoted by mainstream sources, but facts are facts. Maybe Obama’s was left-cronyism, whereas Bush pushed a right one, but no matter. Crony capitalism has done well since 2009.

Much talk has been made lately about the Left’s recent defeats in countries throughout Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela most notably.