The explosive growth in the number of converts to libertarianism since Ron Paul first ran for president is one of the most exciting developments of my lifetime. But I’d like to issue a note of caution.

In a recent post, “Machlup and Mises,” on the blog Coordination Problem, Peter Boettke has called attention to and summarized an important paper, “The Epistemological Implications of Machlup’s Interpretation of Mises’s Methodology” written by Gabriel Zanotti and Nicolás Cachanosky. According to these authors, Murray Rothbard advanced an influential interpretation of Mises’s methodology that led mainstream economists to view Mises as an extremist.

The non-chalant tone — look at those guys in the fever swamp — they think that debt is bad, it’s fine — Or at least that’s Matt Ygelias’s position. This video contains about the same amount of economic argument:    

By Ron Paul 

As with the Venetian secession, regions of larger states often secede because they resent being taxed to subsidize other regions of the country. Less often is the case that a region leaves one nation state because it can get more and better subsidies in another nation states. According to Jason Ditz at antiwar.com, however, this is a big factor in Crimea’s decision to leave Ukraine for Russia.

By Michael S. Rozeff 

The IMF is lending $18 billion to Ukraine’s government, so that it can pay one small part of its huge debts. The money will go to the lenders, which include banks, mainly in Europe, and other investors in Ukraine’s bonds. This will not stem Ukraine’s economic decline. The IMF’s price includes higher taxes, which will make it worse.

I am amazed at the absence of reasoning found in the responses of many lawyers, law professors, political philosophers, and media opiners on the topic of political secession. As with political discussions generally, debate on this issue originates from either an individualistic or collectivist perspective. Those whose basic premises are aligned with institutional interests, and who regard such entities as ends in themselves,  superior to the interests of individuals, tend to reject the rightful authority of men and women to alter or dismantle these institutions.