In a recent email discussion with some fellow libertarians, including Sheldon Richman, Tennyson McCalla, Kevin Carson, and others, the issue arose as to how much Microsoft and Apple have benefited from and are dependent on intellectual property for their business model and success.
The Bitcoin community faced another crisis besides this on Sunday afternoon as the price of the currency on the most popular exchange, Mt.Gox, fell from $17 to pennies in a matter of minutes.
The early American individualists of the 19th century were a diverse lot with fixed and unwavering love of true liberty.
This morning Illinois Senator Mark Kirk appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box to advocate new legislation which he claims would remove a dozen restrictions on private-public partnerships. I say “claims” because more often than not, legislation does the opposite of what its sponsors say it will do. I haven’t read the proposed legislation but from his description it sounds like he is advocating a state’s rights approach to infrastructure privatization.
If this legislation really does what he claims, it could be a step closer to true infrastructure privatization.
Daniel James Sanchez’s recent article offers a fascinating analysis of the use of probability and mathematical modeling in the financial markets.1 He is highly critical of the use of probability and mathematical modeling for the purpose of predicting future economi
As reported by PC Pro, in EBooks are “attacking our freedom”, free software advocate Richard Stallman wants ebooks boycotted “until they ‘respect our freedom.’” He’s concerned about DRM in Kindle books, for example. Also: “‘Amazon requires users to identify themselves to get an eBook,’ Stallman claims, pointing out that printed book buyers can walk into a bookstore and make a cash purchase anonymously.”
The remake of Mildred Pierce gets it right. Commerce is the driving force of life, the thing that defines who we are and what we do in life. But even for a driven entrepreneur, business isn’t everything; it is complicated by myriad personal issues.
In the last few weeks, the European Union witnessed a food-poisoning scare that demonstrated the fragile nature of the entire European Union free-trade project. The crisis struck at a time when some EU countries are already in dire fiscal straits, which has provoked exaggerated responses to the outbreak. This article proposes an explanation of the economic forces that have been at play in Europe.
People often ask me, “How are the Austrians different from the Chicago school economists?”
