Like many libertarians, I initially assumed intellectual property (IP) was a legitimate type of property right. But I had misgivings from the start: there was just something too utilitarian and results oriented in Rand’s purportedly principled case for IP, and something too artificial about the state’s copyright and patent statutory classifications. I started practicing patent law around 1992, and the more I learned about IP, the more my doubts grew.
The question of how to objectively determine damages for negligence (tort) in a libertarian system often arises. There is not much solid, libertarian analysis out there on this issue–the answers are usually either positivistic and assume some presumptive validity of common law rules; or they are libertarian but without much mooring in any coherent libertarian legal theory.
At Recovery or Stagnation?, a Mises Circle held in San Francisco on August 29, 2009, there was a great Speakers’ Panel featuring Walter Block, Thomas DiLorenzo, Douglas French, and Robert Murphy. Great comments on the current financial mess.
My paper “The Southern Economy” is finally available. Here’s the abstract:
Declan McCullagh on Cnet reports that: “appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency.”
Defenders say, what’s the big deal since the president has always had such power?
(Thanks William Butos)
As you have surely noticed, the Ludwig von Mises Institute’s facebook page has undergone major renovations. Our fans now have a fantastic place to visit daily to keep updated on the latest news, events, photos, and publications. Fans can also take advantage of the “discussions” tab to engage in stimulating conversations with one another on all things Austrian.
The NYT is already referring the “legacy” of the recession, with this an example: “Even as evidence mounts that the Great Recession has finally released its chokehold on the American economy, experts worry that the recovery may be weak, stymied by consumers’ reluctance to spend.”
