EconTalk Podcast on IP with Michele Boldrin

In a recent EconTalk podcast, Russell Roberts interviews Michele Boldrin about his intellectual property views. Though Boldrin is not an Austrian, the interview is fascinating and compelling. Roberts and Boldrin both have refreshingly libertarian views. I was by Boldrin’s comments about the “Good” versus the “Bad” Schumpeter; and by their extended discussion of the nature of competition, and why practically implementable ideas are not public goods.

Circular Reasoning in the Law

Ever since I was in law school I’ve been irritated at various circular arguments used to justify various laws, policies, or legal rulings. A good example is the notion of “detrimental reliance,” which is sometimes used to justify enforcing a contract. The question arises: why should a promise be enforceable? The answer? Because the promisee reasonably relied on it to his detriment, so that if the promise is not enforced, then the promisee would suffer damage.

The Market is Speaking Loudly on the U.S. Dollar

Despite all of the rhetoric we hear from mainstream economists and our government masters, the unprecedented printing of U.S. Dollars is taking its toll:

The U.S. dollar’s day of reckoning may be inching closer as its status as a safe-haven currency fades with every uptick in stocks and commodities and its potential risks – debt and inflation – are brought under a harsher spotlight.

Only Criminals Use Honest Money

Fiat money does not exist in prison. Prisoners do not dye sheets of paper green and attempt to circulate them as money. No inmate would accept this as money, not even if the penal equivalent of a Bretton Woods agreement existed between the toughest gangs. Why is it that criminals continue to use real money in their transactions? Because they have not been fooled.

The Humanitarian Face of the State, With Fangs

How is it possible that the great humanitarian universalist reversed himself at all, even against his own promises and even to the point that the ACLU is protesting? Well, it is all about thinking like the state. It took his administration a bit to get the hang of it in international affairs but it was just a matter of applying the logic of his domestic program, which is all-controlling.

Secretary Geithner: Hayekian or Keynesian?

According to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Federal Reserve policy was “too loose for too long.” Some of us see Geithner’s remark as both a “mea culpa” on the part of the federal government and a confirmation of Austrian business-cycle theory. A more general examination of Geithner’s remarks on the subprime boom and bust, however, reveals the influence of Keynes, rather than Hayek.
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