Murray Rothbard noted some years ago, somewhat ruefully, the connection between science fiction and libertarianism in his comments on the “modal libertarian”. But, well, what other genre of literature can be argued is fundamentally libertarian? Eric S.
Some friends and I have been taking nominations for the most Mengerian meal and the most Mengerian film.
Any suggestions? Current Nominations for films:
A. Cars, the town’s profit drops off because it’s too general a production process and they have to expand their offering through nostalgia and customer service.
Now available for immediate download: Karl Marx and the Close of His System, by Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk. The book is also newly in print.
Marx had said that the value of commodities reflect their labor input. The problem is that, well, reality doesn’t seem to reflect that at all. Marx had promised to explain why but he never really got around to it. Böhm-Bawerk seizes on this point and hammers it relentlessly to lay out the entire Austrian theory of capital and price.
William Graham Sumner wrote:
All schemes for patronizing “the working classes” savor of condescension. They are impertinent and out of place in this free democracy. There is not, in fact, any such state of things or any such relation as would make projects of this kind appropriate. Such projects demoralize both parties, flattering the vanity of one and undermining the self-respect of the other.
The Mises archives are truly a wonderful thing. I was reading the brilliant and deserved article on the illustrious Pascal Salin by Dr. Hülsmann when I found this insightful interview with Dr. Salin.
I was struck by this question and answer:
Zimbabwe is the latest nation to experiment with price controls as a method to make food affordable. It is an unspeakable tragedy that Zimbabwe’s people should end up being a object lesson in what happens when someone tries to wish away the laws of human action. And yet, when it comes to price controls, everything old is new again. I learned about the magic of price controls in a class where we were discussing Allende’s Chile.
Americans define themselves as principled people of action. That is one reason we revere George Washington, who was essential to our revolution’s success, the creation of our Constitution, and the precedent of how to govern under it, yet voluntarily stepped down from power out of principle (which King George said made him the man of the age). But his words as well as his deeds reflect America’s essence, and we would be wise to celebrate his February 22 birthday by remembering his insights.
Doug Sohn, owner of Hot Doug’s, was busted on the morning of Feburary 17th for disobeying Chicago city law by continuing to offer foie gras-laced hot dogs at his restaurant. Dough Sohn had been defying the city’s anti-foie gras ruling since it passed last year on August 22nd and has disregarded a number of warnings by city health inspectors. Mr. Sohn was issued a citation on Feb. 17th and is facing a maximum fine of $500.
