LewRockwell.com is running my most recent commentary on the Real Bills Doctrine of Antal Fekete, An Error in Fekethmetic. The main point of contention between the Austrians and the Feketians is the question of whether savings and only savings are necessary to fund production, or whether real bills can substitute. On this point, I will quote a particularly insightful email that I received from a reader of one of my other articles on this topic:
In light of this year’s Nobel for economics, it is worth recalling the reasons that lead Oskar Morgenstern to develop (in conjunction with von Neumann) the theory of games. In 1928 Morgenstern published a book called “Wirtschaftsprognoses,” -- “Economic Forecasting.” He gave a detailed critique of statistical theory (as it had developed at that time, obviously), and concluded that it was inherently impossible to predict the economic future with quantitative methods.
The following is from an email list discussion regarding the issue of enforceability of voluntary slavery contracts. XX, I agree re “valid” and also re the problem with lawyers. But I believe it’s the opposite: most mainstream lawyers usually mean positive law; and when they confuse the two, they are not usually as bad as the layman, who is even worse in confusing positive with natural law. But if you get a libertarian lawyer, he is probably much better able to separate the two realms than the layman or mainstream lawyer.
The Real Bills cult has been out and about again so, here, are a few follow up thoughts stimulated by the series of comments attached to my last post on the topic. In this, I’ve tried - once again - to point out the fundamental error on which has been erected the vast Gothic folly of RBD(indeed, the latest from the Guru himself is almost a Swiftian self-parody of warped logic, obscurantism and faux profundity - well worth a chuckle!).
The recent upward spike in gasoline prices (particularly those following natural disasters) has unleashed a torrent of theories attempting to explain the pricing behavior in gasoline markets. From the Internet to television media pundits to the local newspaper editorial pages, and from political ideologues both left and right, it seems everyone has their pet theory about the rising price of petrol.
What is the link between fascism and socialism? They are stages on a continuum of economic control, one that begins in intervention in the free market, moves toward regimentation and greater rigidity, marches toward socialism as failures increase, and ends in dictatorship.
Following up on Oliva’s post, it seems to me that, as Lew Rockwell has posted, if the movement conservatives hate her, she can’t be all that bad. It seems to me that most of her alleged flaws are not really objectionable. Who cares about her law school or pedigree or whether she is a lawyer or has had judicial experience? The Constitution is short and ought to be able to be parsed by a reasonably intelligent citizen.
[Michigan] Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today issued the following statement on the announcement that Delphi has filed for Chapter 11: I am profoundly disturbed by Delphi’s decision and what it means for the nearly 15,000 Michigan employees, many of whom have worked for decades for the company based upon the promise that they would have a pension and health care when they retired. Globalization is ravaging Michigan’s manufacturing job base.
