The Free Market 14, no. 3 (March 1996)

Look at the back of your computer monitor, the bottom of your table lamp, or the label on your hair dryer. Chances are you will see the symbol “UL” with a circle around it. It stands for Underwriters Laboratories, a firm headquartered in Northbrook, Ill., and an unsung hero of the market economy. 

Despite its breathtaking golden pagodas, vibrant culture, and welcoming people, Myanmar stands as a tragic example of how military dictatorship and oppressive governance can stifle a nation. This strategically important and resource-rich nation—located between India and China with a diverse ethnic makeup—once thrived due to its position on major trade routes. However, the socialist economy and the military dictatorship that suppresses individual liberty and economic freedom offers a sobering lesson for those who believe in liberty and limited government.

[This article is a selection from Lecture 1 of Raico’s The Struggle for Liberty: A Libertarian History of Political Thought.] 

President Trump’s tariff blitz has shocked and alienated almost all students of economic science, but he seems to have a loyal following of support among the electorate. Students of economic science have a rich history of theory to support their opposition to tariffs, such as David Hume’s Price-Specie Flow Mechanism, David Ricardo’s Law of Comparative Advantage, and Jean Baptiste-Say’s Law of Markets.

One of the reasons the American political establishment really hates it when Trump is president is that his administration has a tendency to bring out and exaggerate dynamics at play in Washington, DC that the establishment would prefer to keep hidden.

One such example is the weaponization of media access.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (also known as “GSEs”) have released their April reports on their mortgage portfolios and mortgage delinquencies. Both Fannie and Freddie report that serious delinquencies in multifamily are rising to multiyear highs.

American elected officials and taxpayers ignore at their own peril the recent May 16 reduction in the US credit rating. From the highest AAA rating to the next-lower Aa1 rating by Moody’s Ratings, this reduction is the third since 2011, when S&P Global Ratings reduced its rating, followed by Fitch Ratings in 2023.

“America, above all countries, was born in an explicitly libertarian revolution, a revolution against empire; against taxation, trade monopoly, and regulation; and against militarism and executive power.”—Murray Rothbard, For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto