It cannot be denied that Fascism and similar movements aiming at the establishment of dictatorships are full of the best intentions and that their intervention has, for the moment, saved European civilization. The merit that Fascism has thereby won for itself will live on eternally in history.

—Ludwig von Mises, Liberalism: In the Classical Tradition

Without the erroneous public perception and judgment of the state as just and necessary and without the public’s voluntary cooperation, even the seemingly most powerful government would implode and its powers evaporate. Thus liberated, we would regain our right to self-defense and be able to turn to freed and unregulated insurance agencies for efficient professional assistance in all matters of protection and conflict resolution.

—Hans-Hermann Hoppe, The Production of Defense

As a native of the rural Appalachian portion of East Tennessee, I have witnessed the impact of Certificate of Need (CON) laws firsthand on small, disadvantaged rural communities. These contemptible regulations, purportedly designed to control healthcare costs and maintain quality, have succeeded only in further worsening existing healthcare challenges and hindering access to critical medical services for rural residents - particularly those who are in sparsely populated areas.

Though property tax reform took multiple special sessions to resolve, the fight over Texas HB 2127, the so-called “Death Star” bill, looks likely to continue in the courts.

“La commedia è finita!” summarizes where the United States and Europe now stand in the Great Phony Postpandemic Disinflation. Why phony? Reported consumer price index (CPI) inflation has been falling in the US and Europe; but this has little to do with the advertised monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank (ECB), and Bank of England.

A new translation of Bohm-Bawerk’s “Interest Theory of 1876” is now available in the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics.

From the Introduction:

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past few months, you’re undoubtedly aware that award-winning director Christopher Nolan has released a new film about Robert Oppenheimer, known as the “father of the atomic bomb” for leading the group of scientists who created that deadly weapon as part of America’s World War II-era Manhattan Project.