Our media, higher education, and, of course, governments tell us that our social and economic problems are due to capitalism. Yet, what we see are governments bringing us inflation, chaos, and the horror of war. It's time we abandon the fiction that governments "serve the people."
Audio Mises Wire
Audio recordings of Mises Wire articles, offering contemporary news and opinion through the lens of Austrian economics and libertarian political economy.
Speaking at the recent Rothbard Graduate Seminar, Dr. Joseph Salerno traces Murray Rothbard‘s intellectual development while in the economics Ph.D. program at Columbia University. Rothbard was dissatisfied with the popular schools of thought until he discovered Austrian economics.
To better understand history, we must understand how people thought and acted in the context of their times and the prevailing worldviews of that era. Unfortunately, modern historians insist on looking at US History from modern collectivists viewpoints.
A recession is defined by negative economic activity over several months with an accompanying decline in GDP. However, given the actual makeup of GDP, it is inaccurate to directly tie recessions to GDP at all.
The government argues that restoring state control protects Mexico’s resources from foreign exploitation and ensures that profits benefit Mexican citizens. However, removing competition and transparency lead to inefficiencies, increased costs, and an unreliable energy supply.
Western Civilization has brought great advances in culture and economics, yet no one is more relentless in trying to destroy this civilization than western intellectuals. Ricardo Duchesne lays it out in his book, Greatness and Ruin.
Socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has emerged as a serious challenger to Andrew Cuomo in the race for mayor of New York City. If Mamdani wins, he promises to vastly expand government control of housing and businesses there.
There has been much talk of disinflation, but all the evidence points toward the conclusion that the Federal Reserve continues to administer injections of monetary inflation.
Unfortunately, President Trump has severely damaged his credibility by embroiling us in a war that is not our war.
This summer, Hollywood is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its summer blockbuster “Jaws.” The making of such films provides a good analysis of how entrepreneurs operate in a world of uncertainty. Austrian economists are best able to understand how this process works.
Historically, slavery has always been held together by violence, including slavery in the US. However, the actual history of slavery here is much more complex than what modern academics want to admit.
Bolivians are finding out the hard way that socialist energy means price controls, and price controls mean fuel shortages and long gas station lines. Socialism excels in unkept promises and Bolivia is no exception to that rule.
Contrary to the expectation of the Luddites, we have only become wealthier than before and workers today enjoy much higher standards of living than workers in the past.
Unfortunately, the only real long-term solution to this is genuine fiscal austerity and debt repudiation.
No one seems concerned about the constant devaluation of the dollar. They blame high prices on whoever is president or corporate greed.
America inherited the core institutional framework of Europe (especially Britain) but refined and amplified it through greater decentralization, lower taxation, and more expansive freedoms.
Even though a significant number of libertarians supported Trump for president, he clearly has shown no respect for libertarian thinking, especially with his anti-growth trade policies and support for bloated federal spending.
With the Iran bombing, the US Government is once again embarking on yet another act of war in support of the US empire. The eternal quest to expand the empire will not end well for Americans. Opposing the government‘s wars is a worthy endeavor.
Mainstream economics is deterministic, holding that economic actors continue to move in one directions, not responding to changes in economic circumstances or incentives. The Austrians understand economics is about people engaged in purposeful action.
Elon Musk has thrown in the towel on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in all but name. Mises correctly anticipated failures like these.
