The Rise of War Propaganda and the Defeat of Laissez-Faire

Lee esto en Español

05/22/2025 Ryan McMaken

In this lecture from the Mises Institute’s recent Conference on War Revisionism, McMaken looks at how classical liberals’ pro-peace foreign policy was defeated by a century of war propaganda beginning with the First World War.

Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbard

Radio Rothbard mugs are available at the Mises Store. Get yours at https://Mises.org/RothMug
PROMO CODE: RothPod for 20% off

The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.

Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.