Recent Podcast Episodes

Mises illustrates his case with a review of the fall of Germany, from the collapse of classical liberalism to the rise of nationalism and socialism

Colonial governments tried to manipulate the Spanish peso when they couldn't control the commodity monies. They increased the supply of pesos (inflation) and encouraged exports. Prices increased until the process was banned.

The private property method of settlement was more successful than the public method. But, moving people to the new world was difficult while life in Europe was better. Thus, indentured servants were a large group second only to religious refugees.

The Americans successfully used the different tactic guerilla warfare against the staid and rigid British soldiers. War caused a large increase in the paper money supply - the Continental -  triggering hyperinflation and loss of purchasing power.

If composers could set still-unmatched records of productivity without copyrights while earning a living, writers could do this in an environment t

The World Economic Conference of 1933 met to deal with America's Great Depression, but, without consulting anyone, FDR declared that the U.S. would not agree to the proposal because he wanted to take the U.S. off the gold standard in order to inflate the dollar.  The gold-supporting British and French were horrified; Nazi Germany was delighted.

The Industrial Revolution and the development of the modern banking system were the two big things that happened in the Eighteenth Century in Britain. Why does the boom-bust cycle emerge? Is the cycle just a natural part of industry, or is it caused by the banking system?

In Ayn Rand and the World She Made Heller goes to bat for Rand as a fiction writer. Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right by Jennifer Burns is a poorer book because it is confused.

Rothbard explains why he is optimistic. The norm of civilization has been despotism and statism. The quantum quality change in history has been the Industrial Revolution from mid-18th Century to mid-19th. Only the free market, libertarian society can expand this viable and moral industrialism.

We are witnessing a great tragedy: more and more people being driven by indignation about the suppression of political and intellectual freedom joi

Republican policy has always been high tariffs, keeping foreign goods out. But, then the US would lend those countries money to be able to pay for our higher-priced exports. This peculiar foreign-lending scheme included farm goods. Until 1928 there was an enormous foreign lending boom. The stock market collapsed in October 1929.

The state must invest in human beings the same way you invest in cattle on a farm. This progressive corporatist view was behind the creation of the Rockefeller Foundation. Industrial solutions were to be strictly scientific, e.g. minimum wage laws, public works, and government concentration camps (CCC).

Despite the drive for monopoly, only oil, sugar and corn products ended up dominated by a particular company. Bigger was not better. Biggest was not best. Smaller and more mobile was more competitive. Major inventions are still coming from small firms.

The progressive period birthed the cancerous growth of the welfare/warfare state, fake capitalism, the middle way, neomercantilism, and the corporate state. Morgan and Rockefeller men warred with each other over many issues and many generations.

From The Failure of the “New Economics”. Narrated by Josiah Schmidt.

From The Failure of the “New Economics”. Narrated by Josiah Schmidt.

Costs are always ex ante. There are no such things as social costs or social benefits. Costs are determined by how much entrepreneurs think consumers will pay. Costs are not determined by supply and demand. Nobody waits for costs to raise prices

From The Failure of the “New Economics”. Narrated by Josiah Schmidt.

From The Failure of the “New Economics”. Narrated by Josiah Schmidt.

Rothbard continues the Crusoe analogy. He covers subjectivity of value, and the concept of marginal utility.