Recent Podcast Episodes

The FBI has always acted as secret police for the established political class.

While people who “prep” for disaster (called preppers) are ridiculed by political elites and their media, their actions are perfectly rational. In this article, economist Mark Thornton explains why prepping for natural disasters makes economic sense.

The Fed lowers interest rates ostensibly to “stimulate” the economy. But while the Fed claims it is strengthening the economy, it actually weakens it through its easy-money policies.

Modern progressives are obsessed with collective guilt, demanding that Americans pay reparations for slavery even though it ended in the US 160 years ago. However, by employing collective guilt and collective punishment, those seeking reparations violate natural law.

For nearly 30 years, the Fed has pursued an easy-money policy that has made the economy increasingly dependent upon the next round of “stimulus.” Reversing that policy will mean, at least in the short run, a stiff recession before the economy rebounds, which is a non-starter today.

The political theorist Anthony de Jasay takes on the left‘s ideas of equality, and David Gordon is there to agree—and disagree. Jasay likens the left‘s view of equality to the Indian Rope Trick.

Using state power to enforce social orthodoxy is always a recipe for disaster. Radical Republican governments in the post-war South attempted to do just that, sowing seeds of hatred and discord in the process.

Tariffs don‘t just raise consumer prices. They also affect capital flows and, on numerous occasions, have triggered stock market crises. What tariffs don‘t bring is prosperity.

The darling of America‘s political elites, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, now touts a “Five-Point Plan” that surely will extend the war and ultimately make his country even worse off. It is time to end this farce.

Originally published in the Mises Institute’s Studies in Classical Liberalism series in 1999.

Capitalism is characterized by the private ownership of capital, coming from Lockean homesteading principles, and not from state coercion and force.

The outcry from establishment media figures following the decision by the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times to not endorse a presidential candidate shows how out of touch they have become about how much we rely on them. 

Contrary to anti-freedom myths, "greedy" business owners don't decide what prices will be for goods and services. 

As the Federal Reserve engineers one financial bubble after another, we are reminded that the Austrian Business Cycle Theory explains what is happening and how there is a better way. 

Capitalism is characterized by the private ownership of capital, coming from Lockean homesteading principles, and not from state coercion and force.

While it is tempting to think of state power as being maintained by sheer force, it still needs a “theological” justification, be it secular or religious. The US state is no exception.

Supporters of intellectual property laws claim that people will not innovate unless they are protected by such legislation. In reality, people are more likely to be innovative when they encounter real free markets, not markets characterized by artificial scarcity.

Contrary to anti-freedom myths, "greedy" business owners don't decide what prices will be for goods and services. 

Bob reacts to Bryan Caplan's current views, arguing that the history of economic thought is indeed important, and the Misesian approach to praxeology is crucial.

In What Has Government Done to Our Money? Murray Rothbard changes your whole view of the world—not just money.