The idea that the benefits of economic growth have accrued primarily to the rich is an important part of the conventional wisdom, and it is supported by official income statistics. I would argue that technological change and economic growth over the last several decades (or centuries) has made us more equal, not less. Here are two ways we are more
Glenn Greenwald’s post this morning and some of my reading for a revision of my paper with Chris Coyne on the Memphis Riot of 1866 got me thinking about the importance of a free press and a competitive marketplace for ideas. In my reading I came across the following eloquent quote from the April 1867 issue of The Methodist Quarterly Review , which
Here are some extra sources and readings from my talk: My Forbes.com column “ Compassion Alone is Insufficient: Mind the Gap Between Intentions and Outcomes .” My paper “A Pile of Krusty Burgers Embiggens the Fattest Man: Obesity, Incentives, and Unintended Consequences in ‘King-Size Homer.” An abbreviated version of Bryan Caplan’s The Myth of the
I have affiliations with a lot of different organizations that are sometimes at odds with one another: the Mises Institute, the Institute for Humane Studies, the Koch Foundation, the Independent Institute, the Foundation for Economic Education, and others. On more than one occasion, I have used money from Koch Foundation grants to buy Mises
I teach a course called “Classical and Marxian Political Economy.” We’re currently reading Adam Smith, and I made a reference to a couple of ideas that would appear later in Marx. I said in class that Marx was clearly a genius, and in reading his work it is clear that you are dealing with an incredible mind that was spectacularly wrong about a
Main Texts: Hans-Hermann Hoppe, A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism , chapters 1-2 Ludwig von Mises, “ Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth “ Friedrich Hayek, Individualism and Economic Order Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party Class 1: Capitalism, Socialism, and the Mixed Economy Basic: Hoppe, chapters
Assume that you want to help the poor and the oppressed. If you get a job in a “public service” occupation like teaching or the non-profit sector, you will be showered with plaudits
Concering this item , perhaps Coach Schwartz isn’t familiar with the “Lucas Critique,” in which Robert Lucas demonstrated that government economic models tended to be incorrect because people change their behavior in the face of government policy? Because Coach Schwartz will change his coaching behavior in response to what his models predict,
According to this story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the price of flu vaccines has more than quintupled. So what’s the problem? Entrepreneurs are allocating resources to the uses that bring people the greatest benefit. They should be applauded for doing so, right? But this isn’t the case. According to several sources quoted in the article,
Here’s an insightful, short commentary on the state of the environment: we may not be sowing the seeds of our own doom, but the very thought of it is enough to grab headlines (and loads of taxpayer cash). Naturally, the environmental crisis (which doesn’t exist) requires massive government intervention (which won’t help) since “environmental
What is the Mises Institute?
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.