“They want people to play market as children play war, railroad, or school. They do not comprehend how such childish play differs from the real thing it tries to imitate.” – Ludwig von Mises The recent financial crisis has renewed interest in old issues. The Bush administration has announced plans to buy $85 billion in preferred stock in what are
The recent financial crisis has been a source of new hope for those who despise capitalism. The Democratic presidential candidate has gone out on a limb by declaring that the current crisis is the result of deregulation during the Bush presidency. (No such deregulation took place.) Slate.com’s Jacob Weisberg has taken a more cautious approach.
Recent posts on the Becker-Posner blog consider possible silver linings to depressions. In particular, Richard Posner claims that there are positive aspects to depressions. At first glance, the idea that depressions have a good side might seem to entail the broken-window fallacy. It would therefore seem that Judge Posner has fallen into error.
Katsushika Hokusai “The Great Wave at Kanagawa” c.1829 The Federal Reserve Bank has now undertaken unprecedented measures intended to “stimulate the economy.” The federal funds rate is now set at 0.0 to 0.25%. This move by Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke should be considered alarming for several reasons. First, this interest-rate reduction
In a recent editorial for Spiegel Online , Paul Samuelson claims that markets cannot regulate themselves, either micro-economically or macro-economically. Wherever tried they systematically breed intolerable inequalities. And instead of such inequality being the necessary price to encourage dynamic progress via technological and managerial
While already deeply entrenched in government decision-making, [1] consultation and submission to the interests of various “stakeholders” is also becoming more and more common in the business world under the influence of the doctrine of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Weary of the relentless pursuit of profit and the daunting task of
Modern “liberals” who advocate the view that government should provide us with the necessities or alleged necessities of life rarely appreciate that this assistance rests on a system of mass robbery and enslavement that is highly inimical to their professed belief in liberty. In fact, the advocates of such policies present them in quite the
University campuses receive a great deal of attention due to the political and cultural indoctrination and activism that some academics try to pass off as education. [1] However, government education bureaucrats are eager to ensure that their prescribed views are etched on the slate of the human mind at a much earlier age. For this reason, the
It costs money to make money. This fact is not only true for businessmen, investors, and entrepreneurs, but also for the moneymakers themselves — the Department of the Treasury. To print bills or mint coins, the United States Mint and Bureau of Engraving and Printing must purchase all sorts of resources, including paper, ink, equipment, and
The Ludwig von Mises Institute has reprinted the four novels written by Garet Garrett (1878–1954), one of America’s leading financial journalists and a libertarian. Garrett, who for unknown reasons had renamed himself so that both parts sounded alike, was a writer of distinctive ideas and a forcefully distinctive style. I have had the pleasure of
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.