An unfortunate consequence of learning Bastiat’s “Broken Window Fallacy” is the accompanying frustration of seeing this age old economic fallacy reappear ad nauseam . One of the latest, and indeed most vocal rock throwers, is the United States manufacturing sector. Those with even a cursory knowledge of current affairs should be able to recite the
With Pierre Bourdieu’s death from cancer in 2002, France lost one of its most active and significant intellectuals. Having written over 25 books and founding the magazine Liber in 1989, Bourdieu was a leading voice for the left, both in France and throughout the world. In Firing Back: Against the Tyranny of the Market 2 , seven of Bourdieu’s
How should the public, economists, politicians and workers measure the relative success and failure of a particular industry? By its profits? Its stock price? By its total employment? This may seem a rather elementary question, yet a proper and clear answer would go a long way in silencing what has been the loudest protectionist cry in recent
With the enlargement of the EU from 15 to 25 countries earlier last month, “the artificial division of Europe is finally and conclusively at an end” declared the Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern. He added, “The enlarged EU is also ready to play its part in bringing about a more secure, just and equitable world.” According to the EU itself, the
Every person attracted to the thought of Ludwig von Mises is eventually faced with the question: should I be a conservative or a libertarian or must I choose at all? The Mises Institute even added this point on its Frequently Asked Questions (” Are you conservative, libertarian, anarchist, socialist, or what? “). The current political moment
From the WSJ ($): “The Medicare prescription-drug law passed late last year is having a healthy effect on the outlook for corporate finances. Within the past few weeks, a handful of large companies have reported they expect to collectively save more than $2.5 billion over time, thanks to the new government subsidy for employers that offer
I was surprised to read this morning that the Environmental Protection Agency has decided that over 150 million Americans--more than half the population--breathe air that is below federal air quality standards. You’d think that if over half the country was coughing and wheezing it up on its way to work each day there would be a national outcry.
Nicholas Kristof, in todays NY Times (registration required): “...Communism is fading, in part because of Western engagement with China — trade, investment, Avon ladies, M.B.A.’s, Michael Jordan and Vogue magazines have triumphed over Marx. That’s one reason we should bolster free trade and exchanges with China, rather than retreating to the
This from today’s Wall Street Journal indicates how woefully uneducated today’s businessmen are in economics: “The thinking now is that because of the current federal policy and more sophisticated management of the economy , there will be less volatility,” said Dan Meckstroth of the Manufacturers Alliance.” (italics
Paul Krugman’s latest column is an economic, historical and ethical mess. While his diagnosis of the problem is partially true (rising insurance premiums in employment-based health care have stifled job growth), his answer is more of the same: increased government intervention. He does not address government mandates, such as community rating, and
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.