This article appeared in the Libertarian Review , April 1978, pp. 37–38. When Ludwig von Mises was in his hale and hearty 70’s, those of us who were privileged to attend his graduate seminar at New York University used to gather with him after class for a snack at a local restaurant. One evening, after Mises—as so often happened—regaled us with
Protectionism, often refuted and seemingly abandoned, has returned, and with a vengeance. The Japanese, who bounced back from grievous losses in World War II to astound the world by producing innovative, high quality products at low prices, are serving as the convenient butt of protectionist propaganda. Is this “flood” of Japanese products really
Economists have long believed that government’s tax and expenditure policy either is, or can readily be made to be, neutral to the market. Free-market economists have advocated such neutrality of government, and even economists favoring redistributive actions by government have believed that the service activities and the redistributive activities
Ludwig von Mises’ The Theory of Money and Credit is, quite simply, one of the outstanding contributions to economic thought in the twentieth century. It came as the culmination and fulfillment of the “Austrian School” of economics, and yet, in so doing, founded a new school of thought of its
Introduction to The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude by Étienne de la Boétie, written 1552-53. Translated by Harry Kurz for the edition that carried Rothbard’s introduction, New York: Free Life Editions, 1975. The pagination in the footnotes refers to this 1975 edition. This online edition of Rothbard introduction
The Free Market 5, no. 8 (August 1987) The press is resounding with acclaim for the accession to Power of Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Fed; economists from right, left, and center weigh in with hosannas for Alan’s greatness, acumen, and unparalleled insights into the “numbers.” The only reservation seems to be that Alan might not enjoy the
The Free Market 5, no. 11 (November 1987) Empiricism without theory is a shaky reed on which to build a case for freedom. If a regulated airline system did not “work,” and a deregulated system seemed for a time to work well, what happens when the winds of data happen to blow the other way? In recent months, crowding, delays, a few dramatic
Letters from Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard to Ayn Rand. Volume 21, Number 4 (2007) von Mises, Ludwig., and Murray N. Rothbard. “Mises and Rothbard Letters to Ayn Rand.” Journal of Libertarian Studies 21, No. 4 (2007):
Belying their seemingly chaotic diversity, all of modern fiction and modern criticism unite on at least one point: rejection of romanticism. The characteristic literature—and, indeed, art in general—of the twentieth century has been, broadly, either naturalist or nonobjective. Volume 21, Number 4 (2007) Rothbard, Murray N. “Romanticism and
Ever since Black, or Meltdown, Monday October 19th, the public has been deluged with irrelevant and contradictory explanations and advice from politicians, economists, financiers, and assorted pundits. Let’s try to sort out and rebut some of the nonsense about the nature, causes, and remedies for the crash. Myth One It was not a crash, but a
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.