The seeds of sound-money destruction were sown at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, which established that US dollars could be held as central bank reserves and were redeemable for gold by the US Treasury at thirty-five dollars an ounce. This was the so-called gold exchange standard, but only foreign central banks and some multinational
We’ve all heard about the newest insult to our lives and our children. I refer, of course, to the growing adoption of “ critical race theory “ as part of public school curriculums. Why should we be surprised? Many of our top colleges have been adopting what can only be called Marxist indoctrination of their students for many years. A friend
What almost everyone calls “inflation” is really a rise in the general price level. OK. But the real definition of “inflation” is inflation of the money supply. A rise in the general price level is a consequence of inflation of the money supply. Technically, the price level is determined by supply and demand, one of economic science’s most
Well, currency debasement is pretty bad, as a few key statistics will reveal, but first some background. At the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944 the US agreed that it would redeem dollars for gold at $35 per ounce. If the US conducted a disciplined and honest monetary system, this would mean that the dollar was “as good as gold”; i.e., the US
In the latest New York Times Book Review Wes Enzinna reviews Michael Shellenberger’s San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities . Mr. Enzinna, who is critical of the book, acknowledges that one in one hundred of San Francisco’s residents is homeless. Nevertheless, not surprisingly for a New York Times book reviewer, he calls the book a failure
Mention the term “ legal tender “ in polite company and most people will resemble a deer in the headlights. In simple terms legal tender is a kind of money a creditor cannot refuse in discharge of a debt due to him in the money issued by government. This is a legal designation for government-issued money—usually fiat money, nowadays—with special
The following is a plea to Germany—the war is over and has been for three-quarters of a century. It’s time to stop prostrating yourself for the supposed “good” of Europe. It’s time to take complete control of your domestic and foreign policy, without interference from haughty, busybody world elites, and do what is best for yourself. You will be
(Endorsed by Godfrey Bloom, Alasdair Macleod, Simon Hunt, and Claudio Grass) In a few days the British Conservative Party will select a new prime minister from within its ranks. The new PM will have a short-lived opportunity to select new ministers. But more importantly, due to the inevitable adverse consequences of a decade and a half of
One of the arrogances of “Western” nations is that our way of life and our liberties are protected by periodic elections as required by constitutions, written (America) or not (Great Britain), containing bills of rights, etc. The people rule, it is claimed, and we get exactly what we want, even if those in the minority are unhappy with the result.
Does society really need, and can it benefit from goals designed to achieve statistical “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” metrics? The answer, of course, is “no” on both counts, i.e., society neither needs these goals and cannot benefit from attempting to achieve these goals. There are two illogical assumptions embedded in the DEI movement.
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.