Originally published by American Thinker. In the view of most economic illiterates, speculators do not bake bread; they do not supply medicines; they are AWOL when it comes to working on the shop floor; they don’t teach math or the cello. They are thus parasites on others who do supply such needed everyday goods and services. Here’s a real-life
All major problems can be fairly laid at the door of the government, particularly on the woke philosophy that energizes all too much of its behavior. They take half the GDP away from us. Most of these funds are spent in wasteful ways: paying people not to work; welfare, which breaks up the family; subsidies to all and sundry. Worse, an awful lot
On March 2, 1966, Murray N. Rothbard, the founder and twenty-year editor of the Journal of Libertarian Studies , would have celebrated his seventieth birthday. This issue of the JLS , as well as a simultaneously appearing special issue of its sister publication, the Review of Austrian Economics , likewise founded and edited by Rothbard, is a
Holcombe (2004) has written an interesting and challenging but ultimately fallacious essay on government. In his view, this institution is “unnecessary, but inevitable.” I heartily agree with the former contention, but adamantly reject the latter. Worse is the implication for him of the supposed inevitability of the state: since it will come about
ABSTRACT: This article wrestles with the issue of when is it justified to accept money from government. The case is made that it is indeed almost always justified to do so. But not for everyone. Keywords: libertarianism, ethics, theft, taxation Jonathan Gress (jonathan.gress@lpmaryland.org) is an independent scholar. Walter Block
It will come as yesterday’s news that the speculator is perennially under attack by the social justice warriors. Yet speculators serve a crucial and valuable role in surviving economic disasters. Original Article: “ In Defense of the Speculator “ This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. Narrated by Michael
Murray Rothbard’s The Ethics of Liberty is a sweeping treatise which creates nothing short of a normative political philosophy of liberty. Contra Hume, Rothbard attempts to derive an “ought” from an “is,” using natural law precepts and rigorous logic. Professor Walter Block joins the show to discuss the first section of the book, and gives us his
Walter Block is a giant in the libertarian movement. He explains how he discovered this philosophy and why it will be difficult to advance liberty. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview Walter’s (co-authored) 2019 article on sociobiology and liberty Walter’s book Defending the Undefendable
In a 2019 article, Bob quoted Mises who believed that new gold discoveries, in principle, could cause a (small) boom-bust cycle if the gold hit the loan market before other sectors. Walter Block and Bill Barnett have responded in a new article, arguing that in a free market, new commodity money can’t cause such distortions. Mentioned in the
En opinión de la mayoría de los analfabetos económicos, los especuladores no hacen el pan, no suministran medicamentos, se ausentan cuando se trata de trabajar en el taller, no enseñan matemáticas ni violonchelo. Por tanto, son parásitos de otros que sí suministran esos bienes y servicios cotidianos tan necesarios. He aquí una cita de la vida real
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.