Walter Block has assembled thirty chapters defending behavior that is probably offensive to most Americans, such as dwarf tossing and stereotyping, and many that are downright illegal, such as dueling and smuggling. Plus, he’s provided us with humorous cartoons at the end of many chapters. The bottom line message in Freedom in All Realms:
Traffic in our major cities is grinding to a halt. This is especially true during morning and evening “rush” hours (scare quotes around this word since no one is rushing around anywhere, apart from bicyclists and roller skaters, who are just about the fastest movers in this system). All too often, however, this period stretches from 7 am to 7 pm,
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
From the Journal of Libertarian Studies , edited by David Gordon. ABSTRACT: Is it possible to “steal” from a thief? Rothbard (1969) and Block (2018a, 2018b) maintain this to be an utter impossibility. In their view, one can only “liberate” the ill-gotten gains of the robber. In contrast, one can indeed steal, but only from the rightful owner of
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
Block says he was a pinko commie type at 22 who believed that laissez-faire capitalism would result in mass starvation. Then, he met Ayn Rand and read Atlas Shrugged and Economics in One Lesson. Block says libertarianism is the non-aggression principle. Keep your mitts to yourself. Libertarianism only asks that law incorporate the non-aggression
Minimum wage laws are not only counterproductive, but they make situations worse. All voluntary mutual trade benefits all. Minimum wages and union legislation make it difficult if not impossible for poor youth to get jobs. Lecture 3 of 10 from Walter Block’s Radical Austrianism, Radical Libertarianism
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.