Capitalism

Measures of wealth inequality overstate actual inequality in terms of the standard of living of wealthy people relative to the rest.

Mises knew: “Mass unemployment destroys the moral foundations of the social order. The young people…forced to remain idle, are the ferment out of which the most radical political movements are formed."

Some claim "the rich" will be fine—or even better off—after the COVID panic destroys the economy for most of us. But there's a problem: the wealthy depend heavily on an economy fueled by the production and consumption of all workers and entrepreneurs.

David Gordon reviews Janek Wasserman's "The Marginal Revolutionaries" and finds some concerning errors and misunderstandings.

Buyers and sellers in the free market do indeed act from self-interest, but Adam Smith never argued that this excludes friendly feelings for those they do business with.

Some claim "the rich" will be fine—or even better off—after the COVID panic destroys the economy for most of us. But there's a problem: the wealthy depend heavily on an economy fueled by the production and consumption of all workers and entrepreneurs.

Buyers and sellers in the free market do indeed act from self-interest, but Adam Smith never argued that this excludes friendly feelings for those they do business with.

Far from being a sign of alleged capitalist brutality, the spread of international trade and market freedom is a sign of greater global cooperation and solidarity.

Landlords invest their stored labor—savings—at a risk and with the knowledge that they won't recoup it for some time. In creating or renovating rental properties, they aid those who can't store their labor yet—tenants and laborers.

Government restrictions on production are driving prices up as unemployment drives them down. It's impossible to say now whether price inflation or price deflation will be the predominant factor in the crisis's next phase.