Decentralization and Secession

When used properly, and when restrained by the prevalence of a relatively laissez-faire ideology, democracy can indeed work as a brake on government power.

Those who wish to portray Ludwig von Mises as the "moderate" one, compared to the more radical Murray Rothbard, will often point out that Mises was no "anarchist". This assertion, however, runs into trouble when we consider Mises's comments in Liberalism.

In the 19th century, many western states gave the vote to non-citizens, and by using their control over who could vote, states indirectly controlled citizenship standards in the United States.

In this adaptation of a Q and A session at the Mises Institute, Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne discusses the potential for revolutionary change that could come to both markets and states with the spread of new technologies like the block chain.

Although federal courts have struck down their efforts, states and local governments have attempted to limit taxpayer subsidization of migrant populations. This central planning of immigration by the Feds has served only to increase conflict while swelling the size of government.

Sardinia has a long history of agitating for secession from Italy. Now some Sardinians want to secede form Italy in order to become a new region of Switzerland. Ludwig von Mises defended this "secede-and-join" tactic and called it "self-determination."

Lew Rockwell writes on how to square universal rights with radical decentralism in politics and globalization in economics.

Recorded at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona on October 6–7, 2022.

Recordings of the 2022 Austrian Economics Research Conference at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, March 18–19, 2022.