Financial Markets

Recorded at the Toronto Stock Exchange; September 16-17, 1999.

"As long as our central government has the ability to dole out these favors, there will be special interests lining up to receive them."

Tragically, it is in the nature of government, when its failures are exposed, to claim that if only it had more power it could have performed its duties in the manner it had promised.

Jeffrey Tucker interviews Mark Thornton, who provides an overview of the Mises.org Markets page.

Bob Higgs' 1997 article "Regime Uncertainty," now appears in slightly revised form as the first chapter of his 2006 book Depression, War, and Cold War.

We should not be afraid of deflation. We should love it as much as our liberties.

Deflation is a "great liberating force," writes Hülsmann, "because it destroys the economic basis of the social engineers, spin doctors, and brain washers."

The restoration of monetary freedom would also force a sharp reduction in the size and power of government.

Jeffrey Tucker interviews Mark Thornton on the current market conditions. Recorded 5 November 2008.

In a nutshell, John Maynard Keynes held that one cannot have complete trust in a market economy, which is inherently unstable. If left free, the market economy could lead to self-destruction. Hence there is the need for governments and central banks to manage the economy.