Ludwig von Mises explained labor union tactics in his book Socialism: "Strikes, sabotage, violent action and terrorism of every kind are not economic means. They are destructive means, designed to interrupt the movement of economic life. They are weapons of war which must inevitably lead to the destruction of society."
Shareholders must fight to uphold the legitimacy of the profit motive and reject the view that merely having an "interest" in the operations of a company implies a right to control.
But Kauffman is not ashamed to be an American. He contends that there are two Americas, the televised version that the rest of the world hates, and then there are the rest of us.
Not only has the Austrian Business Cycle Theory described the real world, but only Austrians have a cure for the problem.
An economy not bludgeoned by powerful elites is the ideal we should seek, even if it has a name that is wildly unpopular: capitalism.
There's no way to "solve" the problem of producing the ideal vehicle, but in a market economy, there is room for all of us.
Being hated by the wealthy and powerful is perhaps the high cost of serving those with low incomes, and Wal-Mart will no doubt continue to encounter resistance from those who don't need its services for some time to come.
Tough times require cutbacks and a beefing up of savings.
But what happened to the view that people have rights that restrict what government may do, even to promote overall "happiness"? Frank does not so much as mention it.
By distorting relative prices and insisting on inefficient workplace rules, they certainly hamper the economy, no question about it. But it is wrong to blame unions for rising prices.
