In 1824, the Spitalfields Act of wage control for silk weavers was repealed after being in force for 50 years. The act was essentially a disaster that devastated the industry and the workers.
Weighing in on the side of John Locke, not only on interest rates but also in a general and comprehensive vision of economic laissez-faire that even surpassed Locke, were two brothers, Dudley and Roger North.
Excerpted from a speech given in the House of Commons on the civil disabilities of the Jews, April 17, 1833: "Let us do justice to them. Let us open to them the door of the House of Commons. Let us open to them every career in which ability and energy can be displayed."
God forbid someone anger the hyperactive trade unions. They will use force, seize the economy, and fervently hunt down anyone who dares to think that each worker is responsible to consumers and not to union leaders.
That students are in the streets demonstrating against this pension reform suggests professors and politicians have failed to explain what economists call the lump-of-labor fallacy. Jobs are not fixed and do not depend exclusively on the supply of labor.
A parent who puts a child behind a loom for ten hours a day does so, not out of callous greed, but because this is what brings food to the table. Economic development is the precondition for all that is good and humane.
Schumpeter is properly assiduous about Smith. He obviously had total contempt for Smith, and for good reason. And he hates Ricardo — that's another great thing about Schumpeter. His hatred of Ricardo shines through.
Recorded at the Ludwig von Mises Institute’s Supporters Summit; Auburn, Alabama; 9 October 2010.
Recorded at the Ludwig von Mises Institute’s Supporters Summit; Auburn, Alabama; 9 October 2010.
Regardless of their relative merits, bribes are a phenomenon distinct from taxation and regulation. Examining where and to what extent illicit bribes exist sheds further light on the distinction between the private, voluntary economy, and the public, coercive one.
