Labor and Wages

While Adam Smith is celebrated in some circles as the “Father of Free-Market Economics” (Austrians would disagree), his writings on the “disadvantages” of the worker are misleading.

While Adam Smith is celebrated in some circles as the “Father of Free-Market Economics” (Austrians would disagree), his writings on the “disadvantages” of the worker are misleading.

Modern historians rarely have told the truth about the history of capitalism, and especially in the early days of the Industrial Revolution. It is time to set the record straight.

Modern historians rarely have told the truth about the history of capitalism, and especially in the early days of the Industrial Revolution. It is time to set the record straight.

For many years, some economists and politicians have painted income equality as a major threat to our economy and well-being. As usual, they understand neither inequality nor economics.

Marx built part of his system on the belief that capital would create the “great reserve army of the unemployed,” and modern Marxists have made the same claim about AI. However, we are seeing AI actually enhance the value of labor, not diminish it.

When protesters began tearing down Confederate statues and markers in the summer of 2020, Walter Williams objected to what he called “statucide.” Such antics, he argued, would serve no purpose in advancing the best interests of black Americans.

Bob revisits Böhm-Bawerk’s critique of the exploitation theory of interest to answer modern claims that billionaires like Elon Musk must have “stolen” their wealth from workers who supposedly create 100 percent of a firm’s value.

Scrooge was never mistreated by his nephew, by Cratchit, or by those seeking charitable donations. Scrooge was always free to refuse them all.

Among the criticisms of capitalism is that it supposedly creates meaningless jobs created by villainous capitalists to keep people docile. However, it is state power and regulation that makes many jobs little more than meaningless make work.