World History

Recorded at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, on 21 July 2015.

Surprisingly, Marx and Lenin were occasionally insightful when it came to the problems and consequences of fiat money in the economy. In principle, they opposed unbacked currency. But of course, once communists seized political power, those principles went right out the window.

Mises had diagnosed these problems long before they became apparent.  In a series of essays written between the two World Wars—but also in Omnipotent Government published in 1944—, Mises showed that in a world where governments interfere in their domestic markets, and with the monetary system, and where (economic) nationalism prevails, it is pointless to hope for any political and economic resolution from supranational organizations. The best these institutions can do is prolong the disastrous effects of government policies, and postpone—though loans and bailouts—their inevitable collapse.

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."

Pope Francis's two major writings as pope are marked by a relentless pessimism and a world view in which human institutions such as markets are constantly making life worse and worse. This view, however, is not supported by the facts.

Celebrate Star Wars Day: Here Are My Review/Previews of the Prequels. It's All About the Battle of Ideas!

In this interview, Jing Jin, Associate Dean at the China Economics and Management Academy in Beijing, discusses how Mises and Rothbard have affected her academic work, and how Austrian economics is gaining traction in China today.

Hoppe explains three of the most momentous events in the history of mankind: the Neolithic Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and the origin and development of the State.

If the Venezuelan example of socialism’s ultimate consequences baffles anybody, it is because of how little (economic) history people remember, and how quickly its lessons are forgotten.

Largely forgotten in the English-speaking world today, French laissez-faire economist Michel Chevalier was an early opponent of patents, which he dismissed as a type of monopoly and an obstacle to technological and intellectual progress.