Mises Wire

Bastiat reminded his readers that economic analysis involves not just what we see on the surface, but also the costs that are hidden from view.

Niccolò Machiavelli, who often is criticized for his views on using political power, understood the dangers of unchecked government spending. Perhaps our own political leaders should read "The Prince."

Some free-market advocates are pushing for dollarization in Argentina. But the devastating US sanctions against Panama in 1989 show us how dollarization helps the US exercise more hegemonic power over foreign economies. 

Much of modern neoclassical economic theory depends upon assumptions that do not reflect real world conditions. Austrian economists, however, know that realistic assumptions matter.

Read the New York Times (or even National Review) and you'll learn that the budget standoff is between congressional “adults” and right-wing House nutjobs. This is not the case.

Members of the Canadian Parliament recently applauded a Ukrainian member of the Nazi Waffen-SS during World War II. Apparently, it's now okay to be a Nazi so long as you're fighting the Russians.

From the various compromises pushed by "Beltway Libertarians" to the anti-free market rhetoric of conservative Sohrab Ahmari, government intervention has a lot of new friends. This will not end well.

On yet another crusade, US authorities have sanctioned Chinese cotton imports. The sanctions won't change Chinese policies but they will create hardships for many.

Forget Vegas sports betting for reckless speculation. When the Fed officials make projections, the markets assume they are accurate. However, as Jerome Powell himself admits, forecasts are speculative at best.

One of the canards of mainstream economics is that only government can provide the "optimum" number of nonrivalrous, or public, goods. Austrian economists have never accepted that theory.