Mises Wire

History has shown that prosperity is built through economic freedom and self-reliance—not through perpetual financial transfers from former colonial powers.

Economic development cannot ever be seen as an end in itself. People are complex, social beings who may well forgo some of the advantages of economic growth for social stability, something Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard understood.

Mainstream economists claim that in order to “do economics,” they must collect data and then see where it leads them. However, data by itself is economically useless without a guiding theory to explain what is happening.

While Elon Musk and his DOGE team have made some highly-publicized “cuts” in federal spending, much of the federal budget has been hammered in stone for a long time. It will take fundamental changes in spending patterns to make a real difference.

Great Britain‘s Labour government, since coming into power last year, has taken a number of measures that already are resulting in lowering the nation's standard of living.

We should not look just at the visible and obvious results of tariffs. We must also look at the good things that the tariffs keep from happening.

In this week‘s Friday Philosophy, Dr. David Gordon reviews Sick from Freedom: African-American Illness and Suffering during the Civil War and Reconstruction by Jim Downs, who exposes the high death rates from disease suffered by newly-freed slaves because of neglect by Union armies.

Most modern Americans cannot conceive of states seceding from the US, but in 1860, the majority of the people believed secession was both legal and moral and saw the Constitution as permitting it. 

Should we audit the US gold hoard? First, let's take a look at what the official numbers say about how big the US gold reserve is, where it is located, and how much it is worth in US dollars.

Bob argues that the only way to cripple Mexican drug cartels is through US drug legalization.