Mises Wire

Extolling peace has characterized the classical liberal movement from the eighteenth century, at least from Turgot, on through the nineteenth century to Ludwig von Mises. 

As the progressive left and the anti-trade right merge their arguments, the current political atmosphere is quickly turning into a witch hunt. Unfortunately, we know that these situations don't end well.

There are no “good wars,” rather, there are wars with varying degrees of destructiveness. The American War Between the States was especially destructive, and the scars have not fully healed 160 years after it ended.

Bob Murphy digs into the latest GDP numbers, questions Peter St. Onge’s optimistic spin, and shows what the data really says about tariffs, trade, and recession fears.

Peterson implies the “dark tetrad” is emerging on the non-interventionist right, cloaking their real intentions with conservative rhetoric. Interestingly, however, a historical parallel exists in neoconservatism, whose intellectual roots are deeply rooted in Machiavellianism.

A free market economy does not generate jobs or money. Instead, it creates wealth through exchange and production. Government intervention, contrary to what mainstream economists believe, does not enhance wealth, but instead destroys it.

Ours in an age when people panic, sometimes for good reasons but often for bad. Governments benefit from panicked citizenry, which is why we always should question those political decisions that can turn our lives upside down.

The modern state, unlike the medieval monarchy, does not merely tax to sustain itself or to defend the nation. It taxes to reshape society and to manage an increasingly restive population.

William Nordhaus coined the term “Political Business Cycle” a half-century ago. The idea was that government authorities, particularly the central bank, would manipulate the economy to correspond with election cycles, a practice that continues to this day.

Amtrak is always on the verge of reviving intercity rail traffic in the US, or at least that is what politicians want us to believe. The truth is that the case for defunding Amtrak has never been stronger.