Mises Wire

In this week’s Friday Philosophy, Dr. David Gordon reviews John C. Calhoun’s A Disquisition on Government, published in 1850. Like Murray Rothbard before him, Dr. Gordon finds plenty to like in this book.

Among the key men involved in the American Revolution and the following periods, we find an oft-repeated concern that may seem foreign to us today—the threat of standing armies. This reality became concrete in the Newburgh conspiracy in 1783.

While China’s economy has boomed, many people wrongly associate that success with the Chinese government’s industrial policies. Intervention has created many problems there—just as it has done elsewhere.

While Graham Platner has become controversial because of his reckless past and violent behavior, the real objection to his being elected a US Senator should be to his reckless socialist proposals that would have disastrous consequences.

Names for historical periods like "Renaissance" and "Enlightenment" did not descend to us out of the heavens. Historians and propagandists of centuries past created these names, often for political purposes. 

The president has declared that he loves inflation. What economic fallacies is he likely adopting that leads to this conclusion?

Because government monetary authorities have been interfering with interest rates for decades, investors have no more confidence in the bond markets, as they expect more interference and more unpredictability.

Once we look beyond a small shift in rhetoric and emphasis, there is, so far, no reason to believe that the Fed is headed toward anything other than business as usual. 

Elon Musk becoming the world’s first trillionaire has triggered a familiar round of progressive outrage. But the imprecise focus on wealth distribution obscures the real issue: how much of modern wealth is acquired through politics rather than production.

Sure, the earnings average was up year over year, but prices increased more than earnings did. In fact, price inflation hit a 38-month high in May.