Semantic Tools and Faulty Nomenclature- June 28, 2008 Ludwig von Mises on maintaining the word "capitalism": It would be correct to describe this state of affairs in this way: Today many or some groups of business are no longer liberal; they do not advocate a pure market economy and free enterprise, but, on the contrary, are asking for various measures of government interference with business. But it is entirely misleading to say that the meaning of the concept of capitalism has changed and that "mature capitalism" — as the Americans.http://blog.mises.org/archives/008238.asp The Role Of Speculation & Governments In High Oil Price- June 28, 2008 On LRC today I analyze the role of speculation vs. government policies in causing the high price of oil and other commodities.http://blog.mises.org/archives/008237.asp Fox Interviews a Rothbardian- June 27, 2008 Though we discuss oil, not private defense services. (Note that you may have to scroll down to find my clip; I don't yet have a URL tied directly to it.)http://blog.mises.org/archives/008236.asp On the Impossibility of Limited Government- June 27, 2008 At the outset of the American "experiment," writes Hans-Hermann Hoppe, the tax burden imposed on Americans was light, indeed almost negligible. Money consisted of fixed quantities of gold and silver. The definition of private property was clear and seemingly immutable, and the right to self-defense was regarded as sacrosanct. No standing army existed, and a firm commitment to free trade and a noninterventionist foreign policy appeared to be in place. Two hundred years later, matters have...http://blog.mises.org/archives/008235.asp Cooperation: How the Free Market Benefits Everyone- June 27, 2008 The following attempts to explain the most important idea in the history of social analysis. The notion (actually, it's a description of reality that is all around us but rarely noticed) has been around for centuries. It was first observed by ancients. It was first described with rigor by late-medieval monks working in Spain. It was given scientific precision in the classical period. It is the basis of advances in social theory in the 20th century. The failure to comprehend this idea is at the..http://blog.mises.org/archives/008234.asp We are all slaves- June 27, 2008 I just received a copy of the American Community Survey from the US Census Bureau. Think it's voluntary Think again. I must fill out the form (28 pages) to the best of my knowledge in a timely manner as required by federal law (Why do I even bother keeping a copy of the Constitution It's not even a consideration for the feds anymore). OK. So I have to provide personal information to government bozos, information that I do not share with even my closest friends. Now, why do I have to do this...http://blog.mises.org/archives/008233.asp Google and Mises- June 26, 2008 It's fun how this article in the International Herald Tribune draws a link between Ludwig von Mises and Google's advertising algorithms--the technology that is the very future of commerce--via the work of Leonid Hurwicz. "It was a course in economics that fired his imagination, however, and he went to the London School of Economics, where his teachers were Nicholas Kaldor and Friedrich Hayek. In 1939, Hurwicz moved to Geneva, where he studied at the Graduate Institute of International Studies...http://blog.mises.org/archives/008232.asp Gallery view- June 26, 2008 Have you tried out Veksler's newest trick on Mises.org Daily article gallery view.http://blog.mises.org/archives/008231.asp Aristotle on Mixed Economies- June 26, 2008 Moderation in the Aristotelian sense, writes Isaac Morehouse, is only good if it is moderating between two bad extremes and to a good mean, and not if it is moderating between a good and a bad. Aristotle explained as much in detail. Advocating a "mixed economy" or a middle ground between socialism and capitalism is nothing more than advocating a middle ground between threatening your neighbor with violence if he doesn't do your will and not threatening him with violence. If he resists, it...http://blog.mises.org/archives/008230.asp Block's New Book on Labor Economics- June 25, 2008 Prepare to completely rethink the way labor markets can and should work in a free society. Walter Block, in this large collection of his writings on the topic, avoids no controversial issue in the course of a consistent application of Austrian labor theory. He begins with the determination of wages in a market economy and defends the idea that wages adjust to changing economic conditions according to the same economic laws as prices do. He explains why and how wages move up or down in a...http://blog.mises.org/archives/008229.asp |