Ayn Rand and the Austrian Economists
2024-03-23
Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito
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Yemen: The Forgotten Neoconservative-Supported War in the Middle East
2024-01-11
In response to the Israeli assault on Gaza, the Houthis (Ansarallah) of Yemen have retaliated by launching at least six drone attacks directed at Israel and attacking Western ships passing through the Red Sea. By the looks of it, their attacks have been quite successful thus far: Israel’s Eilat port alone has seen an 85 percent drop in shipping activity.
To the United States, these actions of resistance and support of the Palestinian cause only present another opportunity for intervention and escalation. Just days ago, the United States announced the development of a coalition to combat the Houthi attacks. The coalition, ironically entitled Operation Prosperity Guardian, will include France, Bahrain, Italy, the United Kingdom, and five other nations alongside the United States.
Under the
Wonka: A Tale of Evil Businessmen and Cronyism
2024-01-09
Wonka (2023) is a prequel film to the beloved story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Wonka tells the story of a young Willy Wonka, an up-and-coming chocolate salesman and magician, who challenges a chocolate cartel’s dominance.
As one could imagine, the film is full of scenes that cast private enterprise in a negative light. The main villains are stereotypical movie businessmen who will do anything, even murder, to achieve their ambition for higher profits. The cartel constantly violates Wonka’s private property, first by poisoning his merchandise and then by attempting to murder him.
Another scene shows Wonka signing a contract with hidden terms that essentially makes him a slave. With the legitimacy of this contract dubious, it is unlikely any just legal system would
Greenwashing: A Bridge between Austrians and Environmentalists?
2024-01-05
Greenwashing is a relatively new term to describe false and misleading claims that a product or business practice has environmental benefits. The point is that companies can advertise their efforts as “green” while continuing various profitable activities that environmentalists consider “harmful,” gaming the system and profiting off well-intentioned, sustainably minded consumers.
The term was coined forty years ago by a student in response to a hotel that wanted customers to reuse the towels in their rooms to save the environment and save the hotel money.
As an Austrian School economist, I can agree with environmentalists to a point here, but let’s see how far on their side of the bridge they are willing to go. Let’s start with the idea that human beings are motivated to achieve their