What is the Mises Institute?

The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard. Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.

President George Washington famously warned against entangling alliances in his farewell address to Congress. However, now more than ever, it seems that escalations across the globe are tempting the United States to become increasingly involved in other countries’ dilemmas. American citizens and legislators must remember part of what made the American experiment so unique and resist those temptations. Here’s why.The US defense budget is unjustifiable. In 2021, American defense spending totaled $801 billion—larger than the next nine countries combined. The Department of Defense (DOD) was recently given an increased budget of $858 billion, and to make matters worse, that money is being used inefficiently: the DOD recently failed its fifth consecutive audit, with about half of its assets

What is the Mises Institute?

The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard. Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.

What is the Mises Institute?

The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard. Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.

The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBOR) promoted an initiative in 2023 which was meant to better ensure that black males in the state have greater access to higher education, and the support needed to graduate in higher numbers. TBOR referenced a graduation rate which is at least 20 percent lower than the graduation rate of other students. A plan to fight this undesirable metric was implemented by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) in part through the Black Male Success Initiative (BMSI).Assumedly some members of the commission supported this plan out of good intentions, more specifically, a desire to use the state to benefit the marginalized. Unfortunately, this is not the whole picture. In 2015, the TBOR implemented a 10 year strategic plan, which as of now has been less than

Those unfamiliar with American electoral politics may be puzzled by America’s presidential elections. Recently, it seems as though most elections result in two largely unpopular candidates winning their party’s nomination, but no viable third option emerges. While the United States does allow candidates to run as independents or under third-party banners, these candidates rarely make an impact at the national level.The reasons for this are largely found in the Constitution, but other reasons exist as well. For example, the Electoral College has made it difficult for some voters to vote for a candidate who has no shot of winning their state’s Electoral College votes. The US is unique in that voters do not vote for their desired party or candidate but for a certain slate of electors who are

Advocates for increased levels of societal safety nets seem to primarily ignore obvious truths of public choice theory, as well as what economic trends have taught humanity for hundreds of years. Adam Smith famously said:It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.This obvious truth is assumed by economists but misunderstood by those who advocate against so-called price gouging or for “free” healthcare or childcare for individuals and families. A basic grasp of economic realities and how they relate to human nature easily restricts these attempts to

What is the Mises Institute?

The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard. Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.

What is the Mises Institute?

The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard. Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.

Created in 1960, the United Nations–recognized state of Somalia is by almost all accounts a failed state. Yet it continues to assert dominance over regions that are seeking further autonomy or independence. The UN has listed self-determination as a human right, but the global neighborhood rarely sees this human right respected or enforced by the UN. This is likely because of how slow-moving the UN can be and because the nations that make up the UN have conflicting national interests. A United Nations that is slow to act has led to de facto independence or autonomy in some regions, with international recognition sometimes coming later. This is seen in the two northern regions of Somalia.The modern state of Somalia was not created through mutual agreement or due to a similar culture in the

What is the Mises Institute?

The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard. Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.

HR 7521, called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, is a recent development in American politics. TikTok has been in the news for the past few years, after the public became aware of its connections to China. The popular social media mobile app is currently owned by ByteDance Ltd, a Chinese company. China and the United States currently have a rocky relationship, leading to fears that the Chinese government could potentially use this app to spy on American citizens. Several states and counties voted to restrict the usage of the app in some ways, mostly disallowing government employees from using it on government-owned phones. Earlier this month, the United States Congress passed a piece of legislation that would restrict the app’s availability if

On the 27th of March, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed an executive order which had the purpose of curbing speech deemed as “anti-semitic” on all state-run universities. Unfortunately, speech protection on public universities has been shaky in the past with universities attempting to restrict speech many times with varying levels of success. Supreme Court decision Healey v James 1972 states that “Among the rights protected by the First Amendment is the right of individuals to associate to further their personal beliefs. While the freedom of association is not explicitly set out in the Amendment, it has been held to be implicit in the freedoms of speech, assembly, and petition.” There is a long precedent of courts protecting speech, even what is considered hate speech in the United States.

Many opponents of libertarianism claim to reject its philosophy because of its extreme individualist tendencies or because they believe it encourages selfishness. While there are libertarians who are individualistic in every sense of the word, libertarianism does not naturally reject community. Additionally, libertarianism does not encourage selfishness but recognizes that most humans are selfish and thus are wary of giving humans too much power. The term “individualism” also needs further clarification. The individualist is not explicitly antialtruism or anticommunity, but the political individualist recognizes individual rights over any supposed communal responsibilities.On the surface, some may think that libertarians only care about personal freedom. Most libertarians do pursue

The Social Security Act is considered the first federal social welfare program in American history, being signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935. American government pensions have existed for government employees and veterans since the Civil War, and private pension systems even longer. There was not great support for a public pension system in the US, as voluntary association and self-sufficiency was the standard. An example of this is the fact that nearly 90 percent of people over sixty-five in New York were not reliant on any sort of organized private, or public assistance programs prior to 1935.Some assume that the Great Depression would automatically lead to an absolute devastation of the private pension system. Fortunately, this was not the case. More than 85 percent