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.

Do you know the term “matinee”? Originating from the French matinée, it means “morning” and it refers to artistic presentations or exhibitions held during the day. In the United States of the 1930s and 1940s, matinees were especially popular for airing “sitcoms”—weekly episodes full of adventure and suspense that kept audiences looking forward to the next chapter. These serials only arrived here in Brazil between the 50s and 60s.Using a political analogy, socialism can be seen as a “dark matinee.” Just as sitcoms keep audiences looking forward to the next episode, socialism keeps its adherents waiting for improvements that are rarely realized, perpetuating a cycle of dependency and frustration. This path, as Friedrich Hayek defined in The Road to Serfdom, leads to an escalation of state

One of the oldest weapons against politics is humor, and it is precisely this that politicians detest the most. They cannot understand themselves as targets of jokes because they see themselves as anointed and enlightened leaders, guiding the ignorant masses. They also despise humor because they cannot control it. Often, humor arises spontaneously, as seen recently with memes associated with Brazil’s finance minister, Fernando Haddad.There has been an explosion of satires created with mobile apps and artificial intelligence tools, linking him to movies and TV series. One such meme was displayed on a billboard in Times Square, New York, portraying him as “the Tax Human,“ a parody of the hero “the Human Torch.“ These memes have proliferated due to recent tax increases.Aided by the press, the

In the early hours of Monday, July 29, the announcement of the election results in Venezuela echoed. Nicolas Maduro, is declared the winner in Venezuela’s presidential election by the electoral authority, setting up a high-stakes showdown that will determine whether the South American nation transitions away from one-party rule. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, banned from running for office, said opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won 70 percent of the vote and urged the military to “respect the will of the people.”Like other nations that call themselves bastions of socialism — such as the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea, the Republic of Cuba, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the People’s Republic of China and the Lao Democratic Republic — it has a constitution