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.

On November 30, 2022, ChatGPT was made available to the general public, and the world was forever changed. While many had prophesied about the potential impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for years, ChatGPT gave us the first glimpse into an AI-powered future. The novelty of OpenAI’s creation propelled interest in AI into the stratosphere, while at the same time reigniting concerns about the impact of AI on the economy. One can easily imagine a “nightmare” scenario where AI puts everyone out of their jobs virtually overnight—scrambling the economy and impacting untold numbers of workers. Minimally, this would lead to a painful adjustment period and, at worst, damage the economy irrevocably. But are these fears justified?Artificial intelligence is a new technology, but it is subject to

Quarantine, lockdowns, social distancing—words I’m sure everyone reading never wants to hear again. Even several years removed, the pain inflicted by Covid-19 and subsequent policy reactions is still fresh in our collective consciousness. I wouldn’t blame anyone for wanting to forget the whole thing, and you wouldn’t be the only one. The authoritarians who violated your freedoms in the name of Covid safety would love for those years—and their mistakes—to be forgotten. As it happens, two of those authoritarians will be appearing together on ballots this November—Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.Kamala Harris is a familiar name to many Americans. Picked out by Biden to serve as vice president on the 2020 Democrat ticket, she has served the past three-and-a-half years as Biden’s second-in-command.

American culture wars are not the product of religious fundamentalists or even activist groups. They exist because of state interference in the private lives of individuals.
Original Article: Government Is the Hidden Hand Directing the Culture Wars

Recent data from the Pew Research Center shows that from 1994 to 2022, Americans’ views of opposing political parties became increasingly negative. In 1994, only 21 percent of Republicans and 17 percent of Democrats held “very unfavorable” views of the other party. In 2022, that category rose to 62 percent for Republicans and 54 percent for Democrats. If we include those who hold “unfavorable” views, then over 80 percent of both Republicans and Democrats have negative views of the other party.
One of the many undesirable effects of this polarization is an environment in which anything can become a political lightning rod. Whether it involves Dr. Seuss books, Mr. Potato Head, or the Barbie movie, controversy seems to lurk around every societal corner. Nothing is safe, nothing is sacred, and

The real effects of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima were hidden from Americans until the New Yorker published an exposé in 1946. Americans finally were confronted with the truth—even if they didn’t want to believe it.

Original Article: "The Bombing of Hiroshima: The Crime and the Cover-Up"

Speculators are reviled in the media and by politicians and academics. Yet the speculators are the ones taking risks to ensure the rest of us can have more economic certainty.

Original Article: "Hail the Speculators! They Take the Necessary Economic Risks in Our Economy"

How do you cover up an atomic bomb? The same way you cover up anything else: you don’t allow people to know what really happened. Of course, the magnitude and power of a mushroom cloud are plainly unmistakable. However, the effects of that bomb can be concealed and obfuscated from the general population.
For over a year after the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the full extent of the bomb’s killing power was kept secret from the world. While little known today, the truth was only revealed due to the actions of a single war correspondent and the stories of six individuals who were forever scarred by what they saw.
On August 6, 1945, a nuclear weapon was used in war for the first time in history against the city of Hiroshima. Just hours after the bombing of Hiroshima,

There are few individuals as reviled and vilified in our modern age as speculators. Economic turmoil of all shapes and sizes are placed squarely on their shoulders. Why do we have recessions from time to time? Because of the irrational speculators, of course. Why do economic bubbles exist? Because of wild overspeculation, undoubtably. Why are prices rising so quickly? The ceaseless activity of the speculators, no doubt. Yet it is seldom—if ever—asked in the public consciousness whether the speculator serves any valuable purpose. Most believe him to be a pointless and unwanted parasite in society, but is this really the case?
First, what is a speculator? A speculator is someone who leverages money on the outcome of future events. One can speculate over almost anything imaginable: that a

With the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, financial markets all around the world are on edge. Despite promises from the Federal Reserve that a “soft landing” of the economy is on the way, all signs point to an imminent “crash landing”! While the full consequences of these bank failures are yet to fully play out, a prized and popular scapegoat has already been trotted out to explain the current crisis: deregulation of financial markets.
According to proponents of this view, the partial rollback of the famous Dodd-Frank Act that took place in 2018 enabled banks to engage in overly risky behavior that has now become those banks’ undoing. This perspective has even started to gain traction in Washington, DC, as well. On March 14, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Katie

A monopoly is often seen as one of the gravest and most concerning manifestations of market failure. In the neoclassical tradition, the existence of a monopolist in a market is generally seen as sufficient justification for government intervention to put a halt to the monopolist’s exploitative ways.