Category Archive: 6b.) Mises.org

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Are Businesses Entitled to a Fair Profit?

2023-11-23

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2023-11-23

In my experience of public policy discussions, one of the most frequent weasel words used as an intended trump (not Trump) card has been “fair.” Like another commonly played political trump card, “need,” fairness does not have a clear meaning. That provides a great deal of wiggle room for equivocation, almost always used to justify forcing some Americans to pay for what someone else wants. Fairness has no universal meaning beyond “more for me or...

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Contra CATO: COVID-19 Vaccinations Are Not a Free Market Victory

2023-11-23

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2023-11-23

A Cato Institute associate has declared the development of the covid-19 vaccines to be a free-market “triumph.” The only thing that has triumphed in this sorry episode has been the rapid growth of coercive government power. Original Article: Contra CATO: COVID-19 Vaccinations Are Not a Free Market Victory

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Should Libertarians Be Thankful for Milei’s Election?

2023-11-23

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2023-11-23

On this episode of Radio Rothbard, Ryan McMaken and Tho Bishop discuss the aftermath of Javier Milei's election in Argentina. The two discuss the value Milei's victory has for libertarianism and Austrian economics, the challenges he immediately faces, and what steps are necessary for him to turn a winning campaign into an impactful presidency.  "The United States Needs Its Own Javier Milei" by Connor O'Keeffe: Mises.org/RR_161_A...

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How Fossil Fuel Revolutionized Our Kitchens and Our Food

2023-11-23

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2023-11-23

[The Domestic Revolution: How the Introduction of Coal into Victorian Homes Changed Everything, by Ruth Goodman, Liveright Publishing Corporation; 2020. xxi + 330 pp.] The subtitle of Ruth Goodman's book The Domestic Revolution doesn't come close to describing what this book is really about. Yes, this book tells us a lot about coal and how it affected Victorian domestic life. But this book is really about how what we eat and how we prepare food has...

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Can Government Regulate Artificial Super Intelligence?

2023-11-23

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2023-11-23

The role of the infinitely small is infinitely large.” ― Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man. —GEORGE BERNARD SHAW, “MAXIMS FOR REVOLUTIONISTS” ― Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology Government as we know it...

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The Progressive Road to Socialism

2023-11-22

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2023-11-22

There has been a radical change in the social and political landscape in this country, and any person who desires the victory of liberty and the defeat of Leviathan must adjust his strategy accordingly. New times require a rethinking of old and possibly obsolete strategies. —Murray N. Rothbard1 Murray Rothbard wrote the above words in 1994, shortly before his untimely passing. They sum up the main theme of a series of brilliant articles that he...

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Napoleon: Europe’s First Egalitarian Despot

2023-11-22

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2023-11-22

With the release of Ridley Scott's new film Napoleon, viewers encounter a cinematic version of Napoleon caught up in a tumultuous romance against the backdrop of the upheavals of the Napoleonic wars.  This has revived interest in the French military commander and left many wondering what they are to make of the real, historical Napoleon. For many Americans in the audience—who, unlike Europeans, devote virtually no time to Napoleon in school—this...

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Hostage Extraction Needs to be Privatized

2023-11-22

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2023-11-22

In the aftermath of Hamas's taking hostages in its conflict with Israel, the question arises: Who pays the ransom? State-financed payments lead to the worst outcomes and create moral hazards. Original Article: Hostage Extraction Needs to be Privatized

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What “Just War Theory” Really Means

2023-11-22

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2023-11-22

Ryan and Zachary discuss the basics of Just War Theory and whether a "moral war" is possible.  They also discuss the theory's origins in natural law, and how the theory relates to pacifism, wealth, and war crimes.  Be sure to follow War, Economy, and State at Mises.org/WES. Additional Resources "Get the US Out of the Middle East" by Ryan McMaken: Mises.org/WES_15_A "American History Is a Preview of the...

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Today Is the Best Day of the Year to Rob a Bank

2023-11-22

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2023-11-22

Depression-era bank robber Willie Sutton, when asked why he robbed banks, replied, “Because that’s where the money is.” By “money,” he meant United States currency. He never indicated how he scheduled his robberies, but some days of the year may be more profitable for bank robberies than others. Disclaimer: Neither I nor the Mises Wire in any way endorses bank robbery, which is a federal crime. First, here are some facts about US “folding money,”...

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Liberty: Stifled by the Stockholm Syndrome

2023-11-22

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2023-11-22

Governments regularly suppress freedom—yet few complain. One wonders if Stockholm syndrome is at work. Original Article: Liberty: Stifled by the Stockholm Syndrome

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The United States Needs Its Own Javier Milei

2023-11-22

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2023-11-22

On Sunday, the populist Austrolibertarian Javier Milei was elected president of Argentina. In the United States, the reaction ranged from concerned curiosity on the part of the political establishment to enthusiastic celebration across the populist Right—including, notably, some economic nationalists. Several renowned libertarians also brought attention to some of Milei’s many flaws, such as his views on geopolitics. Milei’s libertarian skeptics...

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Easy Money Undermines Social Mobility

2023-11-21

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2023-11-21

Central banks around the world target a stable price inflation rate of 2 percent annually over the medium term. This is widely considered to be monetary policy’s most important contribution to the smooth functioning of a dynamic economy. This view is wrong on multiple grounds, but there is one problem with it that is commonly ignored. Inflation, even if it remains relatively moderate, can contribute to rising inequality and undermine social...

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You’re Paying for the Israel War. You’ll Also Pay for the Refugees.

2023-11-21

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2023-11-21

Resettling Gazans in America—at taxpayer expense—will be sold as a "humanitarian" effort, but anyone who sees through the propaganda will see that it's really all a cynical effort to please Israeli politicians. Original Article: You're Paying for the Israel War. You'll Also Pay for the Refugees.

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Can Econometric Models Provide a Laboratory Setting for Economic Analysis?

2023-11-21

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2023-11-21

Econometric model building attempts to produce a laboratory with controlled variables. By means of mathematical and statistical methods, an economist establishes functional relationships between various economic variables. For example, personal consumer outlays are related to personal disposable income and interest rates, while fixed capital investments are explained by the past stock of capital, interest rates, and economic activity. A group of...

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Blaming the Free Market (Even Where It Doesn’t Exist)

2023-11-21

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2023-11-21

Nobel Prize winner Angus Deaton claims that the free market cannot provide adequate medical care. Of course, he goes on to describe government failure but calls it a free market. Original Article: Blaming the Free Market (Even Where It Doesn't Exist)

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Fear of Failure is Vital to the Success of a Free Market Economy

2023-11-21

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2023-11-21

It has become popular, especially in certain fields and among certain crowds, to glorify failure. So-called entrepreneurs and social influencers often brag about their failures. Multinational corporations publish poems encouraging failure. Vapid mottos rejecting the fear of failure are ubiquitous on motivational posters and T-shirts. These efforts are apparently meant to convey an enterprising spirit and a fearlessness about trying new things in an...

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Milei’s Long-Term Victory Depends on Him Winning in the Battle of Ideas

2023-11-21

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2023-11-21

On Sunday, Javier Milei was elected president of Argentina by a comfortable margin, with 56 percent of the vote. He will be sworn in as president on December 10.  Over the past year, however, Milei has made a name for himself as an extremely vocal critic of socialism, central banks, and many types of government intervention in general. He has become memorable for fiery commentary condemning the Left's ideology and tactics while expressing an...

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American History Is a Preview of the Israel-Palestine End Game

2023-11-20

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2023-11-20

How the Israel-Gaza war ends is easy to imagine because it's following a path that has been trod many times before. We've seen it many times during conflicts between settler populations and indigenous populations worldwide Original Article: American History Is a Preview of the Israel-Palestine End Game

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Libertarianism and the Importance of Understanding Causality

2023-11-20

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2023-11-20

Even though support for the free market has become stronger in the last decades, libertarianism can still only be considered a fringe movement. Most people still believe that many social problems are due to “market failure” and therefore require state intervention to be “solved.” Despite the obvious flaws of modern socialism—with its unlikely combination of a redistributive welfare state and globalist crony capitalism—and despite libertarianism’s...

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