Category Archive: 6b.) Mises.org

Can There Be Justice Outside of the State? Yes

People tend to think of a fair justice system as one of the cornerstones of a free and flourishing society. Yet most of us are resigned to the idea that it can only be delivered at the hands of the state. Rather than just accepting the status quo, perhaps we should question whether states are appropriate administrators of justice at all, and instead consider whether a state-free or libertarian approach to justice could work.The word “justice” comes...

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On Immanuel Kant’s 300th birthday: Kant’s Epistemology and Its Influence on Ludwig von Mises’s Praxeology

300 years ago, on April 22, 1724, the German philosopher Immanuel Kant was born in Königsberg, East Prussia. He is not only an outstanding historical figure in philosophy, but Kant’s profound influence continues to shape modern philosophical discourse, resonating strongly even today.While Galileo Galilei and Issac Newton undoubtedly made significant contributions to their respective fields, their theories have long been surpassed by the theory of...

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We Need to Do with the State What We Have Done to Slavery

This article is based on chapter 8 of my 2020 book, Do Not Consent: Think OUTSIDE the Voting Booth.If someone asked you to define “free market,” could you? Could you do it on the spot without recourse to dictionaries or other crutches?The term “laissez-faire economy” might do as a first response. But what does it mean? In Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, Ayn Rand explains,Based on a column in the Los Angeles Times, August 1962.Colbert, chief adviser...

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Why the US Debt Is Unsustainable and Is Destroying the Middle Class

In a recent tweet, a talented financial analyst and investor stated: “The “debt is unsustainable” narrative has been around for 40 years plus. What’s astonishing to me is how the people who push this narrative never ask themselves, “Why has it been sustainable for so long?”.There is a widespread idea that the fiscal imbalances of a world reserve currency issuer would end in an Argentina-style bankruptcy. However, the manifestation of...

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Is Libertarianism Just Another Form of Critical Theory?

There’s no shortage of ill-informed criticisms of libertarian theory across all sides of the political spectrum. To most leftists, the libertarian is selfish, greedy, elitist, disdainful of the poor, and a useful idiot for big-business interests. To most right wingers, the libertarian is atomized, nihilistic, a hedonist, a materialist, a moral relativist, an egalitarian, and a naïve utopian who scorns tradition and religion.But there’s a new,...

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Introducing the Unanimity Podcast

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...

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Wokism, Marxism and the Failures of Academic “Liberalism”

Ludwig von Mises’s 1927 book Liberalism: In the Classical Tradition is increasingly important in a time when so many conflicting ideologies march under the banner of liberalism. For example, according to the New York Times, “liberal values” include “racial equality, women’s rights, human rights and democracy.” The New York Times sees “classical liberal” as simply a label used by centrist conservatives to distinguish themselves from right-wing...

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Biden Perpetuates Washington’s Idiotic Steel Trade Policies

Joe Biden is seeking to boost his reelection campaign by torpedoing Chinese imports. In an April 17 speech in Pittsburgh, the symbolic heart of the steel industry, Biden announced that he asked his US trade representative to triple tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum imports. The tariffs are currently roughly 7.5 percent. A White House press release proclaimed, “President Biden knows that steel is the backbone of the American economy, and a...

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Robeyns Peter to Pay Paul

Limitarianism: The Case against Extreme Wealthby Ingrid RobeynsAstra House, 2022; 301 pp.Some people have vastly more income and wealth than others, and this situation greatly disturbs Ingrid Robeyns, who teaches ethics at Utrecht University. She does not want to replace the market economy with central planning, but no one should be allowed to become a billionaire. Some of her comments on central planning sound like they might have emanated from...

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FDR’s War Against Civil Liberties

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...

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Carl Menger Explains Caitlin Clark’s “Low” Rookie Salary and Her Monetized Popularity

President Joe Biden is outraged. It seems that women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark, who played for the University of Iowa, does not have a rookie Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) that a typical NBA (for the men) top draft pick would have. He declared on his official X (formerly Twitter) account:Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all. But right now we're seeing that even if you're the best, women are not...

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Gross Domestic Income Shows America Is In Stagnation

In a recent CNN poll, 48% of respondents stated that they believe the economy remains in a downturn, and only 35% said that things in the country today are going well. The disparity between somber economic sentiment and a surprisingly strong headline unemployment rate and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) can be easily explained.The divergence between headline GDP and Gross Domestic Income (GDI) is staggering. While GDP suggests a strong economy, GDI...

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The PPI Again!

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...

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Climate Worries Are Non-Credible, Luxury Beliefs That Harm Civilization Itself

I live in a small village at the edge of lands surrounded by very harsh nature. Those who occupied these valleys in ages past lived ruthlessly dangerous lives, where starvation was a constant worry, the sea just as often nurtured as it took away, and the winters were long and perilous. Nowadays, while I’m walking the desolate mountains or admiring the fierce storms from inside my nice, sheltered existence, echoing in my head is Thomas Hobbes’s...

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Argentina: Mises and Milei, 65 Years Apart

Ludwig Von Mises gave six lectures in 1959 in Buenos Aires, Argentina where, “he spoke in nontechnical terms suitable for his audience of business professionals, professors, teachers, and students. He illustrates theory with homespun examples. He explains simple truths of history in terms of economic principles. He describes how capitalism destroyed the hierarchical order of European feudalism and discusses the political consequences of various...

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Renato Moicano Cares About His Country More Than Sohrab Ahmari

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...

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Tariffs Are Taxes on Americans—But Protectionists Pretend Otherwise

During the 2016 and 2020 campaigns, Trump's opponents in the Democratic party (and elsewhere) often pointed out that Trump's protectionism hobbles private markets and the economy overall. Yet, the allegedly anti-protectionist Biden administration has done virtually nothing to end Trump's protectionists policies put in place from 2017 to 2020. The motivation is unclear, but it is possible that the Biden administration realized that protectionism is...

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The Indian Congress Conundrum: Secularism, Socialism, and the Search for a New Path

On April 4, 2024, senior leaders of the Indian National Congress (hereinafter referred to as the "Congress") either faced expulsion from the party or voluntarily departed. Former National Spokesperson of the Congress, Mr. Gaurav Vallabh, recently joined the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (hereinafter referred to as the "BJP"). On April 3, 2024, the Congress expelled Senior Leader of Maharashtra Congress, Mr. Sanjay Nirupam,...

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The Tiny Island That Serves As a Tripwire for War between the US and China

Earlier this year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated Island in Between in the Best Documentary Short Film category at the ninety-sixth Academy Awards. Although it didn’t end up taking home the Oscar, the documentary drew attention to the little-known Kinmen Island and its precarious position as an inflection point in the relationship between Taiwan, mainland China, and the continuing involvement of the United States....

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The Seen and the Unseen: Implications of Biden’s New Tariff

Biden’s newest proposal for steel tariffs join a long list of tariff policies that ignore the unseen damage that will be done to the U.S. economy by raising them.This week, President Biden announced that he would seek to triple tariffs specifically on Chinese steel imports from 7.5 percent to 25 percent. This is an aspect of his campaigning in Pennsylvania where he seeks support from blue-collar steel workers who face competition from foreign steel...

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