Category Archive: 6b) Austrian Economics

My article “The Education of the Modern Socialist” deserves a follow-up. The first part showed that a change has occurred in the definition of “socialism”—a necessary change in view of the failures of this ideology during the last century. Socialism today is based on the ideology of “statism”—the conviction that the state must play a fundamental role in society. Ludwig von Mises’s wider definition of socialism as state intervention implies a modern...

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In over twenty-five years of teaching undergraduate students, I have heard the same refrain countless times: free markets have many problems that government has to step in to solve. Indeed, students expect government to “step in” so much that markets occupy a peripheral role in their idealized economic system. Even students with an ideological predilection toward markets will be quick to argue that certain problems, such as pollution, require...

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The state has a monopoly on violence. However, abusive repression harms government credibility and alienates public support in the long run. A more subtle and effective way to exercise power is to surveil the population and to prevent open manifestations of discontent. This article analyzes the case of the of the German Democratic Republic’s (DDR) Ministry for State Security (MfS), also known as the Stasi. The thesis is that an effective...

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Nationalism is a potent force in the modern world, and it is not surprising that some libertarians have been attracted to it. Indeed, in some circles the slogan “Blood and Soil” has come into to use to denote a people’s attachment to the land. It should be noted that although this slogan was used by the Nazis, especially by Walter Darré, it did not originate with them but was common among German nationalists such as Oswald Spengler. It would be...

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People are constantly told to follow their dreams, but doing so is futile without execution. Dreaming is a blueprint for future success; however, some people live in the dream instead of working to make it a reality. Ambition is insufficient to reap success, and many fail to realize their potential. Success is only actualized when you stop dreaming and start doing. Some believe that reading motivational books will lead them to prosperity, yet...

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Only two days left until Mises University begins! Our students have completed their required readings and have already started discussing Misesian utilitarianism, Rothbardian natural law, and Hoppean argumentation ethics in the Mises University private group chat. We can already tell how enthusiastic and smart these students are! We have students from forty-seven colleges and universities at this year's Mises University. Look and see if your alma...

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[This article is adapted from a panel discussion on Christian Nationalism at Freedom Fest in Memphis on July 14, 2023. The other panelists were Norman Horn, Kerry Baldwin, and Alex Bernardo of the Libertarian Christian Institute. ] The specter of Christian nationalism—variously defined—has become one of the current bogeymen to the Left. "Christian nationalism on the rise," reports National Public Radio, and The New Yorker asks "How...

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Words matter and definitions often become imprecise and “slippery.” There is a natural evolution of language wherein words gradually change over time, but often a key meaning gets lost and there no longer remains a single word to describe a concept. This has been the case with the common word “inflation.” Over the last few years, I have kept a list of quotes about the accurate definition of inflation (and I am always looking for more quotes). What...

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N discussing the recent boycott of Target, University of Michigan economics professor Justin Wolfers recently told MSNBC: [If] Target caves into this, then it says that the moment you threaten the employees of even a very large corporation, you get to control its policies. This is economic terrorism, literally terrorism, creating fear among the workers and forcing the corporations to sell the things you want, not sell the things you don’t....

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