Category Archive: 6b) Austrian Economics

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Time Preference Is the Key Driver of Interest Rates

2023-11-29

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2023-11-29

Forget the other mainstream explanations for interest. Time preference explains this phenomenon and gives a true picture of why interest exists in the first place. Original Article: Time Preference Is the Key Driver of Interest Rates

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Should We Embrace the Stateless Roman Political Thought?

2023-11-29

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2023-11-29

The traditionalist author Álvaro d’Ors emphasized in his work that the political thought of Rome was essentially stateless as it had a personalistic character. In contrast, Greek political thought had a territorial focus, giving rise to the idea of the state. Intellectuals who created and legitimized the idea of the state in modernity drew from Greek political thought. To abolish the state, we need to investigate what both the Greeks and Romans...

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Statist Ideology and War: Israel versus Hamas

2023-11-29

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2023-11-29

As this author previously has noted, the ideology of statism is responsible for much of the violence that plagues the world. We see this played out in Israel's aggressive retaliatory attacks in Gaza in response to the October 7 killings by Hamas. Original Article: Statist Ideology and War: Israel versus Hamas

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Progressive Interventionism Is Ruining American Healthcare

2023-11-29

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2023-11-29

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the problems with Joe Manchin’s argument that Congress needs to reject the “extremism” in its ranks if it’s ever going to solve the many problems facing Americans. I argued that the opposite is true. That Congress is almost entirely unified behind a specific pace of progressive interventionism where the predictable consequences of previous interventions are perpetually used to justify more intervention. In this cycle,...

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There’s No Easy Way Out of This Debt Spiral

2023-11-28

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2023-11-28

The new problem we now face arises from the fact that huge deficits are only manageable so long as interest rates remain very, very low.  Original Article: There's No Easy Way Out of This Debt Spiral

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The Power of Austrian Causal-Realist Analysis

2023-11-28

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2023-11-28

For many economists, economic growth is a mystery. By “economic growth,” Shawn Ritenour has principally in mind economic progress in the less developed countries, but his recipe for growth applies universally. Why is growth a mystery? Ritenour explains why in this excellent book: “Indeed, a major reason modern macroeconomics has not solved the mystery is that as a whole—dare I say, in the aggregate—its analytical approach fosters neither asking nor...

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Remembering the Great Henry Hazlitt on His Birthday

2023-11-28

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2023-11-28

November 28 marks the 1894 birth of one of American history’s most prolific public intellectuals—Henry Hazlitt. According to Llewellyn Rockwell, Hazlitt “was familiar with the work of every important thinker in nearly every field” and “wrote in every important public forum of his day.” His published work as a journalist, literary critic, philosopher, and economist ran to roughly ten million words before his death in 1993, including perhaps the most...

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October’s Sobering Jobs Report Adds to Mounting Bad Economic News

2023-11-28

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2023-11-28

Data on employed persons, wages, and other measures point to trouble ahead in an economy already strained by growing bankruptcies, mounting debts, and disappearing savings.  Original Article: October's Sobering Jobs Report Adds to Mounting Bad Economic News

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Arkansas’ Attack on Chinese-Owned Property Is Reckless and Crony-Driven

2023-11-28

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2023-11-28

Citing national security concerns, Arkansas ordered Chinese company Syngenta to sell off the 160 acres of farmland it owns in the state. The national security concerns are, as will be demonstrated, bogus; however, there may be more crony motivations for this order as well. An article of mine published in July 2023 by the Libertarian Institute addresses these national security concerns. Walter Block also recently published a piece examining the...

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The “Climate Emergency”: Fueled by 21st Century Marxism

2023-11-27

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2023-11-27

The eternal “climate emergency” is upon us. While doomsday is said to be around the corner, the reality is that the only thing rising is the level of government control.  Original Article: The "Climate Emergency": Fueled by 21st Century Marxism

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After Ukraine, Realpolitik Will Be the New Interventionist Status Quo

2023-11-27

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2023-11-27

From the onset of the current Israeli-Hamas conflict, the statements from the Joe Biden administration and Congress were crystal clear: America is the indispensable nation, and we’re rich and powerful enough to be able to afford two wars to guarantee the safety of the world. Even with the displeasure over an unstoppable growth in debt and a declining economy, the message to both the domestic and international audiences is DC will get involved...

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The Federal Reserve is Running Losses. Does This Cost Anyone Anything?

2023-11-27

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2023-11-27

The new problem we now face arises from the fact that huge deficits are only manageable so long as interest rates remain very, very low.  Original Article: The Federal Reserve is Running Losses. Does This Cost Anyone Anything?

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Student Loans: The Continuing Crisis That Is Getting Worse

2023-11-27

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2023-11-27

The leviathan does not rest in pursuing free universities, creeping ahead unchecked by either reason, law, or accounting principles. Why is student assessment of their federal-debt-financed degrees so low? Why are 26 percent of past payments delinquent? More than 50 percent of students agree that they either studied the wrong major or wasted time and money. Less than half have found work in their major field of study. Public dialogue is lured into...

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Israel Isn’t the Brilliant Friend of Freedom the Beltway Claims It to Be

2023-11-26

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2023-11-26

While Israel receives praise for being a "democracy" in the undemocratic Middle East, its surveillance policies mirror those of China, which is decidedly not democratic. Original Article: Israel Isn’t the Brilliant Friend of Freedom the Beltway Claims It to Be

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Killers of the Flower Moon Is about Government Failure

2023-11-25

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2023-11-25

The newly-released movie "Killers of the Flower Moon" depicts what happens when politically-connected people can use the state to carry out nefarious deeds. Unfortunately, government failure is one lesson that is sure to be lost here. Original Article: Killers of the Flower Moon Is about Government Failure

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Is Migration a Tool of the Consumptive Class?

2023-11-25

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2023-11-25

An unfortunate consequence of increased wealth is the growth of the parasitic consumptive class of political and cultural elites. Labor migrations often follow in the wake of damage that elites do. Original Article: Is Migration a Tool of the Consumptive Class?

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Jim Chanos and Stock Markets

2023-11-25

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2023-11-25

In this week's episode, Mark looks at the implications of famed investor Jim Chanos shutting down his hedge fund which specialized in shorting stocks. The closure comes as stock markets in the US hit all time record highs. Mark frames these two events in light of the Austrian Theory of the Business Cycle.  Be sure to follow Minor Issues at Mises.org/MinorIssues. Get your free copy of Murray Rothbard's Anatomy of the State at...

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Overcoming Chinese Communist GDP Myths

2023-11-25

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2023-11-25

In March, at the National People’s Congress, Beijing set its annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth target. Since 1985, in every year but one, China has met or exceeded its official projections, raising doubts about whether or not Beijing’s claims of rapid growth can be believed. The New York Federal Reserve issued a report in 2020 that challenged the numbers, saying that China’s GDP growth chart was too smooth for the data to be authentic....

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Fed Rate Cuts Will Not Save The Economy

2023-11-25

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2023-11-25

Market implied Fed Funds rate discount a string of cuts starting in January 2024 and culminating in a 4.492 percent in January 2025. These expectations are based on the perception that the Federal Reserve will achieve a soft landing and that inflation will drop rapidly. However, market participants who assume rate cuts will be bullish may be taking too much risk for the wrong reasons. The messages from the Federal Reserve contradict the previously...

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The Fed Is Draining Our Economy Like Farmers Have Drained Their Aquifers

2023-11-25

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2023-11-25

In an October column, Paul Krugman admonished people who are not all in on the Joe Biden economy and declared that we are headed at worst for a “soft landing” in which an economic slowdown—if it happens at all—will be short and shallow. He wrote: The most important reason for optimism is that an ever-widening range of indicators suggests that the conventional wisdom—that we needed a recession to bring inflation under control—was wrong. Instead, we...

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