A Bad Attack on Libertarian Economics by George Leef October 1, 2017 Economism: Bad Economics and the Rise of Inequality by James Kwak (Pantheon Books, 2017; 237 pages) There is a nasty genre of writing: books and articles that seek to build the case for socialism and interventionist government policies by smearing those of us who oppose them. That approach appeals greatly to Progressives who think that they are virtuous and their enemies must therefore be driven by base motives. Such a book is Economism: Bad Economics and the Rise of Inequality, by University of Connecticut law professor James Kwak. He is extremely bothered by the fact that free-market arguments often succeed in derailing the kinds of socialistic policies he believes we need to combat inequality. And they succeed with what Kwak deems “simplistic” concepts. Many years ago, I taught introductory college economics courses. Perhaps today one of my former students, if asked whether or not he supports increasing the minimum wage would reply, “No, because what I learned about economics makes me think ...
Free Markets, Not Government, Improve Race Relations by Richard M. Ebeling September 4, 2017 Politically we seem to be living in some trying times. The political polarization, as captured in the mainstream news media, appears to be intensifying with even acts of destructive violence on the streets and campuses of American cities. At the same time, pictures out of Houston during and following Hurricane Harvey show empathetic assistance and cooperation between people and groups that supposedly are in heated contention with each other. How do we reconcile this? To begin with, I am persuaded that the supposedly racial and social “class” tensions that some assert is on the rise in America is not true. In fact, I would argue that in everyday interaction and association race relations are far, far better than they were, say, twenty-five years ago, and most certainly compared to fifty or seventy-five years ago. Race Prejudices of a Few Decades Ago When I was a young boy the evening news carried the imagery of violence on the streets of some Southern cities ...
Austrian Monetary Theory vs. Federal Reserve Inflation Targeting by Richard M. Ebeling August 21, 2017 One of the leading policy guideposts for central banks and many monetary policy proponents nowadays is the idea of “inflation targeting.” Several major central banks around the world, including the Federal Reserve in the United States, have set a goal of two percent price inflation. The problem is, what central bankers are targeting is a phantom that does not exist. Perhaps we can best approach an understanding of this through an appreciation of some of the writings by members of the Austrian School of Economics on matters of monetary theory and policy. Carl Menger (1840-1921), the founder of the Austrian School in the 1870s, had explained in his Principles of Economics (1871) and his monograph on “Money” (1892), that money is not a creation of the State. Money Emerges from Markets, Not the State A widely used and generally accepted medium of exchange emerged “spontaneously” – that is, without intentional government plan or design – out of the interactions of multitudes of ...
Immigration Socialism Produces More Death and Suffering by Jacob G. Hornberger July 25, 2017 Everywhere you look, socialism is in crisis. Not just in Venezuela, North Korea, and Cuba, but also right here in the United States. Just consider three of America’s core socialist programs: Social Security, healthcare, and public schooling. They are all in crisis. They are always in crisis. Among the best examples of crisis in American socialism is in the area ...
Separating Economy and State by Jacob G. Hornberger July 1, 2017 Throughout history, governments have controlled and regulated economic activity and monetary affairs. It has been generally accepted that such control and regulation are among the essential functions of government. The notion has always been that without government control and regulation of the economy and money, there would be economic and monetary chaos and disorder that would cause suffering for ...
Government Monopoly Money vs. Personal Choice in Currency by Richard M. Ebeling June 26, 2017 For more than two hundred years, practically all of even the most free market advocates have assumed that money and banking were different from other types of goods and markets. From Adam Smith to Milton Friedman, the presumption has been competitive markets and free consumer choice are far better than government control and planning – except in the realm ...
Political Planning versus Personal Planning by Everyone by Richard M. Ebeling May 8, 2017 In politics everyone has a plan. A plan to "fix" the health care problem. A plan to "protect" the environment. A plan to "guarantee" everyone a "living wage." A plan to "control" immigration. A plan to have "sustainable" economic growth. A plan to . . . The list goes on almost endlessly. What's wrong with having a plan? We all ...
The Moral Foundations of the Free Market Society by Richard M. Ebeling April 17, 2017 Higher education in the United States is engulfed in an ideological campaign against the American political and economic traditions of individual liberty, free competitive markets, and constitutionally limited government. In its place is the “progressive” agenda of collectivist identity politics, the regulatory and redistributive interventionist economy, and political plunder and power. Both “scientific” and casual surveys of political orientation and ...
Obamacare Reform and Paternalism’s Pratfalls by James Bovard April 1, 2017 One of Donald Trump’s first actions as president was to issue an executive order to reduce the regulatory burden of the Affordable Care Act. Obamacare has been intensely controversial since it was enacted in 2010. The battle over its reform or replacement will very likely continue for most of this year, if not most of Trump’s term in office. ...
The Libertarian Angle: FA Hayek and Spontaneous Order by Future of Freedom Foundation March 28, 2017 FFF president Jacob Hornberger and Richard Ebeling discuss how spontaneous order organizes society in an efficient way while at the same time preserving liberty. Go to the podcast.
The Libertarian Angle: FA Hayek and Spontaneous Order by Future of Freedom Foundation March 28, 2017 FFF president Jacob Hornberger and Richard Ebeling discuss how spontaneous order organizes society in an efficient way while at the same time preserving liberty. Go to the podcast.
How to Achieve Omnipotent Government by Jacob G. Hornberger March 20, 2017 Ludwig von Mises explained how government interventionism into economic activity ultimately leads to omnipotent government. It’s because the first intervention inevitably creates problems or crises. Rather than repeal the original intervention, which would constitute an acknowledgement that the intervention had failed, government planners double down by introducing a new intervention to fix the problems or crises of the original ...
