Individual Lectures

Mark Thornton delivered this talk via Zoom to the Auburn Rotary Club on Wednesday, May 6, 2020.

Presented at Hillsdale College's Conference Commemorating the Centenary of the Birth of Ludwig von Mises on September 10, 1981. Special thanks to Bettina Bien Greaves for making this important audio recording available.

Presented at "Libertython" at New York University on September 20, 1980, sponsored by the NYU chapter of Students for a Libertarian Society. The description below is excerpted from "Rothbard Lectures on American History: Lost and Found" by Chris Sciabarra. In September 1980, I extended an invitation to Murray to be among the speakers featured in a nearly week-long “Libertython” sponsored by the NYU chapter of Students for a Libertarian Society—dedicated to exploring the politics, economics, and philosophy of freedom. On September 23, 1980, he gave the second of six scheduled lectures that day. His lecture focused on “The Crisis of American Foreign Policy,” wherein I introduced him to a slightly smaller audience than the event sponsored by the History Department. The size of the audience didn’t matter; for Rothbard, there was nothing more important than the issue of war and peace. As he put it, libertarians were usually quite good in opposing the regulations of OSHA or criticizing the destructive effects of price controls. But when faced with the role of the warfare state as the single most important factor in the expansion of government power: “Blank out”—a turn of phrase he used, giving credit to Ayn Rand—was the typical response he’d witnessed from far too many libertarians. By not focusing enough attention on the role of “war and peace,” all the other issues concerning price control, free will and determinism, and so forth, become “pointless … if we’re all washed away” as a species. With a bit of gallows humor, he couldn’t resist criticizing the U.S. military’s plan that would whisk away politicians to safety as nuclear warfare becomes imminent such that the “goddamn government” will go on in bomb shelters, while the rest of us perish. As the antidote to war, he cited W. C. Fields, who, when asked by the Saturday Evening Post how to end World War II, remarked: “Take the leaders of both sides or all sides, in the Hollywood Bowl, and let them fight it out with sackfuls of guns.” The Post didn’t publish the comment, Rothbard says, but he yearns for a world that gets back to jousting between the leaders of warring governments, rather than a policy of what Charles Beard once called “perpetual war for perpetual peace,” in which twentieth-century technology had made possible mass murder on an unimaginable scale. Some will have difficulty accepting Rothbard’s argument that in any clash between “democratic” and “dictatorial” countries, the latter is not necessarily the source of contemporary conflict. In fact, Rothbard argues, the foreign policy of the “democratic” United States has been at the root of many of the global conflicts in the post-World War II era. During the Q&A session, folks who are familiar with the voice of Don Lavoie will recognize him instantly. Included here as well are several self-acknowledged “digs” that Rothbard takes at the Libertarian Party’s 1980 Presidential candidate, Ed Clark, with some surprising comments on subjects such as immigration policy. Special thanks to Chris Sciabarra for making this important recording available.

Presented to the Department of History at New York University on December 4, 1979. The description below is excerpted from the "Rothbard Lectures on American History: Lost and Found" by Chris Sciabarra. The central theme of Rothbard’s lecture was the conflict between “Liberty” and “Power” throughout history. He did not deny the complexities of historical events and did not disapprove of alternative approaches to the understanding of history. Drawing from Albert Jay Nock, however, he believed that the contest between “social power” (embodied in voluntary institutions and trade) and “state power” (in which certain interests used the coercive instruments of government to expropriate others for their own benefit) was central to understanding the ebb and flow of historical events. Social power, which reached its apex in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, breeds prosperity, civilization, and culture; state power, which came to dominate the twentieth century, produced the most regressive period in human history—as government expanded its powers through warfare and a maze of regulatory agencies, central banking, and welfare-state bureaucracies. Throughout his talk, he drew on the pioneering scholarship of Bernard Bailyn on the ideological origins of the American Revolution; Jackson Turner Main on the role of the antifederalists in restraining, through the Bill of Rights, the “nationalist” forces that forged the counter-revolutionary Constitution; Paul Kleppner, who provides an enlightening take on the struggle between “liturgical” and “pietist” cultural forces, the latter viewed as a key element in the emergence of the Progressive Era and the growth of government intervention; and Gabriel Kolko, whose revisionist work on the role of big business in the move toward the regulatory state explains much about the rise of corporatist statism in the twentieth century and beyond. The entire 90-minute talk, which included a brief question-and-answer session, is peppered with that edgy Rothbardian wit, which entertained as much as it informed. By the end of the lecture, Rothbard was given a standing ovation. Special thanks to Chris Sciabarra for making this important recording available.

Mises Fellow Vytautas Žukauskas discusses the experience of Lithuania transitioning to a market economy after independence from the USSR. Recorded at the Auburn University Economics Club on March 21, 2019.

Much is often made of allowing "consenting adults" to exercise their freedoms unhindered by government regulation. Unfortunately, this presumption is often limited to the realm of activities like gambling and prostitution. But should not consenting adults also be allowed freedom in larger economic matters such as real estate? In this 1981 lecture, Walter Block discusses the importance of allowing private markets — and not government planners — to decide how land and housing is used by those who buy, sell, and rent it. Presented at the School of Law, Dalhousie University (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) on 29 January 1981. [1:30:56]

In this 18-minute talk, Malavika Nair presents the basics on what money is, its origins, and why it is so central to a modern economy. Delivered at the Mises Institute on 21 June 2012. 

A private seminar for graduate students presented by Dr. Leland B. Yeager during Mises University in Auburn, Alabama, on 28 July 2012.

Recorded at "The Uncertain Prospects for Liberty" — a seminar with Bob Murphy — in Orlando, Florida, on 9 December 2017.

Recorded at "The Uncertain Prospects for Liberty" — a seminar with Jeff Deist — in Orlando, Florida, on 9 December 2017.

A few upscale restaurants in the United States recently have ended the practice of tipping their wait staff, preferring a fixed labor cost method of compensation. This attempt to change this long-standing cultural practice presents a fascinating opportunity to explore a variety of economic concepts including principal-agent problems, gains-from-trade, price discrimination, and cultural institutions designed to build trust.Professor Gill argues that tipping remains an economically efficient means of providing quality service wherein restaurant owners, wait staff, and customers all benefit in a win-win-win situation. Furthermore, the norm of tipping also provides an excellent example to teach basic economic principles and foster classroom discussion.Presented at the Mises Institute on 22 June 2017. Includes a Question-and-Answer period.

Thirteen powerpoint slides lead you through Dr. Thornton's presentation. There exist strong correlations between either the announcement or the completion of the world's tallest building and GDP, but it is not held that you can accurately forecast a recession or financial panic by this measurement. Thornton suggests the common cause is artificially low interest rates. This lecture was presented to the Economics Club of Auburn University at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, on 8 September 2015. The PowerPoint presentation used in the lecture is available here.

Legalizing recreational marijuana has begun. Marijuana for medical use is already legalized in twenty states. Marijuana is not a gateway drug as it has been viewed for almost one hundred years. Begin to be more afraid of government and current legal drugs, like prescriptions.  Legal free markets in drugs would be incredibly beneficial. Here are ten ways to imagine such a free market.This lecture was presented to the Auburn University Economics Club at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, on 18 February 2015.

Presented to Mr. Henry Getz. Includes remarks by Peter Klein and Lew Rockwell. Recorded at the Mises Institute on 5 June 2013.

Stockman makes clear that the facile left-right distinction of US politics obscures a deeper crisis of capitalism that spans the breadth of the American economic and political landscape. While he admits he has little hope that America can now change course, in closing he does offer a few specific policy recommendations that might, just might, lay the foundation for a Great American Reformation, were they to be implemented in future.David Stockman talks about his important new book, 'The Great Deformation', which has outraged the establishment. Recorded at the beautiful and historic Metropolitan Club in New York, NY, on 21 May 2013.  Includes a Question and Answer period.

Delivered at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, on 21 June 2012.

Delivered at the Mises Institute on 21 June 2012.

Presented in 1985 as a part of the Mises Institute's "Washington Seminar Series" in Washington DC. Includes an introduction by Stephen Morrell. [59:20]

Presented to the Auburn University Economics Club; Auburn, Alabama, on 6 March 2012.

This lecture was presented on 22 February 2012 as part of the the Mises Academy course Econ400: Mises on Money and Banking. PPT

Presented at Baruch College (Manhattan, New York) on 8 May 1972.

Presented to the Young Americans for Liberty. Hosted at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, on 13 September 2011.

Delivered at the Mises Institute on 24 June 2011.

Delivered at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, on 24 June 2011.

Delivered at the Mises Institute on 24 June 2011.

Delivered to Mises Institute summer fellows on 17 June 2011, at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama.

Delivered to Mises Institute summer fellows on 16 June 2011; Auburn, Alabama. [30:29]

Delivered to Mises Institute summer fellows on 14 June 2011. Recorded at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama.

Presented to the Auburn University Economics Club; Auburn, Alabama, on 25 March 2010. Includes a Question and Answer period.

This lecture was presented remotely from the Mises Institute to Dr. Michael Eisenstein's Finance class at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts, on 4 March 2010. This recording includes a Question and Answer period.

Recorded on 31 January 1981 at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Special thanks to Robert Romero for creating and sharing this important audio recording. This recording includes a lengthy question and answer period.

Recorded on 27 July 1975.

Presented to the Auburn University Libertarians; Auburn, Alabama, on 18 November 2009.

Featuring Bob Luddy and Bill Peterson. Recorded 17 October 2009. Sponsored By CaptiveAire, Inc.

Presented to the Auburn University Libertarians; September 21, 2009.

Featuring Bob Luddy and Bill Peterson. Recorded 29 August 2009. Sponsored By CaptiveAire, Inc. Includes slides and supplemental handout (attached below).

Recorded in October 1992 at Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi. Includes a Question and Answer period.

Presented as part of the Mises Institute's Brown Bag Seminar series on January 27, 2005 in Auburn, Alabama.

Presented at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, on 9 March 2009. This audio is made available by Art Carden.

A panel discussion with Walter Block, sponsored by the Federalist Society at University of Tennessee College of Law on 26 January 2009.

Recorded at the Mises Institute's Brown Bag Seminar series on 9 October 1996.

Presented at the Mises Institute's Brown Bag Seminar series on 30 October 1996.

Presented as part of the Mises Institute's Brown Bag Seminar series on April 15, 1997 in Auburn, Alabama.

Presented as part of the Mises Institute's Brown Bag Seminar series on November 20, 1996 in Auburn, Alabama.

Presented as part of the Mises Institute's Brown Bag Seminar series on April 5th, 1995 in Auburn, Alabama.

Presented as part of the Mises Institute's Brown Bag Seminar series on 8 May 1996 in Auburn, Alabama.

Shawn Ritenour reviews Gary North's article, "Millenialism and the Progressive Movement," Journal of Libertarian Studies 12, No. 1 (1996): 121–142 [PDF]. Presented at the Mises Institute's Brown Bag Seminar series on 14 October 1996.

Presented at the Mises Institute's Brown Bag Seminar series. Recorded on 10 January 1996.

Recorded at the Mises Institute's Brown Bag Seminar series on 6 November 1996.

Presented as part of the Mises Institute's Brown Bag Seminar series on May 21, 1997 in Auburn, Alabama.