Episodes
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Kurdistan’s Liberty: A Consequence of Its Pre-State Condition?
From a Misesian and Rothbardian perspective, can the absence of a unified and centralized state, under certain conditions, create greater space for political pluralism, institutional competition, and constraints on state power? Kurdistan might provide some answers. Original article:...
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How Party Politics Fueled the Militarization of Race Relations
Instead of trying to seek peaceful relationships between southern whites and former slaves during the Reconstruction period, the Reconstruction governments armed the former slaves and helped to set off violence and strife. Original article:...
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The Polish “Golden Liberty” and the Myth of Multicultural Equality
The free market isn’t an entity that exists in a vacuum, but a social condition that exists under a specific cultural strand that respects individuality and proportionality in regards to competition—willingness to accept loss when outcompeted. Original article:...
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We Needed Higher Oil Prices
On this episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton makes the counterintuitive case that higher oil prices early in the Persian Gulf conflict might have reduced the economic damage. He explains how government intervention and the release of strategic oil reserves distort market signals, discourage...
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Why Socialism Fails
Dr. Jonathan Newman discusses the evolution of socialism and the roots of modern socialist movements with KPNW Radio host Bill Lundun.
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Beyond the Usual Response: Dismantling MMT’s Accounting Claim
This week, Bob does a deep dive on the accounting argument at the heart of MMT, as a teaser for his chapter in the Mises Institute’s forthcoming book, Anti-MMT: The Errors of Modern Monetary Theory. Related: Coming soon: Anti-MMT: The Errors of Modern Monetary Theory: Mises.org/HAP566a The Charts...
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The Special Interests that Fuel the American Empire
The people making foreign policy are not disinterested servants of some objectively identifiable “national interest.” They are people and interest groups that respond to incentives and self-interest like everyone else. Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbard Radio...
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Trump Is Right to Lift Diesel Sanctions on Russia. He Should Go Further
Lifting sanctions on Russian diesel may provide Americans a little relief from high energy prices. The same economic logic applies to the thousands of other sanctions Washington continues to enforce. Read the article here:...
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The Black Box of Government Secrets
From new wars to vaccine mandates, we're told to trust the government because the government supposedly has special knowledge inaccessible to mere ordinary citizens. This is just a form of government propaganda. Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbard Radio Rothbard…
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The Empire Has No Clothes
Mark Thornton examines the collapse of trust in Washington as government debt, monetary inflation, and foreign wars undermine America's standing at home and abroad. Drawing on lessons from history, he argues that lasting reform won't come from political personalities, but from a bottom-up...
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The Great Social Security Ponzi Scheme
On this episode of Power and Market, Patrick Newman joins Ryan and Tho for a discussion on Social Security, generational economic tensions, and the latest inflation numbers (spoiler: they're bad.)
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Wage Growth Wiped Out by Rising Inflation
New price inflation data from the federal government shows that rising prices are outpacing wage growth yet again. Overall inflation is broader and bigger than forecasters have expected, and it's not just being caused by the War in Iran. Be sure to follow the Loot and Lobby podcast at Mises.org/LL
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Do Institutions Matter? Taking Another Look at the Claims of Daron Acemoglu
Nobel Prize winner Daron Acemoglu writes that western colonialism of African countries has permanently fixed their institutional direction. This ignores what we know about the history of these nations. Original article:...
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You Are the Collateral, Forty-Three Cents on the Dollar
Keynesians claim that government debt is no problem because “we owe it to ourselves,” as though owners of US debt don’t care if they are repaid or not. Taxpayers, who actually will pay the debt, are left out of the equation. Original article:...
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China’s Economic Miracle Has Run Out of Road
The temptation to think of China as an economic juggernaut needs a reality check. While China’s government-dominated economy has many impressive building projects, there are underlying malinvestments that the government continues to subsidize, leading to future problems. Original article:...
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The Tragic Path of New Keynesianism
Robert Hall and Michael Woodford certainly deserve the Nobel memorial prize. Their work has had a substantial impact, yet significance is not soundness. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/tragic-path-new-keynesianism
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Mises at 145: His Greatest Contributions
To mark Ludwig von Mises's 145th birthday, Bob reviews the contributions that put Mises in the running for greatest economist of all time.
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Natural Law Principles in the Conservative Tradition
A conservatism that does not recognize the efficacy of natural law is no conservatism at all. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/natural-law-principles-conservative-tradition
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Don't Blame Interest Rates for Falling Home Sales
Mortgage rates are at historically normal levels. They are not "too high." On the other hand, home prices are too high after years of subsidy from artificially low rates and government intervention. The answer to the stagnating market is to cut prices. Be sure to follow the Loot and Lobby podcast...
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World War I as Fulfillment: Power and the Intellectuals
Against historians who treated the war as the death of progressive reform, Rothbard argues it was the culmination progressives had wanted all along. He traces the movement’s postmillennial pietist roots—a Protestantism bent on stamping out sin through the State—into wartime prohibition and the...
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War Collectivism in World War I
Rothbard’s account of the war economy as a cartel run by the men it regulated. He traces the Council of National Defense and the War Industries Board, whose committees were staffed by the executives of the industries they governed; price-fixing set to guarantee a “fair profit” to high-cost...
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Whistling Past the Graveyard
Despite the real damage the Trump administration is doing to the economy, its cheerleaders in the Cabinet continue to insist all is well. This is beyond wishful thinking. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/whistling-past-graveyard
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Violent Populism
Mark Thornton examines the rise of political violence in America, drawing on Robert Pape’s Our Own Worst Enemies and its warning that political violence has become increasingly normalized on both the left and right. Mark argues that the deeper cause is not simply “fractured legitimacy,” but the...
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How Social Security Really Works
The only way to fund Social Security is with current tax dollars, inflicted on current workers and families. There is no pot of money somewhere that current retirees "paid into." Be sure to follow the Loot and Lobby podcast at Mises.org/LL
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Home Sales: "High" Interest Rates Are Not the Problem. High Prices Are.
There is a simple way for housing markets to adjust to the new realities of higher interest rates. Prices need to come down. That's how markets are supposed to work. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/home-sales-high-interest-rates-are-not-problem-high-prices-are
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America's Socialist Real Estate "Market"
Ryan McMaken welcomes Mises Institute Senior Fellow Alex Pollock, a longtime expert on real estate finance, for a discussion on how Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Reserve have created a socialist housing market in America. But it's socialism for the rich, and the system has made housing...
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“Socialism to Me”: Definition by Wishful Thinking
Many socialists define socialism by their ideal goals rather than the process—the expansion of the taking mechanism of the coercive state. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/socialism-me-definition-wishful-thinking
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The Invisible Heroes of Our Tradition
We often remember the thinkers who defended liberty when its prospects looked bleak, and for good reason. But we should also remember the people who supported them and made their work possible without knowing what would follow. Read the article here:...
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Repeal the Jones Act
Contrary to propaganda from unions and the maritime industry, the Jones Act creates hardships and is helping to drag down the US economy. The only proper outcome is to repeal it immediately. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/repeal-jones-act
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Still the State's Greatest Enemy
Lew Rockwell revisits Justin Raimondo's great biography of Murray Rothbard. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/still-states-greatest-enemy
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Equality Before the Law Does Not Mean Equality of Subjective Feelings
For more than a century, the Supreme Court has tried to interpret equality before the law in different and conflicting ways. While the law can divide people, it cannot be the source of bringing them together. Original article:...
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Libertarian Realism as Foreign Policy
“Libertarian Realism” in foreign policy is based upon the interests of those who actually make policy decisions, as opposed to discussing abstract ideals of a false “national interest.” Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/libertarian-realism-foreign-policy
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The Future of the Military Draft
European politicians keep pushing for conscription and more recruits. Ryan McMaken and Zachary Yost discuss how the French Revolution gave us modern military conscription, and why governments have long wanted forced military service. Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at...
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Government Should Liquidate Itself
Government agents claim they are protecting us from enemies, foreign and domestic. If that is the case, then the best thing these agents can do would be to liquidate the government itself. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/government-should-liquidate-itself
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Social Security Is Just a Transfer Payment from Workers to Retirees
There is no "trust fund" or contract. Social security is nothing more than a scheme to take money from current wage earners and hand it over to others. It is functionally a welfare program. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/social-security-just-transfer-payment-workers-retirees
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Why Does Anyone Still Take Socialism Seriously?
Socialism's failures are well-known, but true believers abound that insist that this time we can make it work. The question is why anyone still believes in it at all. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-does-anyone-still-take-socialism-seriously
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Market Coiling
Mark Thornton examines whether the precious metals market is coiling after last year’s push, this year’s correction, and months of volatility driven by war news, Fed policy, the dollar, and CPI concerns. He lays out six factors shaping the market: refining bottlenecks, metals flowing east…
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Why Our “Populist Moment” Keeps Failing
Populists have spent the past decade rebelling against a political system they correctly recognize as rigged. But they keep focusing on its surface-level symptoms while ignoring the institution at its center. Read the article here…
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Conservatives: Was Ronald Reagan a Coward and Traitor?
If we’ve been at war with Iran for 47 years, Ronald Reagan was a coward and a traitor. To be consistent, mainstream national conservatives using such language about Iran ought to condemn one of their heroes; otherwise, they don’t believe their own rhetoric. Original article:...
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Mises the Man
On this episode of Power & Market, Ryan, Connor, and Tho toast to Mises's 145th birthday by discussing his life and legacy.
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Modern Monarchy Is State Privilege, Not Private Property
Norway’s new monarch may prove to be an effective leader, but we are reminded that his hereditary privilege is being financially supported by involuntary taxes. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/modern-monarchy-state-privilege-not-private-property
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The Continuing Relevance of Rothbard’s Foreign Policy
While he was living, Murray Rothbard saw issues of war and peace as being fundamental to a free society. Nothing has changed since he made that declaration. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/continuing-relevance-rothbards-foreign-policy
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Every Man a Slave? Huey Long as a Model for the Wrong Kind of Populism
J. D. Vance raised a few eyebrows invoking Huey Long as a populist. The problem is that the populist from people like Long and Bernie Sanders is that it is based on confiscation and destruction of wealth and property. Murray Rothbard proposed a real populism. Original article:...
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The 1787 Constitution as Counterrevolution: America's Thermidorian Reaction
One of the most important and aspects of Murray Rothbard's work on the American Revolution is his framing of the Constitutional Convention as a counterrevolution against the radicalism of the 1770s. Original article:...
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How Conflicting Interpretations of Dred Scott Undermine State Sovereignty
The 1857 Dred Scott case remains one of the most controversial Supreme Court decision in US History. However, overlooked is the fact that it elevated federal sovereignty above sovereignty of the states. Original article:...
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Debt, War, and the Tangled Web
Mark Thornton opens with Sir Walter Scott’s famous “tangled web” line, using John Law’s Mississippi Bubble and Richard Cantillon’s response to frame today’s financial disorder: national debt, a bond bear market, dollar manipulation, trade war, stock-market fragility, and overseas conflicts....
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Wildfires and Collectivism: Why They Are Related
As state control over forests and brushlands continues apace both in Spain and the US, the dangers of wildfires grow worse. Environmentalists, naturally, blame capitalism. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/wildfires-and-collectivism-why-they-are-related
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Why the Fed Had to Raise the Interest Rate
The Fed wants to keep interest rates low so the government can borrow on the cheap. But bond markets are driving up interest rates as inflation isn't going away. Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbard Radio Rothbard mugs are available at the Mises Store.
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Prosperity Will Return Only When Entrepreneurs Are Free to Act on Economic Uncertainty
Our economic future desperately depends upon entrepreneurs being free to act. Unfortunately, our ruling classes seem to prefer economic chaos. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/prosperity-will-return-only-when-entrepreneurs-are-free-act-economic-uncertainty
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Mainstream Economics: Money as Medium of Exchange, Unit of Account, and Store of Value
Mainstream economics does a disservice when students are taught that money is a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a unit of account without explaining why and how money came to function in those categories. Original article:...