Philosophy and Methodology

To adopt a Rawlsian account of justice, you have to accept democratic participation in a strong sense. For Rawls, the people in a society must decide political questions together.

"With regard to the doctrine that God is wholly other than man and that his essence and nature cannot be grasped by mortal man, the natural sciences and a philosophy derived from them have nothing to say."

"With regard to the doctrine that God is wholly other than man and that his essence and nature cannot be grasped by mortal man, the natural sciences and a philosophy derived from them have nothing to say."

Mises thought that social cooperation through the free market resulted in peace and prosperity, regardless of whether people or societies accepted this or not.

Kendall, a leading twentieth-century conservative, admired Rousseau and thought it was a good thing that Rousseau's "general will" of the people suppresses freedom of opinion.

There is almost never clear evidence that a theory's predictions are false. You can always adjust something in the theory to make it come out true, and that is what all too many economists do.

Raico stresses that there was another tradition within classical-liberal thought, one that recognized the interdependence between religion and liberty.

The distinction between risk and uncertainty is a key tenet of the Austrian school. Mainstream neoclassicists reject it.

Tyrants inevitably work to destroy private associations. Such associations are outside of their control and are an alternative pole of allegiance, and therefore must be eliminated.

Economists who have written on punishment find Rothbard's “double restitution” idea puzzling, because they think about it only in terms of economic efficiency. But Rothbard's theory is based on a moral principle.