Political Theory

No amount of fantasizing can make fundamental economic realities go away, no matter how much we put our faith in central banks, government regulation, or technologies of the future.

Robert Shiller, in a new screed against capitalism in The New York Times, asserts that government regulation makes countries rich. He then bolsters this argument by making stuff up.

It was a big week for Bernie Sanders's brand of socialism, and millions of Americans already agree with him. Thanks to unquestioning acceptance of wild claims about the success of socialism in Europe, many Americans are now wishing for some European-style socialism themselves.

Because conservatives are only nominally less statist than today’s progressives, socialist policies that would have sounded outrageous to many Americans 100 years ago are now the baseline for the modern American political mind. Bernie Sanders is capitalizing on this reality.

In his new book By the People, Charles Murray claims that government has become tyrannical, and therefore people ought to disobey bad laws. But only some laws, Murray explains. Tax laws are just swell, as is the foreign-policy status quo.

International trade grasped headlines with Monday’s announcement that twelve governments have agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. While we should expect to see this celebrated in the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal, it is unfortunate even libertarian organizations are praising the agreement.

How should we define equality? The state won't define it, and a definition doesn't really matter because "equality" isn't really about helping anyone but the state and its agents. It's about some people exercising power over other people.

Speaker panel featuring Rev. Larry Beane, Tom DiLorenzo, and Jeff Deist.

Speaker panel featuring Lew Rockwell, Tom Woods, and Jeff Deist.

Recorded at the Mises Circle in Dallas-Fort Worth on 3 October 2015.