- Downloads:
- The Misesian Nov Dec 2024.pdf
Another national election has come and gone, and like many of our readers, I think the less awful candidate won. After all, a victory for Kamala Harris was likely to be interpreted as an endorsement of the status quo and a “mandate” for more of the same.
Unfortunately, though, opposition to the status quo is not the same thing as support for peace, freedom, or free markets. Dissatisfaction with the regime is good, but it’s not enough. We will see this illustrated many times over in the coming years as the new administration fails to significantly rein in federal spending or to embrace a foreign policy of nonintervention. The foundational institutions of the federal state will likely remain untouched.
We will see this illustrated many times over in the coming years as the new administration fails to significantly rein in federal spending or to embrace a foreign policy of nonintervention. The foundational institutions of the federal state will likely remain untouched.
It’s not a mystery why this will occur. The unfortunate fact is that politicians’ lack of enthusiasm for dismantling the central state reflects the ideology of much of the American public. Many voters still support endless wars overseas. Many insist that the government not cut funding to their favorite welfare programs. Many even still think that technocrats like FBI agents and Federal Reserve economists are “public servants.”
So long as a sizable portion of the public continues to support the regime in this way, it’s going to be tough to convince politicians to truly strike at the heart of the state. After all, the one thing most elected officials want more than anything else is to get reelected.
From the Editor—November / December 2024
Another national election has come and gone, and like many of our readers, I think the less awful candidate won. After all, a victory for Kamala Harris was likely to be interpreted as an endorsement of the status quo and a “mandate” for more of the same.
Printing Power: The Central Bank and the State
States can vastly expand their own power when they can print their own money. This is why virtually all governments have a central bank.
Economists and the State: From Enemies to Friends
The state and its friends reject the scarcity principle and uphold its polar opposite, the Santa Claus principle.
Selections from Our Enemy, the State: Supports Summit 2024
The theme that connected all of the weekend’s talks at the 2024 Supports Summit was “Our Enemy, the State.” It was a gathering of the "remnant," those who recognize that the government is our common enemy. These are selections from several of the talks.
The Bailout Fallacy
Ruchir Sharma, a non-Austrian, gets it right. He lends strong support to the Austrian position that because competition moves resources to where they best fulfill consumer demand, the government must not interfere with this process by bailing out businesses that fail.
Nock’s Enemy, the State
There are two ways in which people in a community can coexist. One is by peaceful cooperation, and the other is by taking what others have produced.
