Mises Search

It is slowly dawning on people that to understand George W., one must understand his religious impulses, which all evidence suggests are intensely important to him. His views are no different from that of the typical evangelical who absorbed his faith from the American Baptist culture . But they merit closer attention when they are held by an

Thomas Woods recently wrote on LRC , “It still frustrates me that some people who really believe themselves to be conservatives are so enthusiastic about the impending war with Iraq.” We’ve all encountered this in our private lives, people with whom we have agreed with on a huge range of economic and cultural issues are just downright wrong on the

Ludwig von Mises summed up the essence of government in words that are particularly vivid in wartime: Government interference always means either violent action or the threat of such action. Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen. The essential feature of

Ah, Spring, the time when the landscape appears as if it were painted by a great artist, when the birds make music of symphonic quality, and when the very air we breath feels air conditioned. That last point is particularly important, because it is only true so long as we are outside. If we are inside, it is a different matter altogether. Most of

Many people in my generation suffered enormous trauma at some point in our teen years. It was something our generation had to endure as a matter of technical necessity. It only lasted a few months, it’s true. It’s also true that we do not regret the final benefits that came from enduring the pain. But it left deep emotional scars which, to this

I know no father who cares a whit about Father’s Day. We are pleased to be doted on by our families of course, but we have no longing to be “appreciated” for our special role in the world. Fathers consider what they do to be carrying out the normal duties and requirements of life itself, not some enormous sacrifice for others that periodically

Closely linked to the issue of gay marriage is the issue of gay adoption. The subject raises the stakes in the current national controversy, and, as usual, state intervention complicates the picture enormously. Below I argue for the validity of the political intuition of both the left (that gay couples shouldn’t be prohibited by law from adopting)

The envelope is one of those that every American dreads: something from the IRS marked “IMPORTANT.” But it isn’t bad news. It was good news, sort of. It is good news in the same way something from Publishers Clearing House is good news. It says that money is on its way, and if you want it, do nothing. You can’t help but suspect that something is

The culture is going to hell in a handbag, we’ve been told for hundreds of years, and the free market gets a large share of the blame. The observation stretches from Left to Right and everywhere in between. It is universally agreed that letting markets run loose runs roughshod over all the finer things in life, from books to arts to clothing to

How awful we were to substitute teachers when I was in grade school! These “substitutes” — the very term implied dread mixed with malicious opportunity — didn’t know our names, our lesson plans, the class culture, and had no pre-existing expectations for our behavior. We took full advantage, switching seats, hurling paper wads, goofing off, or