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[This article is excerpted from An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought , vol. 1, Economic Thought Before Adam Smith . An audio version of this Mises Daily, read by Jeff Riggenbach, is available as a free download .]     In Italy, a group of Machiavellians appeared during the 16th century, headed by Giovanni Botero (1540–1617)

[This article is excerpted from An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought , vol. 1, Economic Thought Before Adam Smith . An audio version of this Mises Daily, read by Jeff Riggenbach, is available as a free download .]   Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533–92) It is a favorite conceit of modern, 20th-century liberals that skepticism,

[This article is excerpted from An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought , vol. 1, Economic Thought Before Adam Smith . An audio version of this Mises Daily, read by Jeff Riggenbach, is available as a free download .]   While Montaigne paved the way for the dominance of absolutist thought in France, surely the founder or at least

“There went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.” – Luke 2:1 One of the great and striking facts of recent months is the growing resistance to further taxes on the part of the long-suffering American public. Every individual, business, or organization in American society acquires its revenue by the peaceful and

[The original version of this paper was delivered at the Seventh Annual Libertarian Scholars Conference, October 1979, in New York City. J. Charles King was a professor in the Pomona College Department of Philosophy, and author of “A Rationale for Punishment” (1980).]   One thing I learned from Professor King’s paper is that he and I are far less

[This article is excerpted from An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought , vol. 1, Economic Thought Before Adam Smith .]   By the beginning of the 17th century, royal absolutism had emerged victorious all over Europe. But a king (or, in the case of the Italian city-states, some lesser prince or ruler) cannot rule all by himself.

[This article originally appeared in The Quarterly Journal of Economics , February 1960, pp. 659–665. Reprinted in The Logic of Action Two: Applications and Criticism from the Austrian School. Glos., UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., 1997, pp. 217–225.] In the course of his interesting discussion of “The Politics of Political Economists,”

Mercantilism has had a “good press” in recent decades, in contrast to 19th-century opinion. In the days of Adam Smith and the classical economists, mercantilism was properly regarded as a blend of economic fallacy and state creation of special privilege. But in our century, the general view of mercantilism has changed drastically: Keynesians hail

The seeming prosperity and glittering power of Spain in the 16th century proved a sham and an illusion in the long run. For it was fuelled almost completely by the influx of silver and gold from the Spanish colonies in the New World. In the short run, the influx of bullion provided a means by which the Spanish could purchase and enjoy the products

“So is everyone feeling sorry for Exxon, as I do?” [ Liberty magazine, July 1989]   To say that the oil spill has been blown up to hysterical dimensions is a grave understatement. Hysteria abounds everywhere, and everywhere the term “disaster” is freely used. Even Pat Buchanan, who of all the media commentators I thought would be most resistant to