Mises Search

[This essay is excerpted from chapter 3 of Murray N. Rothbard’s Power and Market: Government and Economy .]   It may seem strange to the reader that one of the most important governmental checks on efficient competition, and therefore grants of quasi monopolies, are the antitrust laws. Very few, whether economists or others, have questioned the

[This article is excerpted from An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought , vol. 1, Economic Thought Before Adam Smith . An MP3 audio file of this article, read by Jeff Riggenbach, is available for download .]   It was in the 16th century that England began its meteoric rise to the top of the economic and industrial heap. The

[This article is excerpted from An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought , vol. 1, Economic Thought Before Adam Smith . An MP3 audio file of this article, read by Jeff Riggenbach, is available for download .]   The Bank of England The postmedieval state acquired most of its eagerly sought revenues by taxation. But the state has

[From the Libertarian Review , 1977] In recent months, a mighty property-tax strike has been sweeping the northern suburbs of Chicago, and, for once, the ideological and organizational leadership of the rebellion is being provided by libertarians. It all began with a recent massive property reassessment in the northern quadrant of Cook County,

“The plea for sacrifice is always the harbinger of the despot.” [ Libertarian Review , 1977]   Several months into his new administration, President Carter was worried. Oh, his image with the public was doing just fine: the cardigan sweater, the phone-ins, the fireside chats, had raised his personal popularity to stratospheric heights. Image is

The July issue of Reason has a new format, which improves the layout of the publication. But what about the content? Unfortunately, on that ground, the new Reason seems to be worse than the old. Let us examine some of the articles in Reason ‘s July issue to see what they are all about. First, one John Kizer attacks Thomas Szasz’s libertarian

One of the fatal flaws in the concept of “limited” government is the judiciary. Endowed with the compulsory monopoly of the vital power of deciding disputes, of ultimately deciding who can wield force and how much can be wielded, the government judiciary sits as an unchecked and unlimited tyrant. Pledged to preside over the rule of law, law that

[ Libertarian Review , 1978]   Libertarians surely favor freedom of speech, that is, the right to speak without being hampered by the government. But the right to speak implies the right not to speak, the right to remain silent. Yet libertarians have themselves been strangely silent on the many instances of compulsory speech in our society. The

The liberal thesis that capital punishment is brutal because it condones murder is fallacious because it takes the isolated act of killing the murderer out of context.” [ Libertarian Review , June 1978]   There are few issues that have gripped the general public more compellingly in recent years than the death penalty. Throughout the country, and

“Efron’s article is a farrago of ignorance and malice that is simply and literally not to be believed .” [ Libertarian Review , May 1978]   Libertarians from all over the country have been asking me what my response is to Edith Efron’s attack — on the libertarian movement in general and on me personally — in her “Viewpoint” column in the February