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Did you ever notice that Louisiana is the only state of the Union where you can get a decent floral arrangement? No? Then it may surprise you to learn that Louisiana is the only state to license would-be florists. That’s right: If you want to (legally) arrange and sell flowers in Louisiana, you must first pass a two-part exam. The first part is a

Thomas Sowell’s latest book is a well-written application of economic thinking to several popular topics in contemporary political discourse. Although the book is best suited for the newcomer to free market ideas, even mature Austrian economists would benefit from its insights and excellent anecdotes. Sowell’s overall message is that “thinking

If you read up on the history of economic thought in the twentieth century, you are likely to encounter the work of Piero Sraffa, in particular his curious volume, Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities: Prelude to a Critique of Economic Theory (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1960). Although this book was instrumental in the

An article in the April 5 issue of  Time reminds us how deeply ingrained collectivist habits of thought are in this country. The piece deals with the Chicago school board’s decision to stop holding back (or “flunking” as it used to be called) so many students. The article begins like this: Eight years ago, Chicago moved to end social promotion of

When it comes to “armchair economics,” a popular and effective technique is the reductio ad absurdum . Rather than attacking a view head-on, it is often simpler to take the argument to its logical conclusion, at which point its inherent fallacy is obvious (or at least, should be obvious).  For example, in order to refute the doctrine that saving

With the recent rate hike, the mainstream press  obediently parrots the macroeconomic analysis offered by our friendly central planners at the Federal Reserve. The average citizen knows that he or she is not nearly smart enough to understand the complex interrelationships of various price indices, yield curves, consumer confidence, and so

What does it mean to act “on the margin” or to think in terms of “marginality?” Economists use the term often. The Mises Circle in interwar Vienna even had songs with refrains that included the words “marginal utility.” On the very first day of my principles courses, I teach my students that people make decisions “on the margin.” Of course, this

On October 4, the privately funded SpaceShipOne climbed to an altitude of over 70 miles, clinching the $10 million “X Prize.”   Many analysts were excited by the prospects for commercial space travel, and the day when orbital or even interplanetary flights would be affordable for the average person.  As if to rebut the naysayers who dismissed

A recent NRO article by Larry Kudlow illustrates the absurdities to which analysts can be driven in order to defend a political party.   The piece opens with the line, “Is there more sanity in the federal budget than people think?”  Such a question should prepare the reader for some fancy footwork, and Kudlow doesn’t disappoint. First Kudlow

Austrian economist Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk is known among historians of economic thought for his formidable History and Critique of Interest Theories (1884). Before offering his own explanation of the phenomenon of interest (in a second volume which appeared five years later), Böhm-Bawerk first systematically classified and refuted all previous