Mises Search

Paul Krugman, prominent economic columnist of The New York Times and professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University, tells us that: “The conventional wisdom is that California has only itself to blame for its power crisis, that the debacle was the result of ‘flawed deregulation.’ This conventional wisdom has become

If there is one thing that divides people most on matters of politics, it concerns loyalty to the principle of private property rights. You can test this easily enough. Ask someone to tell you whether he or she thinks a person has exclusive authority over that which he or she owns. Those who say yes will find the scope of governmental authority in

In this age of moral relativism, we periodically encounter great displays of moral outrage, ones that presume a fixed standard of right and wrong. We are told daily that some CEOs of large companies have engaged in outrageously immoral conduct and should be justly punished for doing so. If you doubt that the business of business ethics is just as

Do you remember when America was called the leader of the Free World? It seems like so long ago. Now the USA is the leader of the protectionist world, the very opposite of free, at least where international commerce is concerned. This is the unavoidable conclusion of having closely watched the role of the UN World Summit 2002 , held in

Liberty is incompatible with taxation. This despite that famous saying by Oliver Wendell Holmes that “Taxation is the price we pay for civilization.” In fact, taxation is a most uncivilized way of obtaining funds, given that it boils down to nothing less than extortion. Just think of it: You go to work for some company and are told you will

Though the politicians rush to reward NASA with hundreds of millions of dollars for its Columbia shuttle disaster, average citizens are right to give some critical thought to the space program. One question has always puzzled me, which is partly responsible for my having edited a book, Liberty and R&D (Hoover Institution Press, 2001): namely, how

Here is my dilemma. I, like millions of others, detest spam. I have three functioning email addresses and the two main ones receive nearly 80% spam. Every time I log on (which I do about seven times daily), I first delete about eight of these nearly useless posts, read one or two that are of some interest, and go on to those that are actually

Only a small part of this interview with Tibor Machan appeared on a national television show. Here is the full transcript. Q: So, the sign outside the IRS says taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society. MACHAN: That’s just false . . . taxation is essentially a relic of feudalism. It is the rent that kings took for allowing the serfs and

Budget crises—at the federal, state, county and municipal levels of government—are routine these days. Although there may be one or two years of surpluses, in most regions they are followed by many years of deficits. If governments were judged by the standards of private firms, most of them would be bankrupt. However, because they can use the tax

Once, when my son was in elementary school, they had some kind of special event celebrating the achievements of various students—I can’t recall just what the festivities were all about. What I do recall vividly is that the principal had invited a local politician to head up the feast, to make a keynote address, some kind of inspirational speech