When the Winter Olympics came to Salt Lake City last year, some of the dirt that visiting journalists dug up to soil Utah's good name was the issue of polygamy. Polygamy, the practice of having more than one spouse at the same time, especially wives, is against the law. But, should it be?
The services provided by the paparazzi are subject to market discipline, writes Erich Mattei. So long as they provide publishers and consumers what they want, freelance celebrity photography will continue to be in demand and people will be drawn to this line of work. And yet, about about ethics? What about criminality?
Perhaps you regret that you didn't take a course on economics from Murray Rothbard. Well, you can. Or perhaps you regret missing the Austrian Scholars Conferences for the last several years. Well, listen online. Concerning texts, Mises.org features all the writings of Mises that we can possibly put online, not to mention nearly everything the Mises Institute has ever published.
As any reporter knows, U.S. attorneys on a regular basis illegally leak information to the press, which dutifully reports it as the unvarnished truth. By empowering the prosecution, the press is not protecting individuals but rather is creating an atmosphere in which government employees can readily break the law and be untouchable at the same time.
On Labor Day, Americans honor the often incredible contributions of its working men and women.
"Social responsibility" is out. Richard Teather explains that activists are demanding even more: corporate citizenship. This concept demands that a company's whole actions be carried out with regard to their "social impact" as interpreted by unions, environmentalists, poverty campaigners, and other non-profits. Of course, and mainly, it also means big donations to their organizations.
People can feel socially secure in Denmark—at least for now. People don't get rich from welfare but they can live a comfortable life. Practically all people are eligible for one program or another. But it is not sustainable in the long run. At some point, the trough will be empty. Per Henrik Hansen explains.
The Invisible Heart: An Economics Romance will no doubt be disappointing for those who like their romance novels with Fabio flexing on the cover, damsel in his arms, his hair blowing in the breeze, but it might reach a few romance novel readers and help expose those in the dating pool to the free-market message.
When today's clergymen expound on issues of political economy we are often given a stark choice. Will we allow companies to selfishly pursue profits or will they recognize a wider social mission? Will workers be paid the barely subsistent market wage or will they be paid a more Christian "living wage"? Even conservatives tell us we must choose between markets and compassion.
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.
