Can a few courageous writers like Tom DiLorenzo and his colleagues, using logic, evidence, and moral suasion, negate what their opponents thought they had won with over a million troops on battlefields 138 years ago?
The Supreme Court, in its recent cross burning case, simply fails to understand that the First Amendment, and the other amendments that make up the Bill of Rights, is rooted in the protection of private property rights. Ignoring this point leads to absurdities, writes Adam Summers.
Should scholars bother to write for the popular press? Of course. Mises wrote: "Economics must not be relegated to classrooms and statistical offices and must not be left to esoteric circles. It is the philosophy of human life and action and concerns everybody and everything. It is the pith of civilization and of man's human existence."
A few years ago, Paul Cwik came across an e-mail that was impossibly dumb. It called for a "Gas-Out." The idea was to boycott gasoline for a few days. This action would drive the price of gas down, and at the same time, it would show "Big Oil" that if they tried to raise prices again, we'd hurt them. The email is circulating again.
Oil prices have reached a 29-month high, reflecting a variety of factors including the prospects for war. At the same time, the Producer Price Index recorded a 1.6 percent jump in January, the biggest across-the-board increase since January 1990. Just as the script dictates, writes Lew Rockwell, cries of "gouging" are now heard across the land.
The anticipation surrounding the new movie "Gods and Generals" underscores the continuing fascination that Americans (and the world) have with the meaning of the Civil War. What continues to be missed are the economic roots of the North-South conflict—roots which represent deviations from the free-trade ideal.
In tough times, people cling to the words of politicians and the statements of TV's talking heads—the two sources least likely to offer a broad perspective that yields answers. Jeffrey Tucker recommends five books for a clear a historical perspective, a theoretical explanation, a forecast for the future, and an agenda for change.
David Frum did not intend to write a send-up of the state. His goal was not to demystify the White House. But that is the effect of his chatty little book, The Right Man: The Surprise Presidency of George W. Bush (NY: Random House, 2002).
The fate of families and children in Sweden shows the truth of Ludwig von Mises's observation that "no compromise" is possible between capitalism and socialism, writes Allan Carlson. He shows how the welfare state's growth can be viewed as the transfer of the "dependency" function from families to state employees. The process began in 19th-century Sweden.
Socialists have always denigrated marriage, and have always devised alternative arrangements to "free" women from men (or, is it the other way around?). In the new movie, at the (first) marriage of Frida Kahlo to Diego Rivera, one of their comrades attempts to explain why their marriage is to be celebrated. Even the choice of marriage is politicized.
