In 1944, Ludwig von Mises published one of his least-known masterworks: Omnipotent Government: The Rise of the Total State and Total War . Drawing on his prewar experience in Vienna, watching the rise of the national socialists in Germany (the Nazis), who would eventually take over his own homeland, he set out to draw parallels between the Russian
“We have progressively abandoned the freedom in economic affairs without which personal and political freedom has never existed in the past.” (F.A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom ). Economic thinking today is divided into many schools of thought, such as the following : the Keynesians, the Post- Keynesians, the Rational Expectations School, the
The Washington Post December 22, 1998 No Tears for Clinton NEW YORK—Here on the West Side of Manhattan, on Saturday night, eight hours after the House impeached President Clinton, the citizens around me were crying their eyes out. Yes, this city is a hotbed of Clinton supporters. Alec Baldwin, the actor who blithely suggested on the Conan O’Brien
Orlando Sentinel March 18, 1999 If old Karl Marx, the embittered inventor of communism, could return from the grave, he would no doubt be surprised to find that most of the 10 planks of his Communist Manifesto, issued in 1848 in collaboration with Frederick Engels, have been happily adopted or are at least supported by Americans. Let’s look at the
(From the November 1998 issue of The Free Market ) Big media outlets are ignoring the quiet revolution that is taking place across America. Politicians don’t talk too much about it for obvious reasons. This revolution is building incredible momentum. It now threatens the legitimacy of every level of government, the viability of government
Let’s say Clinton resigns or is impeached. The tragedy is that he’ll be replaced. A better idea: leave the office empty. Call off the 2000 election, and declare Clinton the last president. The presidency has become a drain on our economy, our culture, and our national life. We’d be better off without it. At this point, the very institution is
Politicos around the world are prattling about the glories of the “third way.” The idea, embraced by the heads of state in the U.S., Britain, and Germany, is to combine economic efficiency with “social justice” (meaning high taxes, welfarism, and oppressive regulations). In short, it’s just another name for the status quo. Ludwig von Mises
[speech delivered in February 1998, as the U.S. prepared to embark on another bombing campaign against Iraq.] Is the U.S. world empire decaying? At first glance, this may seem an odd time to be asking the question. The U.S. is prepared to embark on an openly political war with no basis in just war theory. It can only end in further massive
No political expert could have predicted that in one remarkable month, the speaker of the House would be forced out, the speaker-designate would resign, and the president would be impeached, despite his use of foreign aggression as prime agitprop in his personal war against the truth. As Democrat impeachment debaters warned, the system of
Comedian Steve Martin once did a standup act in which he asked the audience in an incredulous tone, “You mean, you don’t remember when we had nuclear war and the earth was wiped out?” The audience would laugh, as expected, since the entire idea was ridiculous. While Steve Martin isn’t writing columns about the current global financial dealings, he
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.