When people want to add extra “oomph” to negative depictions of self-owners acting without coercion — that is, market competition under capitalism — they turn to name-calling. One of the most effective forms is describing such competition as dog-eat-dog. When that characterization is accepted, the mountain of evidence in favor of voluntary social
Early last year, President Clinton, arguing that “it will save hundreds of lives each year,” came out with a noble-sounding proposal on drunk-driving laws. He said that come October 2001, any state with a blood-alcohol standard higher than 0.08% should be subject to losing 5% of its federal highway funds, a penalty he said should increase later.
December 15 is our Bill of Rights’ 211th anniversary. We take its protections from arbitrary government power for granted. But our Constitution’s framers originally opposed a Bill of Rights. Few remember their reasons, or why the Antifederalists (opponents of giving much power to the federal government) rejected them, resulting in the 1st 10
September 27 marks the anniversary of the publication of the first of the Antifederalist Papers in 1789. The Antifederalists were opponents of ratifying the US Constitution. They feared that it would create an overbearing central government, while the Constitution’s proponents promised that this would not happen. As the losers in that debate, they
January 18 marks the birth of Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu. Robert Wokler called Montesquieu “perhaps the most central thinker of the enlightenment.” He was also an important influence on America’s founders, particularly his argument that a separation of powers was necessary for liberty to be maintained — so much so that one
March 16 marks James Madison’s birthday. He was “the father of the Constitution”; no one had a greater hand in constructing and interpreting the highest law of our land. His understanding is especially important today, given how far we have moved away from the very limited government the Constitution authorized and toward one that continually
Jury duty garners complaints from those who have been drafted into service, but it seldom gets media attention. Other than when there is a celebrity involved (e.g., when Oprah Winfrey was chosen for a murder trial), juries seem to enter public discourse only when there is a sensational case, such as the upcoming trial for Aurora theater shooting
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.