Like many libertarians, I initially assumed intellectual property (IP) was a legitimate type of property right. But I had misgivings from the start: there was just something too utilitarian and results oriented in Rand’s purportedly principled case for IP, and something too artificial about the state’s copyright and patent statutory
‘’The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable.’’ James Madison Annals of Congress 434 (1789). Testing the Limits of Free Speech by Christopher Mayer Is the right to free speech, as Madison
In the grep cat American game of poker, the best players think in terms of mathematical expectation and long-term probabilities. It is the hallmark of a bad player to think in terms of immediate results to the exclusion of the long-term. Poker players well understand that the best players can be beaten in any specific instance. In a famous and
Introduction by Murray N. Rothbard We are all indebted to Carl Watner for uncovering an unknown work by the great Lysander Spooner, one that managed to escape the editor of Spooner’s Collected Works . Both the title and the substance of “Vices are not Crimes” highlight the unique role that morality and moral principle had for Spooner among the
[This article is excerpted from Let’s Abolish Government .] The free administration of justice was a principle of the common law, and it must necessarily be a part of every system of government which is not designed to be an engine in the hands of the rich for the oppression of the poor. In saying that the free administration of justice was a
Bill Clinton’s unpaid legal bills now exceed his net assets by several million dollars. And now, just as the president is getting ready to pack his bags, Franette McCulloch has seen to it that he’ll have one more lawsuit to deal with, one more charge of sexual harassment, and one more demand for $1 million on his way out the door. It started in
With the Enron collapse making headlines, all the usual suspects in government and the media are beating the drums for more government regulation of the financial world. As a result, we are hearing specious arguments about alleged “conflicts of interest” amongst brokerage firm equity analysts. This issue is spearheaded by a ruthless New York
In February, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake famously gave the world a new perspective on the term “pop music.” During the Superbowl half-time show, Timberlake grabbed the right bra cup of Jackson ‘s leather outfit, and exposed her breast to the world. In more ways than one, it was probably the most exposure Jackson had gotten for a
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal is a perfect example of how bad economic arguments in support of good ends can be easily twisted and used to confuse the general public (Gwendolyn Bounds, “ Argument for minimum-wage boost ,” 7/27/04, p. B3). When we engage in poor reasoning and faulty economic logic in support of a noble cause, we can
Private pensions in this country date back more than 100 years, that is to say, to a time when most people didn’t live long enough to collect them. Nowadays Americans take living comfortably to 75 and beyond to be an entitlement. Not that longevity in itself is something to complain about, but it does have a few downsides—like a gradually sinking
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.