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
“Calls for abolition of the patent system — especially those coming from a principled, rights-based approach — are very unlikely to be adopted at the present time.” [This paper is the first of a two-part series. The concluding article is “ Reducing the Cost of IP Law “] Hardly a day passes when we do not hear of one patent abuse or another. [1]
[This article is based on a speech delivered at Mises University 2009 (July 30, 2009; audio ; video ).] Most libertarians find some areas of libertarian theory more interesting than others. My own passion has always been rights theory and related areas, such as the theory of contracts, causation, and punishment. [1] Intellectual property (IP),
Sir Edward Burne-Jones “The Golden Stairs” The government-controlled monetary regime — the most destructive force set into motion by state interventionism — has finally been blown to pieces. This is the message conveyed by the monetary fiasco in global capital markets, typically referred to as the international credit crisis . However, politicians
Gold-price history charts denominated in US dollars show a flat line at $35 that runs through most of the 20th century. Thirty-five dollars was, after all, the official gold price as set by the United States Treasury from 1934 on. Prior to 1934, the gold price had been fixed at $20.67 for almost a century, before President Franklin Roosevelt
On February 7, 2009, and in the week that followed, bushfires ignited across Victoria, in Australia. [1] The fires raged through many towns, destroying at least 1,834 homes, [2] and killing at least 209 people, [3] more fatalities than any bushfire in Australian history. [4] Let’s compare: in the 1983 “Ash Wednesday” bushfires, seventy-five
It is well known that the libertarian political philosophy is antagonistic to coercively imposed rules that limit people’s freedom to use their private property as they see fit. Indeed, the very essence of libertarianism is the nonaggression principle that condemns the initiation of force against person or property. As a result, libertarians have
[This article is based on Professor Carden’s lecture “Common Objections to Capitalism,” given at the 2009 Mises University Summer Program on July 30, 2009, and available as an MP3 download .] A lot of people object to what they call “capitalism,” but their objections hold little or no water once they are examined critically. Let’s consider some of
I had a busy weekend. I dug a hole, filled it in, and dug it out once again. I shoveled my driveway and then threw the snow back so that I could shovel it a second time. I vacuumed the carpet in our family room, shook out a bag of Cheerio dust, and vacuumed the same as before. Based on the prevailing view of political economy, I worked and
“He wants to serve food and earn tips and why can’t he?” So argues Martin A. Shellist, attorney for Nikolai Grushevski, a citizen of Corpus Christi, Texas, who filed a gender-discrimination lawsuit after Hooters denied him a job as a server at the chain restaurant. A similar case in 1997 resulted in Hooters paying out a $3.75 million settlement
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.