As more and more Chinese attain standards of living and wealth that approach what has been known as middle-class in the developed world, they are discovering a “luxury” not previously known to them: chronic disabling illness. I remember when such matters first came to my awareness at the tender age of twelve, on a family visit to Canada. I
Date: August 14, 2006 To: Dr. Richard S. Lindzen, MIT From: Dr. John Q. Colleague [not anyone’s real name] Subj: Scientific Solidarity I’m sorry I had to decline your lunch invitation today. You seemed to know the excuse I gave you was just a cover. Of course, the reality was simply that the tenure committee is considering my application this
This is a story about a barbecue. In the South Florida back yard of a friend who had invited me over for dinner, I saw a most unusual barbecue, but what I learned about it from its owner informed me about a lot more than barbecues. It hinted at the incredible power of freedom — the freedom of people to trade with each other, over distances and
Mark Trumbull of the Christian Science Monitor has revealed insights from comparing the concurrent First Job Contract riots in France with the demonstrations in the US over new legislation concerning immigration in the March 31 edition . The comparison between labor policies and markets in the European Union vis a vis the United States is made up
Because I think they’re only accessible to people with paid subscriptions, I rarely blog items from the Wall Street Journal. But this one from the Opinion page of today (Friday, May 26) is worth a click just to see if you get lucky. Or grab the PAPER while it’s still in the office/house. The article explains the proposed merger between the New
I just posted a review of the De Soto book here : This is a book for the ambitious layman. It explains how banking practices play into economic fluctuations, and vice-versa, virtually from the invention of banking to modern times. At over 800 pages, it is capable of handling its imposing brief very thoroughly, and it does — not one page is wasted.
For those of you who thought the Bank for International Settlements was replaced by the World Bank and/or the IMF, think again. It’s alive and well in Basel, Switzerland (where it’s always been - nice place if you can afford to live there), and publishing working papers in which Austrian theory is cited - by name - as an argument against inflation
This report in the Christian Science Monitor brings news that surprises little. It seems the affirmative-action program in South Africa has turned into a giveaway to those with government connections. Go here to read the details, which are as familiar as they are
Statist economist Greg Mankiw launches a fresh offensive on freedom with the Pigou Club (to view which, you must register at facebook.com, but Mankiw describes it on his blog). There he and a familiar list of famous (Al Gore) statists and their fellow travellers advocate increased taxes on gasoline to bolster government revenues (now there’s a
The most-recent installment of the Washington Post’s “Harvesting Cash” series on the Farm Program appeared on the front page this Sunday, December 10, and it will curdle your milk. It contains very in-depth coverage of how the cartel of milk producers (created by government handouts) got the farm-aid law rewritten to put a maverick out of business
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.