I apologize for posting something that isn’t completely germane for this blog, but this New Yorker article on the White House’s plans for Iran is truly frightening (especially to people in the Middle East). One of my game theory students tipped me off to it because some of the analysis is “strategic,” but I told him that I didn’t think the
I can’t believe no one else has posted this—and perhaps someone did and I just missed it—but Domino’s founder is trying to establish a community where abortion is prohibited. I’ve talked with Walter Block before about this type of thing, and I believe his only concern was that children born into the community might suffer “unlibertarian” things
In an effort to spice up the otherwise dreadfully boring section in my micro class on different industry types (price takers vs. searchers, oligopoly, etc.), I always have an “experiment” to demonstrate the difficulties of cartel formation. These aren’t controlled experiments so I don’t bother keeping accurate figures, but I can share some
I don’t know how much of this is due to genuine disapproval of his policies, and how much is due to, “We really like The Police .” In any event, click on “Every Breath You Take” to see business geeks being surprisingly
CANTOR’S DIAGONAL ARGUMENT: AN EXTENSION TO THE SOCIALIST CALCULATION DEBATE by Robert P. Murphy. The socialist calculation debate is one of the most famous episodes in the history of the Austrian School. Provoked by Ludwig von Mises’s original salvo in 1920, the debate forced socialist theorists to refine their position TOWARD A CALCULATIONAL
Drunk driving is ever in the news ( Paris Hilton arrested ) and the news typically conflates the non-crime of drunk driving with the real crime of actually hurting people and injuring property with a car. So it’s a good time to revisit my 2000 article calling for the legalization of drunk driving
A couple of years ago I posted an article concerning a traffic (anti)planner who thought road signs were a sign of poor design. A former student (Paul Poenicke) alerted me to this similar piece . Even though the guy explicitly says he’s not an anarchist, I think he’s doing it because in his mind anarchist=nut. Maybe someone should send him a copy
I’m sure most readers of this blog are familiar with Julian Simon’s wager with Paul “The Population Bomb” Ehrlich. For those who don’t know, Simon let Ehrich pick any five metals in 1980, and he bet that a basket of them would be cheaper (after adjusting for inflation) in 1990. Simon easily won, and Ehrlich’s boasts at the time of the wager are
I’ve started a discussion with a political science professor at my college, and I thought it might be helpful to get more views. (Now not only is this guy a colleague, but he’s also used Rothbard in one of his classes, so no spitballs please.) Below I’ve excerpted some things from his latest email, and then I give a quick response. This is the
Bill Anderson alerted me to the latest from Paul Craig Roberts. Now PCR keeps accusing us corporate shills of denying economic reality. How long will this persist? E.g. can we continue to eat the seed corn and sow our destruction for another five, ten, fifteen years? PCR has said elsewhere that the US will be a “Third World” economy by 2024. If
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.