There are some great libertarian themes in Catch Me If You Can , the DVD of which was released earlier this month. Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the more-or-less true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., a kid and master of deception who managed to work as a teacher, a physician, an attorney and prosecutor, and an airline pilot, all before his 18th
What are the economic effects of market dominance by one firm? To hear the Justice Department tell it, market dominance spells disaster. A market-share monopoly must be supplanted by a competitive environment imposed by the government. This view is shared by the man-on-the-street, who also fears the “market power” of a single provider of a good or
The tech-stock sector is a wasteland today, only a year after appearing invulnerable. There are economic lessons here that point to the folly of unsustainable, credit-fueled booms. But others want to draw moral lessons as well, as if the hand of justice is smiting all those cocky dot-com millionaires to show them that their good fortune was at
Ten years ago, Pope John Paul II released Centesimus Annus , an encyclical, at once subtle and sweeping, that addressed the future of the post-communist countries of Europe and the general subjects of freedom, society, and faith. The document represented the fullest embrace that the Catholic Church has given in the modern period to classical
The drive to war, the threat of terrorism, the stock-price meltdown, the continuing recession, and the decline of liberty—all add up to a moment of grave insecurity in which government power thrives and grows. Underneath it all is widespread confusion about what happened to turn the prosperous and relatively peaceful 90s into the current madness,
Delivered at the 2003 Mises Institute Supporters Summit. There once was a time, not too long ago, that in order to have light, one had to rely on the sun or a burning flame to provide it. So too, there was once a time when, in order to read a text of anything, you had to have a physical copy in your hands. It had to be sent through the mail or
Many people find themselves mystified as to why the Mises Institute puts books online for free that it is also trying to sell (elaborating now on some thoughts first put on the blog ). For example, here is Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.’s Speaking of Liberty (which you can also purchase ). Here is Hans-Hermann Hoppe’s The Myth of National Defense
Pundits and bloggers are addicted to decrying the supposed cell-phone addiction of Americans. ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , and 11 ). Calls for government to do something about it can’t be far behind, especially considering the other claims that cell phones give us tumors, gut our memories, and jackhammer our brains. There are even
Not being a television watcher, I was amazed to discover, from watching an hour or two of commercials this weekend, that there is a little pill you can take that will turn your body from portly and weak to thin and strong in a matter of months, if not weeks. And how much better will be the eventual results if you acquire this thing called The Bean
The skinny on Spiderman 2 is that this is a movie that even movie snobs can love, and there’s certain truth in this view. Its characters are more introspective and thoughtful than other superhero fare, and its social-critical undercurrent isn’t overtly political enough to become annoying. In fact, its leftist core is barely discernable to most
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.