Another week of Trump monopolizing the news cycle, first with a typo and then by exiting the Obama administration’s Paris Climate Agreement. Rejecting the international agreement is not only a victory for American self-determination, but will improve the lives of the billions who were going to bear the real costs of another layer of government regulation. The following outcry from those in the scientific community ignores the basic fact that science — even if it comes to proper conclusions — dictates any and all policy solutions to the problem. As Ryan McMaken notes:
After all, the Paris Climate Agreement isn't a scientific study. It's a political document that lays out a specific public-policy agenda.
Agreement or disagreement with the accord might hint at one's opinions about climate science. Or it might not. One can agree that climate change exists and that human beings have a large role in the phenomenon. Agreement on this matter, however, does not dictate that one must also agree with the political policies outlined in the Paris document.
The two are totally independent phenomena.
Luckily heavy-handed government central planning isn’t the only way to handle complex environmental issues. Climate alarmists like Neil De Grasse Tyson would be well served to stop lecturing about public policy, and read more Rothbard.
On Mises Weekends, Jeff is joined by Dr. Joseph Salerno and Mises Fellow Karl-Friedrich Israel to discuss the topic of next week’s Rothbard Graduate Seminar: Human Action. The group discusses the importance of Ludwig von Mises’s magnum opus, and its continuing relevance today. The book stood as a comprehensive treatise on mankind and society, an uncompromising rejection of the trends of Marxism and positivism corrupting Western academia. If you’re interested in the ideas of Ludwig von Mises, but have always been intimidated by the work’s length, hopefully this interview will give you the courage to open up one of the most important books in human history.
And in case you missed them, here are this weeks Mises Wire articles, covering a wide array of topics including: the Paris Climate Agreement, self-determination, terrorism, healthcare, Arizona's gold reform, the US's endless war policy, and the Federal Reserve.
- Self-Determination, not Universalism, is the Goal by Jeff Deist
- Gold vs. Fluctuating Fiat Exchange Rates by Murray N. Rothbard
- To Lower Health Care Costs, Try Freedom by Julian Adorney
- Studying the Climate Doesn't Make You an Expert on Economics and Politics by Ryan McMaken
- The Cultural Consequences of the Federal Reserve by Jörg Guido Hülsmann
- Capitalism Is About Working Less to Earn More by Ferghane Azihari
- Why Do Half-Measures Work for Markets, But Not for Socialism? by Ryan McMaken
- How 1989's Invasion of Panama Set the Stage for 25 Years of Endless War by Ryan McMaken
- How Long Can the Fed Keep the Boom Going? by Thorsten Polleit
- Robert Shiller Is Shilling for the State by Mark Thornton
- Arizona's Government Has Adopted New Pro-Gold Reforms by Ryan McMaken
- Are We Fighting Terrorism, Or Creating More Terrorism? by Ron Paul
- Changes in the Money Supply Don't Cause Business Cycles by Frank Shostak
- We Don't Need to Create Jobs — We Need to Create Value by Robert Fellner
- Memorial Day and the Meaning of Freedom by Jeff Deist
- There Ain't No Economics in Economic Impact Studies by Roy Cordato
