I was born on the lower East Side of New York and brought up on the lower West Side. (I bring in these facts as introduction to some ideas that may be of general interest, not as autobiography.) Of my earliest experiences I remember practically nothing. But, one incident does come to mind. My father, an immigrant who, like many others, took to
“I have led a singularly uneventful life, largely solitary, have had little to do with the great and no part whatever in their affairs, or for that matter, in any other affairs.” So wrote Albert Jay Nock in the preface to his last book, Memoirs of a Superfluous Man . He wasn’t being modest; he meant it. And he did not believe anybody would
[This article is excerpted from chapter 14 of Out of Step (1962). An MP3 audio file of this article, narrated by Steven Ng, is available for download .] In New York, in the fall of 1936, I happened in one night at the Players Club. As I sat at a table with a couple of men, I noticed a dignified, elderly gentleman playing pool. He was very
“The idealism with which the screenwriters endow the lawmen is pure fiction.” This article is excerpted from chapter 16 of Out of Step (1962). An MP3 audio file of this article, narrated by Steven Ng, is available for download .] My wife averred that there must be a touch of sadism in my unconscious; otherwise, why should I be watching those
“Since the individual does not wish to be “elevated,” and lays claim to something called rights, the socialist undertakes to prove that the individual does not exist” [This article is excerpted from chapter 8 of Out of Step (1962). An MP3 audio file of this article, read by Ted Whelan, is available for download .] I was a shaver of 10 or 12
[Chapter 4, Out of Step (1962)] I voted for Teddy Roosevelt in 1912. I haven’t voted in a presidential election since. At first it was sheer instinct that dissuaded me from casting my ballot. I listened to the performance promises of the various candidates and the more I listened the more confused I became. They seemed to me to be so
[This article is excerpted from chapter 20 of Out of Step . An MP3 audio file of this article, narrated by Steven Ng, is available for download .] Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) The Secretary of the Thoreau Society reports increasing interest in this famous “ne’er-do-well.” It takes a long time for word-of-mouth advertising to get around, but
Nací en el Lower East Side de Nueva York y me crié en el Lower West Side . (Aporto estos datos como introducción a algunas ideas que pueden ser de interés general, no como autobiografía). De mis primeras experiencias no recuerdo prácticamente nada. Pero me viene a la mente un incidente. Mi padre, un inmigrante que, como muchos otros, se dedicó a
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.