When a Fallacy Isn’t Really a Fallacy
Students often ask me to recommend a good introduction to philosophy, and now the question can be answered more easily than in years past. Michael Huemer’s Knowledge, Value, and Reality, published last April, contains a profusion of arguments on important
This Is a Sign that Price Inflation Will Soon Get Worse
Recently here on Mises Wire, Sammy Cartagena wrote a brilliant article demonstrating that Two Percent Inflation Is a Lot Worse Than You Think. In it, he demonstrates that the manageable 2 percent inflation year over year we all have gotten
Kingsley Amis’s Lucky Jim
Having branched to our first novel with All Quiet on the Western Front, the Human Action Podcast begs your indulgence for one of the works of 20th century British satire. Lucky Jim is the late Kingsley Amis's seminal send-up of campus life, and it's
The Market — Not Government Planning — Brings Relief from Natural Disasters
No one must profit from the misfortune of others. I have heard and read such assertions many times, virtually any time there is an emergency or disaster anywhere, or whenever some good involved is considered by someone as essential or something
Study Guide to the Jordan Peterson – Robert Murphy Podcast
This week, Jordan Peterson released an interview titled, “Is Property Theft?”, with Austrian economist Robert Murphy. The conversation was fast and exciting, with a lot of references to books, articles, and other ideas from Austrian economics thrown in. Since this is likely
Many Tribal Hunting and Foraging Grounds Were Private Property
In the Rothbardian-Hoppean school of libertarianism, all legal disputes come down to property rights and contractual obligations. Therefore, there is much discussion about originary property rights (stemming from homesteading unowned land) and about who has rights to places that people
There’s Nothing Profreedom about “Nudging” People with Government Policy
The July/August 2021 Cato Policy Report hosted a friendly debate between Cass Sunstein and Mario Rizzo. Sunstein is a Harvard Law professor, a onetime member of the Obama administration, and coauthor of Nudge and other books advocating public policy applications of behavioral economics. Rizzo
Afghanistan: A Tragically Stupid War Comes to a Tragic End
Sunday’s news reports that the Biden Administration mistakenly killed nine members of one Afghan family, including six children, in “retaliation” for last week’s suicide attack which killed 13 US servicemembers, is a sad and sick epitaph on the 20 year
Preserving Capital through Bankruptcy
The New York Times recently published a piece entitled “When Kmart Moved Out, Churches and Flea Markets Moved In.” The article, penned by Kevin Williams, provides an instructive subtitle: “The retailer’s former stores are being used by tenants that might
Central Banks Can’t Taper in this Slowdown
Recent macroeconomic data from the United States should worry us. Amid the reopening and the biggest fiscal and monetary stimulus in recent history, and with all the possible tailwinds from policy decisions, consumer confidence has plummeted to the lowest level since 2016. Retail