Mises Media

Dr. Per Bylund unpacks Rothbard's concept of the capitalist entrepreneur as the economy's true mover and shaker: the figure who not only forecasts future consumer demand but puts real capital behind those forecasts, bearing uncertainty and driving the structure of production.Part of the faculty panel entitled "What Rothbard Can Teach the Informed Layperson About Economics". The Austrian Economics Research Conference is the international, interdisciplinary meeting of the Austrian school, bringing together leading scholars doing research in this vibrant and influential intellectual tradition.

Drawing on Man, Economy, and State, Dr. Jonathan Newman walks through Rothbard's theory of price formation and competition, showing that prices reflect subjective preferences, not seller greed, and that the only consumer-harming monopolies are those created by the state.Part of the faculty panel entitled "What Rothbard Can Teach the Informed Layperson About Economics". The Austrian Economics Research Conference is the international, interdisciplinary meeting of the Austrian school, bringing together leading scholars doing research in this vibrant and influential intellectual tradition.

The TSA stories, especially at Atlanta, are illustrations of interventionist non-intervention: non-delivery of promised, paid-for, and monopolized service.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/atlanta-tsa-and-test-case-interventionist-non-intervention

On this episode of Power and Market, Ryan, Tho, and Connor talk about the historic waits thanks to DC's monopoly on airport security, and Joe Kent's resignation over the Iran War.

When accusations of rape and assault were made against Duke University’s lacrosse team in 2006, both the Durham City Police and District Attorney Michael Nifong engaged in law breaking to indict three young men that clearly were innocent.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/durham-police-and-prosecutors-committed-numerous-crimes-duke-lacrosse-case-and-escaped-meaningful-punishment

Anyone who cares about American greatness must also refuse to allow us to become the kind of society that shrugs off the crimes our government commits in our name and with our money. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/immorality-trumps-war-iran-mattersBe sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

The federal government heavily subsidizes certain politically-connected food growers in the name of “protecting our food supply.” Actually, the government protects the livelihood of those that promote unhealthy foods.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/cheap-calories-expensive-consequences-how-federal-policy-contributes-chronic-disease

Mainstream finance regularly confuses finance, insurance and betting. The Austrian School provides the tools to understand their differences.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/mistaken-identity-prediction-markets

Murray Rothbard’s system was built upon the natural rights of individuals, and tying liberty to property and ownership, not collectivism.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/individualism-rothbards-natural-rights-libertarianism

Beyond the initial oil shock, the Iran war is also laying the foundation for ongoing monetary inflation and price inflation, with no real change to the US regime’s commitment to easy money.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/iran-war-brings-more-inflation-and-new-strength-yuan

Professor Joseph Salerno traces how Rothbard's mastery of the praxeological method led him to the controversial but logically airtight conclusion that business cycles have a single, exogenous cause and a single cure.The Murray N. Rothbard Memorial Lecture, sponsored by Steve and Cassandra Torello.The Austrian Economics Research Conference is the international, interdisciplinary meeting of the Austrian school, bringing together leading scholars doing research in this vibrant and influential intellectual tradition.

America has a long history of vibrant small business. But small business went into decline in the twentieth century, and it wasn't just due to large scale industrialization. Government has played a big role.  Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbardRadio Rothbard mugs are available at the Mises Store. Get yours at https://Mises.org/RothMug PROMO CODE: RothPod for 20% off

Hayek and Mises warned that centrally planned economies fail, and that intervention breeds inflation, instability, and boom-bust cycles. Yet socialism is trendy again, and politicians still think they can “manage” the economy. Ryan McMaken joins John Stossel to explain why Hayek and Mises matter now. 

In this 1960 essay, Murray Rothbard warns critics of scientism not to concede the very term science to positivist methodology. He reclaims scientia as “correct knowledge,” and defends the idea that economics and the social sciences can be rigorously scientific through sound reasoning about purposeful human action, without pretending to be physics.

Professor Lucas Engelhardt examines how mainstream economics has deliberately abandoned the history of economic thought, and why Austrian economists must keep teaching and re-teaching the great debates of the past.The Ludwig von Mises Memorial Lecture, sponsored by Don Printz.The Austrian Economics Research Conference is the international, interdisciplinary meeting of the Austrian school, bringing together leading scholars doing research in this vibrant and influential intellectual tradition.

In memory of Roger Garrison, Bob walks through Garrison's famous capital-based macroeconomics diagrams, showing how they translate the Mises-Hayek theory of the boom-bust cycle into the language of modern macroeconomics.Related:Roger Garrison, The Austrian Theory of the Business Cycle: Mises.org/HAP542aRoger Garrison, Austrian Macroeconomics: A Diagrammatical Exposition: Mises.org/HAP542bThe Diagrams Referenced in the Podcast: Mises.org/HAP542cDr. Garrison's PowerPoints: Mises.org/HAP542dThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

On this episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton replays two short interviews: one recorded with Daniela Cambone weeks before the outbreak of war in the Middle East, and another with Dunagun Kaiser recorded days ago as the conflict escalates. Mark breaks down why precious metals are unusually volatile, how war and interventionism collide with inflationary fiat regimes, and why rising interest rates and commodity prices point to a more dangerous long-run trend. He also connects the dots between the Fed’s “liquidity” talk, a deeper leverage problem in finance, and the way wars can be used to divert attention from economic failures at home.Purchase a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Combining binary and triangular interventions, the state coercively taxes citizens to pay for its services, monopolizes certain services, and then is incentivized to engage in paid non-delivery.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/its-not-anarcho-tyranny-its-interventionist-non-intervention

Dr. Catherine Pakaluk connects the dots between fiat money, the sexual revolution, and collapsing birthrates, arguing that a culture built on “sterile” choices can’t sustain real, long-run economic growth.The Henry Hazlitt Memorial Lecture, sponsored by Murray and Florence M. Sabrin.The Austrian Economics Research Conference is the international, interdisciplinary meeting of the Austrian school, bringing together leading scholars doing research in this vibrant and influential intellectual tradition.

Jesús Huerta de Soto traces the Austrian school's intellectual roots from the Spanish scholastics to Rothbard, making the case that anarcho-capitalism is the natural endpoint of the classical liberal tradition.The Ludwig von Mises Memorial Lecture, sponsored by Yousif Almoayyed.The Austrian Economics Research Conference is the international, interdisciplinary meeting of the Austrian school, bringing together leading scholars doing research in this vibrant and influential intellectual tradition.Full Text version of the Lecture (Submitted by Prof. Huerta de Soto):Thank you very much to the Mises Institute and Joe Salerno for his kind introduction as well as for inviting me to deliver this “Ludwig von Mises Memorial Lecture” to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of Murray N. Rothbard’s birthday. It is the second time I visit the Mises Institute to deliver this most important lecture: The first one was almost thirty years ago, back in April 1997, when I delivered a lecture on “The Scholastic Roots of the Austrian School”. In this second opportunity I am very happy to have been able to accept Joe’s invitation and to come with a very well represented retinue of ten of my colleagues and doctoral students. All of them are teaching as professors or making their research at our more than twenty-year-old Doctoral and Master Programs in Austrian Economics at King Juan Carlos University back in Madrid, and which is the only one officially approved and with full validity inside the whole European Union. You have already had the opportunity to hear from each one of them a detailed description of the so-called “Madrid Austrian Research Hub” and of all the activities we are developing every year, including the 54 Doctoral Theses on Austrian Economics that have been read up to now in our program. And here you have also copies of the English version of our main books published by Routledge, Edward Elgar, and by the Macmillan Austrian Series edited by my Madrid Colleagues, the German professor Philipp Bagus and the Canadian professor Dave Howden. And you will have the unique opportunity to buy these books that, as you know, have a hefty price of almost 100 pounds each one, at the almost “stolen property” and symbolic price of 5 dollars per copy, thanks to the most generous help of the Spanish Jesús Huerta de Soto Foundation that is helping to finance our participation in this important event.And now what I will do in the next forty minutes is to try to summarize not only my main contributions, but also “The Libertarian Vision of the Scientific and Moral Truth” as we see it from our Austrian School Hub in Madrid. And I will do it by focusing on a series of fundamental points.Precisely, the youngest of all sciences, Economics is the one that has provided Humanity with the most important scientific contributionThe first one is that Economics, being the last science to arrive, or as Mises said, "the youngest of all sciences," has nevertheless achieved the milestone of providing Humanity with the most important scientific contribution. For the first time, and thanks to Economic Science, human beings have discovered and understood that voluntary social cooperation, free from all institutional and systematic external coercion, generates a spontaneous order that cannot be designed nor organized by anyone, and that peacefully and without limits drives the prosperity and expansion of Humankind.This transcendental message of Economic Science, on the one hand, resolves the impossible antithesis of attempting to apply, within the realm of interactions carried out by human beings endowed with free will, the manipulative approach of external entities that human beings have no choice but to use, supported by technology and the natural sciences, in order to dominate the subject of the material world. And on the other hand, this is a radically revolutionary message: for the first time, it has been scientifically demonstrated that states, in any of their forms, are neither necessary nor viable; that Society, understood as a process of voluntary human interactions, does not need anyone to govern it, because it regulates and organizes itself spontaneously; and that the attempt to coordinate Society on the basis of social engineering and state coercive commands is impossible, doomed to failure, and gives rise to all kinds of distortions, social conflicts and violence, that continually hinder and block human progress.Economic science is generalized into a complete Theory of Liberty that makes it possible to reinterpret History and promote the expansion of civilizationThe second point is that Economics has been generalized into a whole Theory of Liberty, understood as the most essential attribute and requirement of human nature. Liberty means that all human actions are carried out voluntarily, based on the principle of non-aggression, and free of external coercion or violence imposed and organized from above by the always minority group of human

The Ralph Raico Memorial Lecture, sponsored by Murray and Florence Sabrin. Presented at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama.Below is a written version of the lecture (supplied by Ryan McMaken).I am very honored to be asked by Joe to deliver the Ralph Raico memorial lecture at this conference, and this means a lot to me because I have for many years been an enthusiast of his work, and especially in his work on the history of liberalism. Moreover, Raico largely specialized in European history, and I think his work is especially important for Americans to read because, when it comes to the history of ideas, Americans usually end up dwelling excessively on little more than nineteenth and twentieth century America, and to the extent that Americans explore outside American history, they usually confine themselves to the Anglosphere and to theorists who wrote in English only. Raico is a good antidote to all this, and as we'll see today, Raico, like Rothbad, regarded the continental classical liberal theorists to often be superior to what we get from the British. I say all these because we are going to need to delve into the work on many Continental theorists, largely those who wrote in French and Italian, to explore the most fruitful strains of liberalism. Specifically, we need to look at the specifical school of liberalism that I’ll here refer to as the “realist” school or the “exploitation” school of liberalism. These strains of liberalism were notable for their central observation about the state: namely, that it is a tool of the ruling elite for the exploitation of others. This will be contrasted with the type of liberalism we might call the naïve school of liberalism which views written constitutions and democracy as tools that will sufficiently constrain state power.But before we can do anything, really, we need to make a brief note about terminology. During this talk, I'm going to use Raico's terminology when it comes to the terms “liberalism” and “libertarianism.” That is, when I use the term “liberal,” I'll be referring to the ideology of laissez-faire, freedom, and free markets which has been historically known as liberalism, or in more modern times as classical liberalism, since that has now become necessary thanks to a muddling of language after the 1930s. Moreover, Raico regarded what we now call libertarianism as synonymous with historical liberalism, especially its more radical varieties. So, at no point, when I say the word "liberal," am I referring to the social democrats or so-called progressives that modern-day right-wing pundits insist on calling liberals.So, with all that out of the way, I'd like to set the tone with commentary drawn from the final section of Raico 's 10-hour lecture series on the history of political thought. Known as The Struggle for Liberty. So, as the series draws to an end, Raico says this:I go back often to Machiavelli ... In The Prince, he talks about men who want power and gain power, what the nature of power is, and what the nature of politics is. He says he is writing for a few people and not for the mass of people. Machiavelli contends the mass of people prefer appearance to reality. They prefer their fantasy to what actually exists. If they knew what politics really was, they wouldn’t have a good night’s sleep for the rest of their lives. ... The average person is born to be a sheep, and, as another Italian, Pareto, said, “he who plays the sheep will find the butcher.” Now, when you’re in my line of work and deliver lectures of this sort, you’ll often be told to end your talks with something optimistic and light. Well, if Raico ever got that memo, he wadded it up into a little ball and threw it away.After all, what Raico says here—that's not very pleasant to think about. That seems pretty dark. Surely, if we just vote for the right people, or change a few laws, then the regimes of the world, and especially the American regime, will suddenly decide to limit itself to a few core functions, and make a turn toward laissez-faire. Well, that is definitely not the message Raico wants to send. The reality is far more grim than anything that can be fixed by voting or promoting written constitutions. Rather, the reality has something to do with the exercise of political power, which usually amounts to using violence against others. And considering this, it's definitely no coincidence that Raico decides to conclude by quoting Vilfredo Pareto, who wasn't exactly known for a rosy view of the future of what is nowadays called liberal democracy. In fact, it's very appropriate for Raico to go back to Pareto—whom Raico has invoked in numerous cases across a number of essays—in Raico's work on class conflict and exploitation. Pareto can act for us here as a launching off point for exploring the larger context Raico was trying to express through his lecture series, and through other works, especially over the last 25 years of his career.&nbs

Neo-Malthusian Paul Ehrlich recently passed away, but not before his false doomsday claims made his a very wealthy man. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/remembering-paul-ehrlich-even-if-we-would-rather-not

Leftists sarcastically asking where the money for this war will come from are right about the GOP’s hypocrisy, but wrong to imply that it actually means there's plenty to spend on all these government programs. We can’t afford any of this.Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/no-we-cannot-afford-war-iran-eitherBe sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

Generations of scholars come and go; a few, including Roger Garrison, make their mark on the field and inspire future generations to do the same.Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/roger-garrison-and-sustainable-growth-austrian-school

As we continue to celebrate the centennial of the birth of Murray Rothbard, Wanjiru Njoya reminds us that he never compromised his principles and stood for liberty throughout his all-too-brief life.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/rothbard-never-abandoned-his-principles

Daniela Cambone interviews Dr. Mark Thornton on why gold’s surge signals a deeper breakdown: collapsing confidence in dollar assets, runaway deficits, and debt-service costs heading for a fiscal wall. Mark also explains why he’s even more bullish on silver than gold, warning that precious metals aren’t a panacea without real monetary reform.The original interview is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1HNeez2v1g

Milton Friedman and others tried to explain interest rates using liquidity, economic activity, and inflation expectations. These things, however, only describe interest but do not explain it. Only the Austrian theory of time preference correctly explains interest.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/popular-interest-rate-theory-describes-fails-explain

Modern academic historians have been captured by the cultural Marxists, no matter how much they deny the obvious truth.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/cultural-marxism-masquerading-true-history

As war drums beat again, this time against Iran, we ask ourselves if recklessness from Donald Trump and European and Israeli leaders is pushing us to catastrophe.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/another-stone-age-making

On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton tackles the “Austrians don’t care about the poor” smear, arguing that Austrian monetary theory is designed to explain how political elites rig the system against working people. From Cantillon’s original gold mine thought experiment to today’s Fed-driven credit expansion, Mark explains how cheap money concentrates wealth and fuels the “K-shaped” economy, while a market-based monetary system would sharply limit this dynamic and restore more durable wage growth and stability.Additional Resources"Share of Net Worth Held by the Top 1%" (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis): https://mises.org/MI_168_Graph"Monetary Metals 101: How Gold and Silver Work in a Free Market" (Minor Issues, Episode 141) https://mises.org/MI_141"The K-Shaped Economy" (Minor Issues, Episode 150): https://mises.org/MI_151"Past Tense" (Minor Issues, Episode 83): https://mises.org/MI_83"The Fed vs. the Real Economy" (Minor Issues, Episode 58): https://mises.org/MI_58Order a free paperback copy of Hayek for the 21st Century by F. A. Hayek: https://mises.org/Hayek21Purchase a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

In commemoration of Murray Rothbard’s 100th birthday, Bob shares five “greatest hits” from Rothbard’s economics, covering deficits vs. inflation, monopoly theory, excess capacity, the time structure of production, and his reconstruction of utility and welfare economics.Related:Rothbard, Making Economic Sense: Mises.org/HAP541aRothbard, "Toward a Reconstruction of Utility and Welfare Economics": Mises.org/HAP541bRothbard, Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market: Mises.org/HAP541cBob's Study Guide to Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market: Mises.org/HAP541dJoin the Mises Institute on Saturday, April 25 in San Diego, CA to discuss California's fall from grace. Today, it's known for high taxes, bureaucrats, and leftwing billionaires. Is this a warning to the rest of America? Register now at Mises.org/CAHAPThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

The radical classical liberals of the past were not so naive as to think that words on paper would prevent the abuses of the central state. Allowing the central state to have a monopoly on coercive power is always a mistake. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/only-power-can-check-power

On this episode of Power & Market, Ryan, Connor, and Tho look at the economic fallout from the war in Iran. How has Iran been able to control the Strait of Hormuz? How might central bankers react? And draft talk out of Washington? Tune in to hear about this and more, as well as a preview of next week's Libertarian Scholars Conference and Austrian Economics Research Conference.

The Duke Lacrosse Case would never have been a legal item had not the police and prosecutors of the case lied and broken the law on numerous occasions. Here is a small sampling of the lies they told.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/duke-lacrosse-case-20-years-later-how-durham-law-enforcement-promoted-criminal-conspiracy

As recent history shows, there are few things more courageous for a president to do than face down the ever-accelerating, wealth-draining, conflict-amplifying warfare state in DC. Trump has decided to go in the opposite direction.Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/launching-war-iran-was-no-act-courageBe sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton appears on Arcadia Economics with Chris Marcus during a volatile week for gold and silver amid the escalation with Iran. They unpack the risks and “unintended consequences” of the conflict, along with what all of this means for markets, the dollar, and investor psychology. Mark closes with a hard look at the Fed-fueled, fifteen-year bubble of credit and debt, the growing stress in sovereign debt markets, and why central bankers can’t “magic away” the structural problems that created this mess.The original episode is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQn1GenrMyQOrder a free paperback copy of Hayek for the 21st Century by F. A. Hayek: https://mises.org/Hayek21Purchase a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

 The Trump White House can't decide on a reason for why it went to war. But one goal is clearly regime change. Ryan McMaken and Zachary Yost discuss the many obstacles to this unlikely outcome. Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbardRadio Rothbard mugs are available at the Mises Store. Get yours at https://Mises.org/RothMug PROMO CODE: RothPod for 20% off

As we celebrate the Centennial of the birth of Murray Rothbard, we look at his commentary on the American Revolution, where it promoted liberty and where the creation of the Constitution became liberty’s roadblock.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/rothbard-and-american-revolution

The current US conflict with Iran has its roots in the CIA-backed coup in 1953, which removed a democratically-elected prime minister and replaced him with the Shah. The Shah’s government ultimately collapsed, leading to the current Islamic republic.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/operation-ajax-1953-cias-template-and-warnings-today

Trump has brought the US into war with Iran. Ryan, Tho, and Connor talk about the initial execution, the domestic fallout, the global costs, and what may come next. 

When it comes to foreign policy, what matters are powerful interest groups. The ordinary voters who pay all the bills don't matter. The interest groups pushing for pro-Israel wars in the Middle East are especially powerful.Be sure to follow the Loot and Lobby podcast at Mises.org/LL

It has been 20 years since the Duke Lacrosse Case dominated the news media. It was a story in which false narratives of guilt pushed by corrupt police and prosecutors, radical members of Duke’s faculty, and the legacy media nearly railroaded three innocent men into prison.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/duke-lacrosse-case-exposed-rot-higher-education-media-and-justice-system

Those who believe in the free and unhampered market economy should be especially skeptical of war and military action. War, after all, is the ultimate government program.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/rothbard-and-war

The problem with this new campaign in Iran is not merely that it will likely have bad near-term consequences, but that it represents the American government doubling down on the imperial project that is causing our accelerating national crisis.Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/trumps-war-iran-even-more-disaster-people-realizeBe sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

The current war is a timely reminder that the US ruling elites regard the US taxpayers and ordinary Americans as little more than inconvenient afterthoughts in US foreign policy.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/iran-war-exposes-farce-american-representative-democracy

Bob uses Trump’s call to ban congressional insider trading as a springboard to explain why, from an Austro-libertarian perspective, insider trading and speculation could help markets work, while still justifying special rules for government employees.Related:Bob's Article "Is Insider Trading Really a Crime?": Mises.org/HAP540aThe Social Function of Stock Speculators: Mises.org/HAP540bThe Social Function of Futures Markets: Mises.org/HAP540cThe Social Function of Call and Put Options: Mises.org/HAP540dThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Into the heart of the peasant and nomadic Arab world of the Middle East there came, on the backs and on the bayonets of British imperialism, a largely European colonizing people.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/war-guilt-middle-east

Are we emphasizing “the negative”? In a sense, yes, but what else are we to stress when our values, our principles, our very being are under attack from a relentless foe?Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/fight-liberty-and-beltway-barbarians

On this episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton appears on Reinvent Money with Paul Buitink for a “state of the system” conversation. Mark breaks down the US economy as an “everything bubble,” explains what’s really behind the trade deficit and the dollar’s reserve status, and grades Trump’s first-year economic agenda. He closes with a practical Austrian roadmap toward sound money: real savings, capital accumulation, and removing tax penalties on interest, dividends, and long-term gains.The original episode is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgqsHCQxSrwOrder a free paperback copy of Hayek for the 21st Century by F. A. Hayek: https://mises.org/Hayek21Purchase a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

When the Massachusetts colony issued its own unredeemable paper money in 1690, it was with the promise that it would soon be redeemable in specie. Like all paper money issued by government, it lost value and the confidence of the people.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/massachusetts-1690-first-western-fiat-experiment