Property and Freedom Podcast

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 116. Also podcast at KOL100 | The Role of the Corporation and Limited Liability In a Free Society (PFS 2013). This lecture is from the 2013 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Stephan Kinsella (USA), The Role of the Corporation and Limited Liability in a Free Society. PFS 2013 Playlist. The video and slides are below. See also the Q&A panel [PFP117], which contains several interchanges between me and Sean Gabb about this issue. See also Sean Gabb’s article Stephan Kinsella on Limited Liability: Notes of a Speech Made to the 2013 Meeting in Bodrum of the Property and Freedom Society, to which I intend to reply at a later time. For background, see: Kinsella, Corporate Personhood, Limited Liability, and Double Taxation; In Defense of the Corporation Robert Hessen, In Defense of the Corporation (Hoover 1978) Firms: google various recent Mises University lectures by Peter Klein on the theory of the firm Yaron Brook, “The Corporation” (Ayn Rand Institute, 2007) KOL 026 | FreeDomain Radio with Stefan Molyneux discussing Corporations and Limited Liability Stephan Kinsella, “The Role of the Corporation and Limited Liability In a Free Society” from Property & Freedom Society on Vimeo.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 114. This lecture is from the 2013 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), What Is Human Nature? Does It Exist? PFS 2013 Playlist. Alternative title: On the Nature of Man, Truth, and Justice. See also Hoppe, A Short History of Man: Progress and Decline (Mises 2015). For background, see Professor Hoppe’s previous writing on argumentation ethics, e.g. ch. 7 of A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism and ch. 11 et pass. of The Economics and Ethics of Private Property, also discussed in “Argumentation Ethics and Liberty: A Concise Guide.”

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 113. This lecture is from the 2013 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Jared Taylor (USA), A Brief History of US Race Relations. PFS 2013 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 112. This lecture is from the 2013 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Richard Lynn (England), Why Are the Jews So Smart? PFS 2013 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 111. This panel discussion is from the 2013 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Eugen-Maria Schulak (Austria), Sean Gabb (England), Robert Nef (Switzerland), Anthony Daniels (Theodore Dalrymple) (England), Discussion, Q&A. PFS 2013 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 110. This lecture is from the 2013 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Anthony Daniels (Theodore Dalrymple) (England), Public Health or Public Totalitarianism? A Report from Medical Journals. PFS 2013 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 109. This lecture is from the 2013 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Robert Nef (Switzerland), Understanding Switzerland and the Swiss. PFS 2013 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 108. This lecture is from the 2013 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Sean Gabb (England), Understanding England and the English. PFS 2013 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 107. This lecture is from the 2013 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Eugen-Maria Schulak (Austria), Friedrich Nietzsche—Right Wing Anarchist? PFS 2013 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 106. This panel discussion is from the 2013 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: David Howden (Spain), Mateusz Machaj (Poland), Nikolay Gertchev (France), Thorsten Polleit (Germany), Paul Cantor† (USA), Discussion, Q&A. PFS 2013 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 105. This lecture is from the 2013 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Paul Cantor† (USA), What Literature Can Teach Economics. PFS 2013 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 104. This lecture is from the 2013 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Thorsten Polleit (Germany), Organized Crime and the Progression Towards a Single World Fiat Currency. PFS 2013 Playlist. See also Hoppe, Banking, Nation States and International Politics: A Sociological Reconstruction of the Present Economic Order (Vol. 4 Num. 1) (also in EEPP); Kinsella, The Prophetic Dr. Hoppe on the Rise of the Phoenix.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 103. This lecture is from the 2013 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Nikolay Gertchev, Entrepreneurship and Betting: What, if anything, can Businessmen learn from Betting Odds? PFS 2013 Playlist.  

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 102. Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), Jeffrey Tucker (USA), This panel discussion is from the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Anthony Daniels (Theodore Dalrymple) (England), Stephan Kinsella (USA), Benjamin Marks, Discussion, Q&A. PFS 2012 Playlist. Topics discussed include the issue of preemptive attacks and standing threats, spanking and libertarianism, Gresham’s law and law and legislation, strategies for liberty in life and how to avoid corruption in an unfree world. On the latter topic, I talked about the power of attraction and also vocally objecting, speaking out, when hearing statist sentiments from friends, co-workers, etc. There were also questions about how victims of aggression can achieve restitution from the aggressor, what does he have the right to do to the aggressor—issues such as proportionality, punishment, ostracism, and so on.  

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 101. This lecture is from the 2012 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), The Hayek Myth. PFS 2012 Playlist. Loosely based (?) on F.A. Hayek on Government and Social Evolution: A Critique (Vol. 7 Num. 1) (also in The Great Fiction) English transcript below. For the panel discussion with Q&A, see PFP102 | Daniels, Kinsella, Marks, Hoppe, Tucker, Discussion, Q&A (PFS 2012). TRANSCRIPT The Hayek Myth 2012 Annual Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society, Bodrum, Turkey, Sept. 30, 2012 Hans-Hermann Hoppe 00:00:18 HANS-HERMANN HOPPE: I will start with my speech. I want to talk about the Hayek myths. As most of you know, I was, once upon a time, during my final high school years and my early student years, also a lefty. And when I gradually discovered the errors of the leftist creed, I looked around for alternatives, and I found, based on their frequent mention in the press, as the principal antagonists and alternatives to everything socialist, Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek. And, in fact, I found many good arguments in their writings to combat the predominant left at that time, and it was through the gateway of Friedman and Hayek that I eventually then also discovered Mises and, finally, Rothbard. 00:01:19 So I have to say that I owe something intellectually to both Friedman and Hayek. But that is not my topic. Instead, I want to pursue the question why it is that both Friedman and Hayek were presented then, almost 40 years ago, and still and even more so today, especially in Europe but also in the United States, as the most radical opponents of all things left, while, as I came to realize very quickly and will show shortly, Friedman and Hayek are actually part of the left, not of the traditional, hardcore, Marxist version of course, but in any case, of the softcore social democratic welfare state variety of socialism, and because of this, in my view, offer anything but a principled alternative to socialism and the leftwing. 00:02:25 Now, one might call this the Friedman-Hayek myth. Now, here I want to confine myself only to half of this myth, to the Hayek myth. Friedman, in fact, is far better known than Hayek. If you Google, he has about 30 million mentions, and Hayek has close to 7 million. Friedman, I think, is hardly better known than Hayek because he’s really the better, clearer writer of the two and in part because he’s American, which always helps in this day and age. But I want to concentrate on Hayek. And why do I want to concentrate on Hayek? Because, in my estimation, Hayek is the more important thinker, and he and his fame will last longer than Friedman’s. For one, he is a better economist because, while Friedman was still, until his death in 2006, singing the praises of Greenspan and Bernanke. 00:03:38 Many people inspired by Hayek and by the Mises-Hayek business cycle theory, already foresaw the coming and still ongoing Great Recession. But more importantly, because Hayek, as an old-world European, is plainly the better-educated and intellectually well-rounded man. Whereas Friedman is essentially an economist’s economist, Hayek is a true intellectual, well-read, not just in economics but in intellectual history, in psychology, philosophy, sociology, and law. But it is not their technical economics that made both of them famous but their excursions into the field of political theory. 00:04:29 Accordingly, I will concentrate here on Hayek as a political theorist and more specifically on his Constitution of Liberty and his three-volume, Law, Legislation and Liberty, which are generally regarded as Hayek’s most important contributions to the field of political theory. First, I want to show that, despite many interesting things, he might have to say Hayek is fundamentally a muddled and confused thinker. This comes out most clearly when we examine his definitions and elaborations on the concept of freedom and coercion. 00:05:14 Now, Hayek defines freedom as the absence of coercion, so far so good. However, contrary to a long tradition of classical liberal thought, he does not define coercion as the initiation of threat of physical violence against property and person. He does not define it as attack against legitimately via original appropriation, production, or voluntary exchange-acquired property. Instead, he offers a definition whose only merit is its elusiveness and fogginess. 00:06:01 By coercion, quote, “We mean such control of the environment or circumstances of a person by another that, in order to avoid greater evil, he is forced to act, not to a coherent plan of his own, but to serve the ends of another. Or coercion occurs when one man’s actions are made to serve another man’s will, not for his own but for the other’s purpose.” And freedom is a state in which each agent can use his own knowledge for his own purposes. 00:06:50 Now, what you immediately note in this definition of freedom of coercion i

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 100. This lecture is from the 2012 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Jeffrey Tucker (USA), One Million Tiny Miseries. Government Policy in Our Time. PFS 2012 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 099. This lecture is from the 2012 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Anthony Daniels (Theodore Dalrymple) (England), The Ultimate “Freedom”: Choice without Consequences. PFS 2012 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 098. This lecture is from the 2012 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Stephan Kinsella (USA), The (State’s) Corruption of (Private) Law. PFS 2012 Playlist. Youtube and powerpoint slides below. As noted in KOL001 | “The (State’s) Corruption of (Private) Law” (PFS 2012), I delivered this speech in September 2012 for the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society in Bodrum, Turkey. The audio of my speech was corrupted due to a technical error, so I re-recorded a version of the speech. The talk was largely based on two previous papers: “Legislation and the Discovery of Law in a Free Society,” Journal of Libertarian Studies 11 (Summer 1995), p. 132 Condensed version: Legislation and Law in a Free Society,” Mises Daily (Feb. 25, 2010) See also Is English Common Law Libertarian? KOL129 | Speech to Montessori Students: “The Story of Law: What Is Law, and Where Does it Come From?” (Powerpoint; PDF)

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 097. This panel discussion is from the 2012 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Joseph Salerno (USA), Jörg Guido Hülsmann (Germany/France), Thorsten Polleit (Germany), Doug French (USA), Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), Discussion, Q&A. PFS 2012 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 096. This lecture is from the 2012 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Doug French (USA), More on “What Bankers Do and Do Not Know”. PFS 2012 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 095. This lecture is from the 2012 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Thorsten Polleit (Germany), What Do Bankers Know about Money and Banking? PFS 2012 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 094. This lecture is from the 2012 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Jörg Guido Hülsmann (Germany/France), The State and the Gold Market. PFS 2012 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 093. This lecture is from the 2012 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Joseph Salerno (USA), Money: Sound and Unsound. PFS 2012 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 092. This lecture is from the 2012 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Rahim Taghizadegan (Austria), Understanding Iran and the Iranians. PFS 2012 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 091. This lecture is from the 2012 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Hunt Tooley (USA), Engineering Tragedy: The Meaning of the CIA Coup d’Etat in Iran, 1953. PFS 2012 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 090. This lecture is from the 2012 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Norman Stone† (UK/Turkey), Comparative History: Turkey and Spain. PFS 2012 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 089. This lecture is from the 2012 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Andy Duncan (England/Hong Kong), Liberty Through Literature. PFS 2012 Playlist.  

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 088. This panel discussion is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Yuri Maltsev (USA), Roman Skaskiw (USA/Ukraine), Nicola Iannello (Italy), Sean Gabb (England), Paul Gottfried (USA), Anthony Daniels (Theodore Dalrymple) (England), Discussion, Q&A. PFS 2011 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 087. This lecture is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Yuri Maltsev (USA), Of Customs and Condoms: Moving from One Empire to Another. PFS 2011 Playlist.  

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 086. This lecture is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Nicola Iannello (Italy), Of Producers and Parasites. PFS 2011 Playlist.  

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 085. This lecture is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Anthony Daniels (Theodore Dalrymple) (England), The Mirage of “Equal Opportunity”. PFS 2011 Playlist.  

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 083. This lecture is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Sean Gabb (England), The Case Against the American War of Independence. PFS 2011 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 082. This panel discussion is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: John Derbyshire (USA), John O’Sullivan (UK), Norman Stone† (UK/Turkey), Mustafa Akyol (Turkey), Discussion, Q&A. PFS 2011 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 081. This lecture is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Roman Skaskiw (USA/Ukraine), “Fighting for Freedom” in the Middle East. A Combat Soldier’s Report. PFS 2011 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 080. This lecture is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Mustafa Akyol (Turkey), Drawing Borders in the Middle East: Ottoman Provinces v Western State Creations. PFS 2011 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 079. This lecture is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Norman Stone† (UK/Turkey), Understanding Turkey and the Turks. PFS 2011 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 078. This lecture is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: John O’Sullivan (UK), Understanding Europe and its Bureaucrats. PFS 2011 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 077. This lecture is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: John Derbyshire (USA), Understanding China and the Chinese. PFS 2011 Playlist.   On Understanding China And The Chinese, VDare (Aug. 3, 2011)

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 076. This lecture is from the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Stephan Kinsella (USA), “Correcting Some Common Libertarian Misconceptions.” PFS 2011 Playlist. Thanks to Joseph Fetz for improving the original audio used for the podcast audio (the Youtube contains the original audio which is also listenable). See also KOL044 for additional notes and links.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 075. This panel discussion is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), Mateusz Machaj (Poland), Philipp Bagus (Spain), Doug French (USA), Thomas DiLorenzo (USA), Nikolay Gertchev (France), Discussion, Q&A. PFS 2011 Playlist. Transcript below.   Transcript (youtube/Grok): Introductory Announcements 0:02 Yes we want to be done by 5:15. If we finish earlier then again keep in mind that you round up your troops because at 6:30 we want to load the buses to go to the fishing village. Audience Question to Philipp Bagus on Future Book 0:42 Andy Duncan from the Department Centre in the UK: I’d like to ask Professor Bagus, this morning particularly the second half I thought was fantastic. Is that lecture going to be the basis of your next new book called Banksters? And if not, why not? 1:00 [Music] Philipp Bagus Response 1:08 So my speech today was for some part based on this maybe not the standard analysis of the extent of the mainstream comparison of possible future research. Why not would be always of course always a time factor many things many things to do but it’s not impossible. Unknown speaker Question on Economic Growth Despite Monetary Issues 1:44 This is actually addressed to everyone who carries this question. I listened this morning with attention to Professor Hoppe and Professor Bagus and some of the others who are talking about the worthlessness of the currency, the government monopoly of the currency, various dubious banking practices. I found myself agreed with everything that I heard. On the other hand I’m also trying to account for the fact that the United States in the 20th century saw an enormous increase in living even from the 1950s into the last decades of the 20th century. Disposable income rose specifically and so forth but still the disposable income does rise consequently this period of time. The United States has made one of the highest standards of living in the world and it continues to happen despite the fact that the dollar has run into problems that has become increasingly devalued. It would seem to me that given the economic problems that were pointed out the United States has done very very well. It helped to explain the successes of the American economy given the fact that hampered by a bad government and by increasingly devalued money and questionable banking practices. Hans-Hermann Hoppe Response I think this is an example of a postponement of fallacy. What first of all the same sort of banking practices are in place in almost all countries not just in the United States and Germany forth. Second it is something like this we can say look in the 19th century standards of living were significantly lower in the entire western world as compared to what they are today. At the same time we have seen a growth of government also throughout the entire western world from the 19th century up to this day. So does it follow that because the growth of government societies in western Europe grew obviously they grew we are richer? Was the fact that government grew the cause for the fact that we are richer? The answer is no. Despite the fact that we had all these monetary mismanagements we didn’t grow we would be infinitely richer if it were not for the fact that these types of policies had been implemented and are still being conducted day in and day out. So it is just the illusion he sees two things going down to see that one is the cause. I agree with him many many times but I’m still astonished by the success the resilience of the American economy given the incompetence and dishonesty of the government. The way to describe despite this fact you know we have not been like Egypt like other countries we have done enormously well with what seems to be incompetent and in many ways. Western Europe the United States have a bright population even up to this they have a pretty good work ethic still the Germans continue to work very hard despite the fact that muscles of money is siphoned off by countries like Greece and Spain. So it is an expression of the ingenuity of German businessmen of American businessmen of Dutch businessmen and businessmen and many many other countries that have made these things possible. Markets do miracles they find a way around all sorts of obstacles that are put in their place nonetheless those are obstacles. Without them of course the performance would have been even much better. I’m inclined to believe basically in the thesis that Richard didn’t put up this this has something to do so to speak with the intellectual capacities and capabilities of various populations. We are lucky that we still have this type of population unfortunately the performance in these areas is also on the decline. I just want to have one interesting thing as a side note even in the mainstream literature it’s recognized that the gold standard the cla

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 074. This lecture is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Nikolay Gertchev (France), Psychology Ain’t Economics: New Fads in Economics. PFS 2011 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 073. This lecture is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Thomas DiLorenzo (USA), The Fallacies of “Happiness Research”. PFS 2011 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 072. This lecture is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Doug French (USA), Going Broke: The Ethics of Default. PFS 2011 Playlist.    

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 071. This lecture is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Philipp Bagus (Spain), The FED and the ECB: Banksterism Compared. PFS 2011 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 070. This lecture is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Mateusz Machaj (Poland), How and How Not to Criticize the Central Bank. PFS 2011 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 069. This lecture is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), Politics, Money and Banking. Everything You Need to Know in 30 Minutes. PFS 2011 Playlist. Further reading: Banking, Nation States and International Politics: A Sociological Reconstruction of the Present Economic Order (Vol. 4 Num. 1) (also in EEPP)  

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 068. This lecture is from the 2011 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), Welcome and Introductions. PFS 2011 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 067. These short remarks are from the 2010 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: “Closing Remarks,” by Hans-Hermann Hoppe. PFS 2010 Playlist.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 066. This panel discussion is from the 2010 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: “Discussion, Q&A,” by Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Germany/Turkey), Stephan Kinsella (USA), Terrence Kealey (UK), Frank Van Dun (Belgium), Anthony Daniels (Theodore Dalrymple) (England), Thomas DiLorenzo (USA). PFS 2010 Playlist. Re Hoppe’s comments, see Laugh at the State, Mock the Regime.

Property and Freedom Podcast, Episode 064. This lecture is from the 2010 meeting of the Property and Freedom Society: “Ideas are Free: The Case Against Intellectual Property Rights,” by Stephan Kinsella (USA). PFS 2010 Playlist. See also KOL 054 | “Ideas are Free: The Case Against Intellectual Property: or, How Libertarians Went Wrong”