Hope is in short supply these days, while despair and hate are enjoying an enormous surplus. To give an example, there are currently two types of stories that fill my news feed. The first are about politics and the perpetual horrors it unleashes on the world: there’s a new scandal every day, and war, protectionism, and nationalism are on the rise,
Donald Trump’s Carrier deal has once again placed the issue of tax breaks front and center in economic policy debates. Free-market economists have been unanimous in their criticism of the deal, but some commentators argue it can be defended as a kind of selective tax relief. For example, Tho Bishop suggests that, if the policy involves tax relief
Terror attacks, civil wars, and political upheaval around the world are clear signs that debate about immigration isn’t going to disappear any time soon. However, troubled times can also be a good opportunity to revisit our basic arguments and assumptions about controversial issues. They’re also a way to remind ourselves of how much we can still
The current Liberty Matters debate on the work of Israel Kirzner offers some fascinating insights into the modern history of Austrian economics. It’s particularly valuable because it highlights the numerous strands of Austrian research that have developed from the writings of Menger and his followers, especially from Mises . Contrary to popular
Fans have been wondering for years if Valve will ever produce a new entry in the enormously successful Half-Life franchise. Questions about the existence of a new Half-Life project have even become something of a joke in the game industry. Yet as the years drag on, the possibility of a sequel grows less and less likely. But now, for the first
The growth of US military power has rarely, if ever, been the result of legitimate concerns about defensive strategy, let alone about the national welfare. Instead, it’s more often a consequence of a waste, corruption, and imperial ambition that together have produced the modern military-industrial complex. This history receives some well-deserved
The BBC series Planet Earth II is one of the most beautiful nature documentaries ever produced. Yet although the world it captures is gorgeous and filmed in incredible detail, it isn’t one that most people would care to live in. One theme in particular recurs throughout each episode: the harsh conditions endured by animals in the wild. From
Donald Trump’s airstrikes in Syria are tragic proof that he is just as eager to wage actual warfare as he is to wage economic warfare. Yet there should be nothing surprising about his recent attacks. Military intervention does not represent a reversal of Trump’s deeply-held values (if he has any), nor is it a subversion of good intentions by
“Uneducated” is the favorite insult and excuse of the political left. In the past year alone, for example, a lack of education among voters has been used to explain each of the left’s electoral failures, as well as to dismiss criticisms of its people, policies, and institutions. These defenses are dubious to say the least. Yet setting aside the
The Daily Mail reports that an 18-month publicity campaign to encourage women to join the Royal Marines has ended after managing to recruit just one candidate to its elite training program. The campaign was a follow-up to David Cameron’s decision a year ago to lift the ban on women serving in close-combat roles. It’s unclear how much the campaign
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.