There are surely other worlds than this—other thoughts than the thoughts of the multitude—other speculations than the speculations of the sophist. —Edgar Allan Poe, “The Assignation” Nothing brings out misleading or false narratives like the subject of money. Prices over the last twenty-five months have shot up, and this development is roundly
Bernie Sanders and other politicians have made socialism attractive to voters, especially young ones, because it promises to eliminate the injustices of capitalism. As to what socialism and capitalism mean, no one seems to care much, other than that by socialism, they mean a kinder, caring society without income extremes, whereas capitalism is the
For those who would find relief knowing the Bible sanctions a market-derived medium of exchange, Gary North’s Honest Money will come as a godsend (no pun intended). Even for those reprobates who forswear a religious worldview, his book will provide a solid grounding in monetary theory and history. North’s vast understanding of money and banking
Have you ever lusted for a Lamborghini? I have. Specifically, the Lamborghini Aventador LP 7~00-4 Roadster convertible. There’s only one thing stopping me from getting one. With options, it sells for just under half a million dollars. That’s for a car , a special car, but by no means the most expensive. If I wanted to, I could try talking the
Commentaries about World War I frequently discuss causes and consequences but almost never mention the enablers. At best, they might mention them approvingly, as if we were fortunate to have had the Fed and the income tax, along with the ingenuity of the liberty bond programs, to finance our glorious role in that bloodbath. Economist Benjamin
There’s an idea rooted among some libertarians that the Federal Reserve was originally a sound institution but has grown corrupt. As a bankers’ bank, it was fine, they believe, but not as the monster it has grown to be. If we could only go back to the Fed’s founding charter, all would be well. I’m thinking of two well-known financial analysts who
A fallacy is defined as a mistaken belief or a failure in reasoning. Though most people try to avoid mistakes, no one is infallible, not even those who act like they are. You can download a chart of common fallacies here . The online chart is hyperlinked to each of the fallacies. I break fallacies into two major groups: First, we have traditional
These are the times that try men ’ s souls. That phrase is a stark truth from the American Revolution, yet most people can’t tell you who said it and where. It’s not as if it didn’t deserve better. Even if you believe the Revolution was a bad idea, given the inflation that funded it and the Hamiltonian government that emerged from it, it would be
This will be brief, appropriate to the topic at hand. It consists of a quote from Milton Friedman found in Joseph Salerno’s outstanding book, Money: Sound and Unsound : If a domestic money consists of a commodity, [such as] a pure gold standard or cowrie bead standard, the principles of monetary policy are very simple. There aren’t any. The
[This article originally appeared in the January 4 edition of Lewrockwell.com.] The culprit responsible for the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the Great Depression can be easily identified—the government. To protect fractional reserve banking and generate a buyer for its debt, the US government created the Federal Reserve System in 1913 and put it
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.