Audio Mises Wire

According to an article in The Atlantic, Washington is turning away from its previous commitment to “free trade.” However, there never was a “free trade consensus” because Washington always has sought state-managed trade. Original Article: Don’t Call It Free Trade  

Central banks intervene in order to “create demand,” and then they intervene in order to try to mitigate the damage they caused earlier. This is a never-ending scenario of economic destruction. Original Article: Central Banks Are Destroying Our Economies      

Mainstream economists insist that data alone can explain economic events, permitting them to test economic theories. In truth, without sound theory, data is meaningless. Original Article: Can Data by Itself Inform Us about the Real World?  

While her record is hardly perfect, Judy Shelton has been a rarity among monetary economists: an advocate for gold and sound money. Original Article: Judy Shelton’s Lasting Legacies  

Even though the US had a semilibertarian revolution, there are few libertarians in representative governance. Original Article: Why Does America Have a Lack of Libertarian Representation?  

Government schooling advocates are demanding that homeschoolers be regulated by public school authorities. Perhaps homeschooling advocates should be monitoring the government. Original Article: Homeschoolers Don’t Need Government Regulation  

Contra critical theorists, who claim human reason is nothing more than a social construct, reason is both understandable and universal. We cannot abandon it, for if we do, we abandon liberty itself. Original Article: Understanding Reason Is Paramount to Understanding Liberty  

The watchword in higher education today is decolonization, which depends upon what Ludwig von Mises called racial polylogism. Mises understood that polylogism undermines the very foundations of scientific thought. Original Article: The Intellectual Poverty of Racial Polylogism  

We are seeing Joseph Schumpeter's concept of creative destruction at work in higher education. The shake-up will continue. Original Article: Creative Destruction in American Higher Education: Schumpeter in Action  

Supporters of the new California minimum wage law for fast-food restaurants claim it will bolster economic opportunity for lower-income people. It actually will be a wealth transfer from the poor to the rich. Original Article: The Consequences of California’s New Minimum Wage Law  

Israel’s defenders act like Netanyahu and his allies have had no choice but to react to October 7 in the manner that they have. But that isn’t true. Original Article: What Israel Is Doing to Gaza Is a Choice  

Politicians will invoke the venerable just war theory when they believe they can manipulate the facts in their favor. In truth, it is the rare government that engages in a justified conflict. Original Article: Why Politicians Cannot Be Trusted with Just War Theory  

Do Austrian theories also apply to financial markets? Original Article: Man, Economy, and Financial Markets  

Contrary to mainstream economists, credit expansion that is not backed by real savings leads ultimately to an economic downturn.  Original Article: Lending without Saving Brings Recession and Poverty  

Political and academic elites have successfully convinced the public that they should fear private enterprise. However, people really should fear an out-of-control government. Original Article: They Want to Scare You with Myths of “Unhampered Capitalism”  

Contrary to popular belief, regulatory agencies do not improve the quality of our lives, nor do they provide safety or security. They need to be abolished, as free markets provide their own effective forms of regulation. Original Article: The Case for Abolishing Regulatory Agencies  

Ludwig von Mises was ridiculed for his assertion that “middle of the road” leads to socialism in the end. As the federal government swallows increasing amounts of the economy, we see that Mises was right. Original Article: No, Mises Was not Wrong about the Middle of the Road  

Despite the media definitions of the Trump trial as a “hush money trial,” the actual criminal charges are contrived and legally unprecedented. This is a show trial. Original Article: The Hush-Money Case against Trump Is Ridiculous and Revealing  

Unfortunately, these assaults on the First Amendment continue to find support even among people who pretend to be in support of freedom and opposed to federal power. Original Article: War Hysteria Fuels New Attacks on Free Speech  

Many people are selling their gold to make ends meet. Others are buying gold as insurance against mounting price inflation.  Original Article: As the Dollar Falters, Gold Becomes Insurance, Not Speculation  

For most Americans, the debate is about what size the welfare state should be. But why is there a welfare state at all?  Original Article: Thinking Properly about Public Welfare  

Mainstream economists claim money has purchasing power because the government issuing the money has so declared. That makes no sense. Original Article: How Does Money in Our Possession Acquire Value?  

Despite statements from Biden and other progressives, profits in a market economy are not a form of plunder. Instead, they represent entrepreneurial gains that mostly benefit consumers. Original Article: Profit Is Not Plunder  

The decades of American and European intervention in Africa are coming to an end, and things are even worse for American interests there. Perhaps overthrowing governments and trying to dictate political outcomes wasn’t a good idea. Original Article: Blowback in the African Coup Belt  

In a recent symposium on Murray Rothbard's For a New Liberty, philosopher Matt Zwolinski takes issue with Rothbard on Murray’s views of freedom and property rights. Original Article: Zwolinski Tries to Take Rothbard to the Mat