Audio Mises Wire

When discussing the homeless situation in the US, Star Trek does not usually come to mind. However, one episode from about three decades ago was both insightful and prophetic in presenting what would be homelessness in San Francisco. Original article: Past Tense—The Homeless Problem in Star Trek DS9    

Remember when progressive governments outlawed church gatherings but sanctioned sex orgies? Yes, it really happened.  Original article: Covid Tyrants Partied While Demanding Lockdowns for Everyone Else    

While Henri Bergson did not point his intellectual abilities toward politics, lesser men who were unscrupulous commandeered his ideas to promote their own collectivist ideologies.  Original article: Henri Bergson: The Philosopher of Life and Creative Evolution    

The political zeitgeist is to embrace protectionism, leading some who support free trade to embrace open borders. However, as Murray Rothbard explained, people and societies are complex entities and what may work for trade does not work for open immigration. Original article: Tariffs, Protectionism, and Why Borders Matter  

This year's presidential election is presented in stark terms of right and left, Trump on the right and Harris on the left. However, it is more realistic to say that both candidates are to the left of where electoral politics was located just a couple decades ago. Original article: The Gradual Leftward Shift in US Politics and Economy  

Many proponents of free markets have tried to cast aside the name “capitalism” as a descriptor of the market system. They should take caution before doing so. Original article: Yes, We Should Defend the Term “Capitalism”  

The more things change, the more they remain the same. In our present age of inflation, we are reminded of how Diocletian and other Roman authorities ordered price controls and other measures to hold down prices. None of these edicts were successful in bringing down prices. Original article: The Denarius and the Dollar: Price Controls Then and Now  

The Fed is desperate for you to think that “this time is different.” Unfortunately, Powell can’t seem to come up with explanation of why that is the case. Original article: The Fed Hits the Panic Button and Slashes the Fed Funds Rate  

Banking systems around the world have huge effects on our lives, yet few people understand how banks work. Worse yet, even fewer understand the malign powers of central banks and how this system undermines economies. Thus, it is important to demystify these systems. Original article: Understanding the Basics of Modern Banking    

The Fed’s specialty is propaganda through data, with a long record of failure. This is by design. Their communication tools must work in overtime, particularly in the face of a decision like this, to avoid “spooking markets”, though this veneer is easy to see through. Original article: An Economy So Strong It Requires Crisis-Level Fed Action    

After Trump narrowly escaped another assassination attempt, the establishment seems uninterested in the motives of the would-be shooter. Perhaps that’s because he’s echoing the same simplistic narratives about the Ukraine war and Trump that they demand we all believe. Original article: The Second Trump Shooter Believed Exactly What the Establishment Media Wanted Him to Believe    

It is understood that Marx's theories stand entirely upon his Labor Theory of Value. If that theory is discredited, so is the scenario that leads to the inevitable triumph of communism. That fact, however, doesn't stop Marx's disciples from employing other fallacies. Original article: New “Engels” on Marx  

Politicians have long claimed that states are like big families, and that political regimes rule in ways similar to how parents raise their families. This is nonsense.  Original article: Why the Family Is Not the Model for the State  

The standard belief is that slavery was about obtaining “cheap labor,“ yet nothing could be further from the truth. Slavery comes with high opportunity costs, which is why American slave owners depended upon several government regulations to subsidize their “peculiar institution.” Original article: Understanding the Real Costs of Slavery: It’s Not Cheap labor  

The Perfect Market Hypothesis claims that all movements in the market can be considered as random, as market players and prices adjust immediately to new information. However, market players do seek new information and seek to use it. Original article: Do Financial Markets Immediately Provide All Relevant Information?  

What Murray Rothbard used to call the "Old Right" stood for liberty, freedom of speech, and a free economy. Most importantly, they stood for peace, all in contrast to the "liberals" of their day and ours. Original article: The Rebellious Old Right        

The Salamanca School is known for important contributions to free-market economics and the Austrian School. The Bolognese jurists also made key contributions.  Original article: The Bolognese Jurists behind the Proto-Austrians of the Salamanca School  

When our ruling classes speak of “believing in democracy,” they are speaking of a romantic version of a form of governance that, in real life, is quite different than the sanitized version presented in our media.  Original article: Smashing the Western Illusion of Democracy  

The ruling elites of the US are calling for a "return" to "Hamiltonian Statecraft" and to move away from so-called isolationism. However, there has been no time since the end of World War II that the US has been anything but aggressive in its foreign policy. Original article: It’s Always Been Hamiltonian Statecraft  

California's 2014 ban on “single-use” plastic bags was supposed to lead to less waste of plastic, which hasn't happened. Now environmentalists are demanding the state ban the same plastic bags mandated by the original legislation. One intervention begets another and another. Original article: “Paper or Plastic?” How One Market Intervention Requires Another to “Correct” the Original One  

The common belief regarding state power is that it is always justified and there can be no questioning the state's existence. But is that true? Does state power conform to natural law or is it imposed upon subjected people?  Original article: Can the State be Justified?  

Academic historians and archivists have been captured by the hard left and the DEI industry. Not only will the current trends make them bad historians, but it also makes them intolerant people. Mises knew better. Original article: The Stewards of History Desperately Need Mises  

Yet another discouraging trend in law in the UK, Europe, and the US has been the criminalization of what authorities call “hate speech.” However, much of what passes for such “speech” is innocuous at worst and historically has been protected. Original article: The Folly of Criminalizing “Hate”    

Mainstream economists speak of GDP as though it is the economy itself, however, GDP is not a good measure of economic reality. Instead, it presents a distorted picture of genuine economic activity and leads to mistaken conclusions about the economy. Original article: Is GDP an Accurate Measure of Reality?    

Despite claims from progressive historians that US slavery was a natural outgrowth of a free market economy, the reality is that slavery would have been much costlier without governments—federal and state—subsidizing it. It is time to set the record straight. Original article: Governments Had a Major Role in Sustaining Slavery