A Tribute to Prof. George Ayittey, One of Africa’s Greatest Economists
I was saddened to hear of the passing of Professor George Ayittey, a brilliant scholar, prolific writer and fierce fighter for Africa's freedom, prosperity, and dignity. May heaven grant his soul peace and rest. Although I never met Professor Ayittey and just recently
When Is a Land Title Criminal?
The Problem of Land Theft A particularly important application of our theory of property titles is the case of landed property. For one thing, land is a fixed quotal portion of the earth, and therefore the ground land endures virtually permanently.
Reckless Associations: The Ruling Class Creates New Legal Theory to Stifle Free Speech
The war on free speech has been given a boost by a new legal theory called "reckless associations," the "leaders" of an association that allegedly harms someone else are declared liable for that harm. Original Article: "Reckless Associations: The Ruling Class
Meds: The Seen—and Unseen—of Intellectual Property Laws
Perhaps the greatest lesson to be learned in economics is that public policies have seen and unseen effects. The mastery of such a lesson is what separates the good from the bad economist. “The bad economist,” writes Henry Hazlitt, “sees
Jordan Peterson on Austrian Economics: Free Markets Are “Profoundly Equitable”
Jordan Peterson is turning his eye toward Austrian economics. Unlike the many conservatives who see free market advocacy as some sort of "dangerous fundamentalism," Peterson seems to get it. Original Article: "Jordan Peterson on Austrian Economics: Free Markets Are 'Profoundly Equitable'" This
What Money Can’t Buy
An old joke expresses one of the most common criticisms of the free market. “What is the most beautiful word in the English language? Cash.” The free market, it is alleged, has no place for values that have no price
Saifedean Ammous Demolishes Green Energy
Our friend Saif, known to the world as Dr. Saifedean Ammous, joins Jeff and Bob Murphy for a demolition of the pseudo-economics behind Green energy. Read Saif's The Fiat Standard: Mises.org/FiatStandard Saif's paper 'Energy Systems and the Knowledge Problem: The Case of
What Determines Interest Rates? Comparing Mainstream Economics to the Austrian School
The conventional view among mainstream economists, as presented by Milton Friedman, is that three factors determine market interest rates: liquidity, economic activity, and inflationary expectations. In this viewpoint, whenever the central bank raises the growth rate in the money supply by buying
Why the Yen Fell While the Dollar Rallied
How can we explain that the currency whose issuer has made the biggest inflationary mistake of all during the pandemic is the strongest (the US Consumer Price Index is up over 8 percent year on year), while that where the inflationary