Audio recordings of Mises Wire articles, offering contemporary news and opinion through the lens of Austrian economics and libertarian political economy.
A common complaint is that the 1964 Civil Rights Act started in the “right direction,” valuing so-called equality of opportunity, but then went off the rails with “equality of result.” In truth, the act cannot be reconciled with a libertarian society.Original Article: The “Equality of Opportunity” Fallacy
In its attempt to claim that the concept of free trade is full of fallacies, The American Compass builds its anti-free trade case upon...fallacies.Original Article: The Fallacies of Conservative Protectionists
What does the state do when in a financial fix? Unlike the rest of us, it legally counterfeits. By so doing, it transfers wealth to those who are politically connected—and then lies about it.Original Article: The State’s Best-Kept Secret
The socialist elites that dominate our institutions insist that private property is nothing more than a social construct held together by violence. As usual, they misunderstand that scarcity itself, which is the basis for economics, is also the basis for private property.Original Article: Private Property Comes from Scarcity, Not Law
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The State Wants to Nationalize Second Mortgages. What...
As if the government has not done enough destruction in the housing market, there now is a scheme to have the government nationalize second mortgages. Given the previous disaster with primary mortgages, we do not anxiously await the outcome of this proposal.Original Article: The State Wants to Nationalize Second Mortgages. What Possibly Can Go Wrong?
The abolition of chattel slavery was a great advancement for human liberty. But many of those celebrating Juneteenth today still accept the core assumptions that underlie slavery.Original Article: The Problem with Juneteenth
Murray Rothbard noted that the culture wars are not the result of conservative intransigence but rather of progressive elites’ insistence on forcing new cultural rules on people who don’t want to be coerced.Original Article: Resisting the Brave New Culture
As AI continues to develop, the prophets of doom claim that it will “take over” and create a dystopian society. Far from being an “existential threat,” AI is a tool that can be used for good or ill.Original Article: AI: “Existential Crisis” or Excuse for Cronyism?
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There Are Only Downsides to Prolonging the War in...
As the war in Ukraine drags on in its third year, Ukraine is bleeding and the future is even more gloomy. Unfortunately, even though it is time to end this conflict, the Biden administration continues to demand this war be fought to the last living Ukrainian.Original Article: There Are Only Downsides to Prolonging the War in Ukraine
Alex Pertsev, a developer of Tornado Cash, has been sentenced to prison by a Dutch court for helping build a platform that guarantees financial privacy. If there is one thing the state cannot tolerate, it is someone making financial transactions without government agents watching.Original Article: Governments Hate Privacy Software
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The Best Thing Governments Can Do for Business Is Get...
Various indexes are used to determine the ease of doing business in countries around the world. Not surprisingly, the nations that allow for protection of private property and have economic freedom also are the most prosperous.Original Article: The Best Thing Governments Can Do for Business Is Get Out of the Way
The decolonization movement seeks to destroy both economics and science, all in the name of social justice. In the end, however, what they get is not justice and certainly not order, but rather chaos, and deadly chaos at that.Original Article: Decolonizers’ Assault on Science
In his 2006 book The Wages of Destruction, Columbia University historian Adam Tooze explains Hitler’s policy of seeking lebensraum (living room). However, Ludwig von Mises (whom Tooze ignores) already explained that policy in his 1944 Omnipotent Government.Original Article: The Quest for Lebensraum
Thanks to the war uniparty that controls Washington, Americans are mired in endless wars and military and political intervention. As Washington creates legions of new enemies, the future for average Americans grows uncertain.Original Article: Has Interventionism Jeopardized America’s Future?
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The Biden Administration Uses Fudged Numbers to...
In order to vastly expand the regulatory state, the Biden administration is using fake cost-benefit ratios to make its regulations seem less costly and more beneficial. This is clearly fraudulent, but no bureaucrat will be charged with any crimes.Original Article: The Biden Administration Uses Fudged Numbers to Justify Imposing Punitive Regulations
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From Profits to Pandering: How Government Turned...
Long before government mandates and pressure infected businesses and universities with the DEI virus, Ludwig von Mises explained how bureaucracies infect the decision-making process.Original Article: From Profits to Pandering: How Government Turned Universities and Businesses into DEI Bureaucracies
The case against Donald Trump was utterly ridiculous. Yet he was convicted anyway. Opponents of the political establishment need to understand why.Original Article: The Lesson of the Trump Conviction
The endless bubble economy has a new lending craze: loans backed by AI chips. The problem is that while the chips serve as collateral, companies right now cannot make enough revenue to cover their costs.Original Article: The Unsustainable AI-Driven Lending Boom
While our political “leaders” insist that the government is “protecting” us, it offers the same kind of “protection” that mobsters offer: pay us to “protect” you, or we burn down your place with you in it.Original Article: Do You Know Who’s Hitting You?
Political and academic elites claim that economic freedom is the antithesis of civilization. They claim that functioning civilization can come only from a welfare state, a nonsensical propositionOriginal Article: Civilization Depends upon Economic Freedom