The Mises Circle event this past weekend — The Fed and War Finance — was a wonderful time; the full house at the University Club seemed to agree. Apart from having my toiletries confiscated at the airport (yes, they mean it when they say no liquids or gels), I was glad to visit New York City again, where I lived for five years, and see some of the old cadre as well as a great many new faces.
Walter Block, Joseph Salerno, Lew Rockwell and I all spoke. How war is financed, and how its true cost is concealed by government and the Fed, is a topic that isn't going away anytime soon, but it's also a topic that needs to be raised much more frequently than it is now — and by people who aren't convinced that in the presence of the Fed we should genuflect and wave incense.
Toward the end of his talk, Joe Salerno described the potential for a "praxeology of war," and discussed specific measures people can take to cripple the state's ability to carry on a particular war. This is definitely an mp3 worth listening to when these talks are posted, since Professor Salerno has identified an interesting and original research paradigm for the future.
Here's hoping the Institute can take the show on the road again very soon.
