Since America seems to have entered an era of permanent political campaigning, what H.L. Mencken called politics’ “advance auction of stolen goods” never stops. Those trolling for more power extol liberty in their speeches, while redefining it into something different (e.g., Rudy Giuliani’s version in a 1994 speech: “Freedom is about authority.
In May, the House of Representatives passed a bill that could lead to fines as high as $3 million per day for gasoline price gouging, which it defined as charging a price that “grossly exceeds the average price offered for sale by that person during the 30 days prior” or “grossly exceeds the price at which the same or similar gasoline was readily
The Supreme Court has just made this term’s biggest union decision. Unfortunately, though characterized as a setback for unions, it did little for those coerced by them. It did reveal, however, how limited is government protection for non-union members’ rights. At issue was a state initiative preventing the Washington Education Association from
Over the weekend I watched “ Flags of our Fathers “ and one quote stuck out (among others). It comes from a Treasury Department official (Bud Gerber) who is trying to convince the flag raisers of Iwo Jima to use their celebrity status in assisting him in a new bond drive. He laments: You know what they’re calling this bond drive? The Mighty
Various Democratic politicians, including Diane Feinstein , are considering reviving the fairness doctrine to rein in talk radio’s “unfair bias.” Unfortunately, it is just the latest abuse of a perennial political weasel word—fair. Fair is a great weasel word because no one will admit to being against fairness, despite massive differences in what
With its title of Freedomnomics , some might dismiss John Lott’s latest book as just some slanted ideological rhetoric to be ignored. That would be a mistake. Having known him since graduate school at UCLA, I can attest that he is not an ideologue trying to abuse logic and statistics to confirm prior assumptions. He is someone who does his best to
In “ Remembering Henry Hazlitt “ (7/27), Bettini Bien Greaves lays out Hazlitt’s importance. However, something important was left out of that account. Out of some 10 million words he wrote, nothing of what he said about liberty was included. Therefore, to provide a taste of some of the words that made Hazlitt so important, consider just a few:
Ambrose Bierce was once described as “the forgotten brother of Mark Twain,” perhaps because he echoed Twain’s view that “Irreverence is the champion of liberty and its one sure defense.” Because of his way with words, “Public figures quaked in fear of his satirical pen.” Bierce is best remembered for The Devil’s Dictionary, a collection of
Few words get the good PR that democracy does. Americans are told we must fight for democracy around the world. “Democratic” is thrown in as an adjective whenever something is considered good politically (e.g., “our democratic way of life”), and “undemocratic” is inserted if it is considered bad. L eading up to elections, democracy’s good PR turns
Labor Day is supposed to honor all American workers. And every year, union Labor Day rhetoric does just that. Unfortunately, it then makes the false leap to the claim that unions advance the interests of all American working men and women, not just their members. In fact, despite unions’ pro-worker rhetoric, the effect of most union activities and
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.