Recently I posted a short essay listing three economic fallacies about the Greek crisis. The three were (1) the euro is too strong a currency for Greece, (2) debasing its own currency will allow Greece to export its way to
Law 
My letter to Wolfgang Munchau of the Financial Times, London
Re: The make believe world of eurozone rules Dear Sir: In your otherwise fine column today-Monday, July 27, 2015-you conclude with this statement: “…Germany does not want to grant Greece debt relief for political reasons, and is using European law
My Advice for Greece
Leave both the European Union (EU) and the European Monetary Union (EMU). These are very flawed institutions. In his prescient book Tragedy of the Euro, Professor Philip Bagus uses the term “misconstructed”, which I think is very descriptive of
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My letter to the NY Times re: Why laid off American workers can’t find jobs
Re: The Perils of Globalization Dear Sirs: I believe that Binyamin Appelbaum may have unwittingly answered his own question about why American workers who lose their jobs-as illustrated by the former Maytag employees in Galesburg, Illinois-have such a difficult time
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Decline of the Rule of Law
Reprinted from The Freeman Political wisdom, dearly bought by the bitter experience of generations, is often lost through the gradual change in the meaning of the words which express its maxims. Though the phrases themselves may continue to receive lip service,
Who Owns the Water?
Reprinted from LewRockwell.com Dear Mr. Read: Congratulations on publishing the stimulating and challenging article on “Ownership and Control of Water” in the November issue of Ideas On Liberty. It is highly important that we think more about such fine points
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The Government Bundle: Would You Like War with Your Health Care?
A recent business innovation that has seen wide market acceptance is the bundling of goods and services. For example, telecommunications providers such as Bell and Rogers often bundle their phone and Internet services. Such bundling provides substantial benefits for both
On Slavery
Exactly one hundred and fifty years ago, the United States Congress passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. The abolishment of slavery remains one of our country’s great moral triumphs, a crowning achievement of liberal, enlightened civilization. Unfortunately it was
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Elizabeth Stoker Bruenig Fails to Take Down Libertarianism over Children’s Rights
If you ever want to disrupt a room of libertarians, you should bring up the topic of children’s rights. Similar to intellectual property and private law enforcement, the rights of the smallest, most defenseless among us is contentious. It’s so
Property Rights as Social Justice Part III
Given the essentiality of peace and prosperity to the quality of human life, the significance of private property can hardly be ignored. Its greatest significance in the eyes of commentators, however, seems rooted in the impetus it gives to the
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Why the welfare state grows, and grows, and grows…
Re: George Will on the mushrooming welfare state Columnist George Will puts recent research into the adverse consequences of the welfare state into words that we all can understand. However, I do not think that he gets to the heart of
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What Price a Planned Economy? Part 2
Originally published in Contemporary Review of London, April 1938. Reprinted from Mises.org IV But if democracy had to abdicate only from the control of economic life, this might still be regarded as a minor evil compared with the advantages expected from
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What Price a Planned Economy? Part 1
Originally published in Contemporary Review of London, April 1938. Reprinted from Mises.org The link between classical liberalism and present-day Socialism — often still misnamed liberalism — is undoubtedly the belief that the consummation of individual freedom requires relief from the
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Take Back the Word “Liberal”
Reprinted from The Freeman For 2015, I would like to pick up an old campaign to take back the word “liberal” for the cause of human liberty. Or perhaps that’s too ambitious. Perhaps it is enough for each of us
Maastricht Treaty? We don’t need no stinkin’ Maastricht Treaty!
From today’s Open Europe news summary: Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer told Handelsblatt that, if the ECB were to buy government bonds, he would favour “a cap” in terms of percentage of the market which the ECB can buy. Handelsblatt Le
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The worst that can happen to you for committing a nonviolent marijuana crime, around the World
Everyone knows different countries treat drugs differently. For example, if you get caught buying or selling a large amount of marijuana in Canada, you’re probably not going to get your head chopped off by the government-but in Saudi Arabia, that is the law.
Police Piracy
Reprinted from Casey Research Christmas came early to a Midwest sheriff’s department. While back in Abilene, Kansas to see family, I read a story reported by an old high school friend, titled “Dickinson County Sheriff Office could benefit from forfeiture.”
The Need for General Rules
Excerpted from The Foundations of Morality by Henry Hazlitt. Reprinted from Mises.org 1. The Contribution of Hume David Hume, probably the greatest of British philosophers, made three major contributions to ethics. The first was the naming and consistent application of
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How Far are you Willing to Go?
When I was in college (at the progressive stronghold Oberlin College in Ohio), the most profound influence I received was the tutelage of philosophy professor Tim Hall, a libertarian whose area of expertise was ethics. In his Philosophy and Values
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