Guest post by Jeffrey Tucker. I don’t mean to harp, but the more I think about Obama’s now-famous speech (“You didn’t build that”), the more annoyed I become. If you listen to what he said, he can’t conceive of cooperative human relations apart from ridiculous government projects. He imagines that market activity is isolating, autonomous,…
Category: Free Markets
The State is a Tragedy of the Commons
Guest post by Michael Suede. Some of you may already be familiar with the economic law called “the tragedy of the commons,” but for those of you who are not, I shall explain it. The tragedy of the commons refers to a dilemma arising from the situation in which multiple individuals, acting independently and rationally…
Cannabis to the Rescue
If everyone approached everyone else on a basis of mutual consent, then we wouldn’t have laws that would have kept this person a lifetime patient of the medical-industrial complex. Down with drug laws. They are a violation of our rights, and often times sentence people to a lifetime of misery. Spread this story far and…
Price: The Most Powerful Tool
Guest post by Beetle559. The most powerful tool we have as a species is the “price”. Nothing will advance society further than the recognition of the fact that we need to let prices be what prices are before we can thrive. The price is a tool, it is not an enemy that needs to be…
Chapter 15 – Why Socialism Must Fail
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Three – Chapter 14 – “Historical Capitalism vs. the Free Market” by Richard Ebeling 15 Why Socialism Must Fail by Hans-Hermann Hoppe Socialism and capitalism* offer radically different solutions to the problem posed by scarcity: everybody can’t have everything they want when they want it, so how can we effectively…
Chapter 14 – Historical Capitalism vs. the Free Market
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Three – Chapter 13 – “Planning vs. the Free Market” by Henry Hazlitt 14 Historical Capitalism vs. the Free Market by Richard Ebeling During the dark days of Nazi collectivism in Europe, the German economist Wilhelm Röpke used the haven of neutral Switzerland for continuing to write and lecture on…
Chapter 13 – Planning vs. the Free Market
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Three – Chapter 12 – “What is the Free Market?” by Murray N. Rothbard 13 Planning vs. the Free Market by Henry Hazlitt When we discuss “economic planning,” we must be clear concerning what it is we are talking about. The real question being raised is not: plan or no…
Chapter 12 – What is the Free Market?
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Three – Chapter 11 – “I, Pencil” by Leonard E. Read 12 What is the Free Market? by Murray N. Rothbard The Free Market is a summary term for an array of exchanges that take place in society. Each exchange is undertaken as a voluntary agreement between two people or…
Chapter 11 – I, Pencil
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Two – Chapter 10 – “Secular Theocracy” by David J. Theroux 11 I, Pencil by Leonard E. Read I am a lead pencil – the ordinary wooden pencil familiar to all boys and girls and adults who can read and write. Writing is both my vocation and my avocation; that’s all…
Chapter 16 – Agorist Living
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Three – Chapter 15 – “Why Socialism Must Fail” by Hans-Hermann Hoppe 16 Agorist Living by Nicholas Hooton The idea of joining the Libertarian Party tempted me years ago when I first discovered libertarian philosophy, as I’m sure it has tempted many before and since. The Party website stared me…