Let us appreciate Rothbard’s masterpiece as an economic milestone in its own right, not just as an extension and clarification of “Human Action,” with the hope that it will eventually become one of the standard points of reference for seekers of comprehensive economic knowledge in a world that makes it an ever more indispensable asset.
Tag: economics
Hurricanes Create Jobs? (4m) – The Back Story 026
The Back Story 026 looks at the ever-present broken window fallacy.
The Socio-Political Equivalent of a Catch-22
If anyone ever managed to create real socialism – that is, a system completely detached from external free markets, perfectly efficient at destroying internal black markets, and not dependent on financing by other, not-fully-socialist regimes – then such a system would immediately collapse in a spectacular manner, consumed by calculational chaos so exhaustively described by Ludwig von Mises.
Superstition Still Plagues Humanity
When I think of behaviors or convictions from the past now considered superstitious, I can’t help but find many modern analogs. It’s not difficult when we define superstition as follows: a belief in something in spite of the absence of supporting facts or evidence.
Peaceful Anarchism 022 – Tragedy of the Commons and Potato Chips (6m)
Peaceful Anarchism 022, “An analogy can be drawn of the tragedy of the commons as it relates to giving many children a pile of chips and letting them free to fight for the chips.”
What’s Wrong with the Thrive/Survive Theory of Left and Right
Many people in my circles now seem to take Thrive/Survive Theory as the default position; if it’s not true, it’s still the story to beat. But to be blunt, I find essentially no value in it. It’s not always wrong, but it’s about as right as you’d expect from chance.
The Back Story 025 – Price Gouging Saves Lives (3m)
The Back Story 025 looks at the life saving nature of so-called “price gouging.”
Quit Bitching about “Price Gouging”
Which of the following is morally and economically preferable?
First, Do Not Destroy Scarce Resources
If there is one lesson that everyone should learn from studying even the most elementary economics, and if there is one major intellectual gift that sound economists gave humanity, then it is precisely this vaccine against Orwellian superstition, according to which destruction contains any productive value.
Legislation Can’t Fix Imperfect Information
Perhaps someone discovers that she’s paid less for approximately the same job that another performs elsewhere, though both may have approximately the same skills, experience, and ambition. This doesn’t mean the employer had any malicious intent, rather that the employer and employee made a voluntary agreement based on their information and what the company could offer.