Guest post by Clarence B. Carson. The necessity for government to intervene in the economic realm is widely accepted today. The media of communication frequently report interventionist measures in much the same manner as they do natural occurrences. Television anchor men announce the latest intervention in the same tones that weathermen predict the winds tomorrow…
Tag: intervention
The Disaster that Romneycare is Becoming
Guest post by Robert Wenzel. Anyone who understands basic economics and how interventionist government leads to greater interventionist government knew this was going to happen. Market price signals are destroyed, supply and demand distortions start to occur and the regulative power centers are captured bu insiders. Costs go up, care goes down and the only…
Regulation Red Herring
Most people believe that government must regulate the marketplace. The only alternative to a regulated market, the thinking goes, is an unregulated market. On first glance that makes sense. It’s the law of excluded middle. A market is either regulated or it’s not.
When Does Law Become Criminal?
Post by Skyler J. Collins. Originally written August 2011. If you’ve ever criticized taxation in front of an average statist, be them liberal or conservative, you know that it quickly turns awkward. They insist that taxation is necessary for certain services and that they’re happy to pay it. They sometimes even assume you’re advocating not…
Spanking is Far Worse than Simply “Beating Up” Someone
I absolutely love this rant by throwaway-o on the anarcho-capitalism subreddit. Here it is in full: Starting from the most fundamental basics: “spanking” (a term used to describe a certain particular form of initiation of violence) is an initiation of violence, and therefore it is an obvious and open violation of the NAP. There is…
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 3 – Fundamentals of Voluntaryism
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section One – Chapter 2, “Coercivists and Voluntarists” by Donald J. Boudreaux 3 Fundamentals of Voluntaryism by Carl Watner Voluntaryism is the doctrine that relations among people should be by mutual consent, or not at all. It represents a means, an end, and an insight. Voluntaryism does not argue for the…
Kony 2012: A Call For Rationality
I’m sure several of you have seen this video at least once. I feel the need to address this due to its popularity. If you haven’t seen it, I suggest you do so (even if you disagree with it). It’s very well done. It’s so well done that I, in fact, supported an actual military…
What is a Libertarian?
A person on a forum I frequently visit asked the group about what a libertarian truly is, since he didn’t believe in natural rights or the non-aggression principle. For the record, he was opposed to tyranny and the government through Biblical support and his spiritual/religious beliefs. The anti-government attitude was there, but the motivation is completely…