Audio Mises Wire
Audio recordings of Mises Wire articles, offering contemporary news and opinion through the lens of Austrian economics and libertarian political economy.
The Birthright Citizenship Ruling Will Create More Conflict over Immigration
This decision—as with birthright citizenship in general—will increase political conflict over the presence of foreign nationals—both legal and illegal—within the United States.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/birthright-citizenship-ruling-will-create-more-conflict-over-immigration
A Backwards History of Money
Money did originate from the state, no matter how many times contemporary monetary theorists might claim otherwise.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/backwards-history-money
The Supreme Court and the Supreme Fed
With its new ruling in Trump v. Cook, the Supreme Court demonstrates it does not understand central banking or the Fed. Clarence Thomas, however, saw through the Fed's lies. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/supreme-court-and-supreme-fed
A Libertarian Critique of Birthright Citizenship
It is important to change our political culture, which treats "democracy," or the "right" to vote, as the supreme political good.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/libertarian-critique-birthright-citizenship
Bitcoin Is Not Freedom: The Delusion of Digital Escape
While Bitcoin in its early days promised freedom from the tyranny of fiat currency, those days are gone. Instead, Bitcoin owners are now satisfied if its value goes up against the dollar.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/bitcoin-not-freedom-delusion-digital-escape
Why Bernie Sanders’s AI Bill Is Fascistic and Dangerous
Comparing Sanders to fascism may seem unusual, but it should not be forgotten that the main leaders of Italian fascism, including Mussolini, were initially socialists before they became fascists.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-bernie-sanderss-ai-bill-fascistic-and-dangerous
Calhoun’s Answer to the Abolition Petitions
What role does the Constitution play when one state has a different understanding of “American values” than another? Unfortunately, the responses have been inconsistent, depending upon which “values” one wishes to promote.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/calhouns-answer-abolition-petitions
The State of Financial Markets Tells Us What Investors Really Believe
Mainstream economists claim that understanding and observing reality is not really “doing economics.” Instead, they believe that all we need are abstract theories that predict events well. But over time, financial markets must bend to the real world.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/state-financial-markets-tells-us-what-investors-really-believe
On July 4, Will You be Celebrating the Founders or the Status Quo?
On this July 4, Americans will celebrate 250 years of independence. However, what are people really celebrating, freedom or a militaristic regime?Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/july-4-will-you-be-celebrating-founders-or-status-quo
Hantavirus: Market versus Government Disease Control
Pandemics offer an alleged challenge to libertarians, as some argue that governments should have the power to order quarantines and impose vaccine requirements. It turns out that statism makes things worse—and that free markets offer the best solutions.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/hantavirus-market-versus-government-disease-control
Greenspan: The Great Opportunist
While the pundits are insisting that the late Alan Greenspan was a committed free market adherent, his actions throughout his career spoke differently. In today’s Friday Philosophy, Dr. David Gordon exposes Greenspan for what he was: an opportunist.Original article: https://mises.org/friday-philosophy/greenspan-great-opportunist
The Myth of Nationalist Victory: The Articles of Confederation and the Bank of North America
Were stronger central government under the Articles of Confederation and a central bank really necessary to win the American Revolution, as conservative nationalists of the era claimed?Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/myth-nationalist-victory-articles-confederation-and-bank-north-america
On Little Bighorn Anniversary, Remember Custer’s Crimes
The famed "Custer's Last Stand" at the hands of Native Americans defending their villages is a reminder of the brutality of the US war against the Plains Indians. History tells us that the "heroic" George Armstrong Custer was really the "reckless" Custer who died underestimating his foe.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/little-bighorn-anniversary-remember-custers-crimes
Intellectual Property versus the Unrealized
The common belief is that intellectual property rights must be in place, otherwise, entrepreneurs would be reluctant to face uncertain profitability. Well, entrepreneurs already face uncertainty and act, anyway.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/intellectual-property-versus-unrealized
Democratic Socialists: One Vote, One Time?
Democratic Socialists are winning election after election and will have a number of representatives in Congress. What will happen to our society as they continue to gain power? The answers are not encouraging.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/democratic-socialists-one-vote-one-time
How Greek Merchants and Philosophers Discovered Economics
Long before modern economics, the Greek philosophers were laying the groundwork for understanding human cooperation in a social setting, helping to give birth to economic thinking.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/how-greek-merchants-and-philosophers-discovered-economics
Murray N. Rothbard: Toward a “Science of Liberty”
Murray N. Rothbard was a system builder in the mode of Ludwig von Mises, Frank H. Knight, and F. A. Hayek. Social, economic, and political problems are intertwined and complex and require a grand theory to address them. For Rothbard, the unifying theme of social theory was liberty.Original article in The Misesian: https://mises.org/misesian/murray-n-rothbard-toward-science-liberty
From Scholasticism to Enlightenment Liberalism
The intellectual path from Ancient Greece to modernity is littered with the path of numerous philosophers, movements, and events, both peaceful and violent that have shaped thinking throughout the ages.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/scholasticism-enlightenment-liberalism
Lies, Damn Lies, and the History of Capitalism
Modern historians rarely have told the truth about the history of capitalism, and especially in the early days of the Industrial Revolution. It is time to set the record straight.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/lies-damn-lies-and-history-capitalism
Greenspan's Empty Talk
On the day Greenspan died, this 2001 essay by Joseph T. Salerno deserves a second life. It documented what the mainstream refused to see: that Greenspan replaced economic theory with intuition, replaced analysis with data-worship, and called his guesswork a science.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-daily/greenspans-empty-talk
Alan Greenspan Dies at 100
Greenspan served as an especially important cog in this machine by increasing the Fed’s prerogatives within the global economy.Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/alan-greenspan-dies-100
The Sixth Republic?
As Ryan McMaken recently pointed out, the original constitutional republic created in 1787 no longer exists. Joseph Solis-Mullen asked if the US is now in its Sixth Republic.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/sixth-republic
Why You Shouldn't Trust the Bureaucrats
Progressive elites insist that we “trust our government” when they are in control, but why should we? In fact, we should no more trust government than Charlie Brown should have trusted Lucy to hold the football.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-you-shouldnt-trust-bureaucrats
Why Stable Systems Fail: The Illusion of Institutional Control
Systems do not collapse when they finally become unstable; they appear stable until the moment their failure can no longer be ignored.Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/why-stable-systems-fail-illusion-institutional-control
Institutional Closure: Why Managed Directivism Breeds Its Own Collapse
As technology advances, progressives believe that this time, all of their social engineering and attempts to establish socialism will finally come to fruition. They are in for a rude surprise.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/institutional-closure-why-managed-directivism-breeds-its-own-collapse
Why the US President Loves “Inflation”?
The president has declared that he loves inflation. What economic fallacies is he likely adopting that leads to this conclusion?Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-us-president-loves-inflation
China’s Industrial Policy: Ambition, Inefficiency, and a Cautionary Tale for America
While China’s economy has boomed, many people wrongly associate that success with the Chinese government’s industrial policies. Intervention has created many problems there—just as it has done elsewhere.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/chinas-industrial-policy-ambition-inefficiency-and-cautionary-tale-america
The American Revolution and the Danger of Standing Armies
Among the key men involved in the American Revolution and the following periods, we find an oft-repeated concern that may seem foreign to us today—the threat of standing armies. This reality became concrete in the Newburgh conspiracy in 1783.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/american-revolution-and-danger-standing-armies
Oppose Graham Platner for His Socialism, Not Just His Outrageous Behavior
While Graham Platner has become controversial because of his reckless past and violent behavior, the real objection to his being elected a US Senator should be to his reckless socialist proposals that would have disastrous consequences.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/oppose-graham-platner-his-socialism-not-just-his-outrageous-behavior
The Middle Ages, "Enlightenment," and Propaganda
Names for historical periods like "Renaissance" and "Enlightenment" did not descend to us out of the heavens. Historians and propagandists of centuries past created these names, often for political purposes. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/middle-ages-enlightenment-and-propaganda
Bond Market Sell Off: Welcome to the “Titanic Effect”
Because government monetary authorities have been interfering with interest rates for decades, investors have no more confidence in the bond markets, as they expect more interference and more unpredictability.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/bond-market-sell-welcome-titanic-effect
The Fed Holds the Interest Rate Steady, and Warsh Buys Time with New "Task Force" Scheme
Once we look beyond a small shift in rhetoric and emphasis, there is, so far, no reason to believe that the Fed is headed toward anything other than business as usual. Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/fed-holds-interest-rate-steady-and-warsh-buys-time-new-task-force-scheme
Real Wages Fell for the Second Month as Price Inflation Surged
Sure, the earnings average was up year over year, but prices increased more than earnings did. In fact, price inflation hit a 38-month high in May.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/real-wages-fell-second-month-price-inflation-surged
Why Justice Mattered to Rothbard
Economists like Harold Demsetz and Ronald Coase based their property rights views on utilitarianism. Murray Rothbard based his on justice.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-justice-mattered-rothbard
Raising Interest Rates Does Not Counter Inflation
When inflation surges, the first thing on the government's agenda is for the Federal Reserve to try to force up interest rates. However, as Frank Shostak writes, that might not be the best strategy.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/raising-interest-rates-does-not-counter-inflation
The Fear of the Signal: Why the State Urgently Wants to Bind Prediction Markets
Prediction markets, while obviously imperfect, still work well because people voluntarily put their money where their beliefs are. Naturally, the government wants to shut them down.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/fear-signal-why-state-urgently-wants-bind-prediction-markets
Sound Money, Artificial Intelligence, and the Pope
Unfortunately, the Pope does not understand the role that monetary inflation plays in fueling AI's excesses. If he did, he might lead a necessary anti-AI spiritual alliance for sound money. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/sound-money-artificial-intelligence-and-pope
April Money Supply Growth Hit a 49-Month High. And Prices Soared.
In spite of repeated claims from the Federal Reserve that monetary policy is at least moderately restrictive, there is no sign of any slowing in money-supply growth.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/april-money-supply-growth-hit-49-month-high-and-prices-soared
Moloch in the Regulatory State
Regulatory systems are infamous for creating “traps” in seem to be impervious to reform. Regulators seek to “drain the swamp,” but, instead, find themselves up to their necks in alligators.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/moloch-regulatory-state
The Abolitionist Movement in the Antebellum South
Before the Nat Turner Rebellion and the rise of militant abolitionism in the North, there were more anti-slavery societies in the South than in the northern states.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/abolitionist-movement-antebellum-south