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Economics

 

Israel Kirzner's Analysis of Transaction Costs and the Entrepreneurial Nature of Resource Allocation:

G. Stolyarov II

August 17, 2007:

Contrary to a prevalent position in orthodox economics, Israel M. Kirzner does not think that a world of zero transaction costs would necessarily result in all available opportunities for welfare improvement being taken advantage of. In Competition and Entrepreneurship, Kirzner outlines his difficulties with the proposition that a lack of transaction costs necessarily leads to all mutually advantageous transactions occurring. Mr. Stolyarov discusses Kirzner's arguments and their implications for real-world economic policy and comparisons between the free market and government economic controls.

 

The Gold Problem (1965):

Ludwig von Mises

August 19, 2007:

Why have a monetary system based on gold? Because, writes Ludwig von Mises, as conditions are today and for the time that can be foreseen today, the gold standard alone makes the determination of money's purchasing power independent of the ambitions and machinations of governments, of dictators, of political parties, and of pressure groups. The gold standard alone is what the nineteenth-century freedom-loving leaders (who championed representative government, civil liberties, and prosperity for all) called "sound money."

 

Roads, Bridges, and Socialist Capital:

Dr. William L. Anderson

August 19, 2007:

Dr. William Anderson writes that under socialism, capital becomes a liability, not an asset. That is because capital brings no income to its owners; once it is established, it is just another good that needs to be maintained. That is why the communist nations seemed to be in a time warp, as socialist authorities had no reason to modernize or even maintain capital beyond minimal standards. This is also the reason why the collapsed government-owned bridge in Minnesota was so poorly maintained as to lead to in tragedy.

 

Ethics

 

The Overlooked Benefits of Traditional Morality:

G. Stolyarov II

August 17, 2007:

A reasonable degree of skepticism is a virtue, as is an attempt to inquire into the reasons for a practice or an institution which one does not understand. However, writes Mr. Stolyarov, an explicit understanding of a behavior in its entirety is not necessary for accepting that behavior as beneficial or at least preferable to its absence. Just as many mathematical theorems produce accurate results without yet being explicitly proven, so do many rules of moral behavior lead to superior practical consequences – even though their theoretical justifications have not yet been fully fleshed out.

 

Politics

 

Congress is Destroying America's Schools:

Alan Caruba

August 19, 2007:

If you want to witness the most blatantly un-Constitutional and un-American laws at work, then just take a walk through your local schools. They are currently under the control of the federal government. Why any town or city bothers to hold an election for members of the local board of education is a mystery to Alan Caruba. Between the U.S. Department of Education and a union, the National Education Association—masquerading as just a group of concerned teachers—local boards have no real power to reverse the subjugation and destruction of the nation’s education system.

 

Race-Baiting Politician Attacks Michael Savage:

Selwyn Duke

August 19, 2007:

Patriotism might at one time have been the last refuge of a scoundrel, but Selwyn Duke thinks this is no longer true.  With modern America being characterized more by political correctness than patriotism, screams of “racism” may now be that last refuge.  And joining the ranks of scoundrels, populated by reverends sans congregations and other assorted guttersnipes, is one Gerardo Sandoval, San Francisco Supervisor.  What has earned Mr. Sandoval his yellow stripes is his introduction of a government resolution condemning radio talk show host Michael Savage for what Sandoval calls “defamatory language . . . against immigrants.” 

 

Romans Chapter 13:

Dr. Chuck Baldwin

August 19, 2007:

It seems that every time someone such as Dr. Chuck Baldwin attempts to encourage Christians to resist an unconstitutional or otherwise reprehensible government policy, we hear the retort, "What about Romans Chapter 13? We Christians must submit to government. Any government. Read your Bible, and leave me alone." Dr. Baldwin analyzes Romans Chapter 13 to show that its words do not justify obedience to an oppressive government, but rather imply -- in the context of the United States -- that good Christians ought to uphold the U. S. Constitution and remain vigilant against violations of it by politicians.

 

Isaiah Berlin on Negative Freedom:

Dr. Murray N. Rothbard

August 19, 2007:

One of the best-known and most influential present-day treatments of liberty is that of Sir Isaiah Berlin. In his Two Concepts of Liberty, Berlin upheld the concept of "negative liberty" — absence of interference with a person's sphere of action — as against "positive liberty," which refers not to liberty at all but to an individual's effective power or mastery over himself or his environment. Superficially Berlin's concept of negative liberty seems similar to the ideas advocated by Dr. Murray Rothbard: that liberty is the absence of physically coercive interference or invasion of an individual's person and property. Unfortunately, however, the vagueness of Berlin's concepts led to confusion and to the absence of a systematic and valid libertarian creed.

 

The Principles of Freedom versus Public-Private Partnerships:

Tom DeWeese

August 19, 2007:

What public/private partnerships are not, writes Tom DeWeese, is capitalism or free enterprise, though it may have some of the trappings of such. The marketplace is still there. Its laws have not been repealed. But ultimately, corporatism does not trust the marketplace to do what the elites want. Thus the alignment of corporations and government is done at the expense of ordinary people - the exact opposite of free markets controlled by consumers.

 

High Risk Spending:

Rep. Ron Paul, M. D.

August 19, 2007:

Rep. Ron Paul writes that one thing that has not drawn enough attention is the link between the size of government and the mismanagement that leads to wasted money. If the government was restrained within its proper constitutional functions, it would be far better managed and much more readily would proper oversight occur.

 

"We can speak to each other only because we can appeal to something common to all of us, namely, the logical structure of reason."

~ Ludwig von Mises