Contrary to mainstream classical political economy, which treated the “original accumulation of capital” as the result of thrift, saving and reinvestment on the part of the capitalist, Marx argued in the first volume of Capital that capitalism — as opposed to simple market exchange — was founded on the separation of the peasantry from their…

July 15 was the final day for FAO Schwarz’s iconic flagship retail store, a New York City fixture since 1870. What, exactly, closed the toy box? The immediate cause, increasing rent, was merely the last straw. The store’s approach was more and more out of step in an economy in which personalized service from Amazon.com-style warehouses is replacing brick-and-mortar retail…

Don Blankenship, longtime Chief Executive Officer of coal giant Massey Energy, was indicted November 13 on charges that he consistently violated federal mine safety rules at the company’s Upper Big Branch Mine until an April 2010 explosion that killed 29 of 31 miners. The Charleston, West Virginia Gazette reports that a federal grand jury charges Blankenship with…

Kathy Kelly discusses ISIS and the war in Iraq. Douglas Macgregor discusses U.S. military intervention. Franklin Lamb discusses Syrian migrants and their plight. William Blum discusses the Berlin Wall. Sheldon Richman discusses torture and Obama. Lucy Steigerwald discusses the War on Drugs abroad. Richard M. Ebeling discusses Ludwig Von Mises and the business cycle. David…

Em julho de 2014, a página oficial de Dilma Rousseff no Facebook comemorou a produção recorde de minério de ferro pela Vale. Segundo a página da presidente, a empresa “quebrou recorde histórico de produção de minério de ferro para o segundo trimestre”, o que representou uma “alta de 12,6% em relação ao mesmo período de…

In my last two blog posts, I responded to Lynn Stuart Parramore’s article titled How Piketty’s Bombshell Book Blew Up Libertarian Fantasies. At the end of the second one, I promised an explanation of the economic theory I used to critique her article. This post will be a brief introduction to said economic theory. Let’s…

This is the second part of my two part series on Lynn Stuart Parramore’s recent article titled How Piketty’s Bombshell Book Blew Up Libertarian Fantasies. Let’s get started. She writes: By 1987, Ayn Rand acolyte Alan Greenspan had taken over as head of the Federal Reserve, and free market fever was unleashed upon America. Alan…

In a way it’s like having a meal prepared with high quality fresh produce, by a great chef… who somehow forgot to add a key spice that would have enhanced the overall of the dish to a whole new level.