In Why the Rich Tolerate Being Looted Jeffrey Tucker argues the rich today act differently than they used to. They wear common clothing, avoid luxurious houses and cars, and even call for higher taxes on themselves. Tucker explains this new phenomenon by drawing upon an essay by Peter Leeson and says, “Property rights are weak today… The…

In this post, I continue my brief introduction to left-wing laissez faire economic theory. Let’s get started. After discussing Benjamin Tucker’s four big monopolies, the next big thing to discuss is that of contemporary mutualist/individualist anarchist – Kevin Carson. I already made use of some of his stuff, but I want to highlight the innovations…

The innovative initiatives of occupation of (nominally) public spaces, which have arisen here and elsewhere at the start of the 21st century, are still quite biased against trade and commerce. They imagine that an event (or program) that intends on promoting togetherness in public squares and city streets is not supposed to be profit motivated;…

Livre mercado: Condição social em que todas as transações econômicas são resultado de escolhas voluntárias sem coerção. Estado: Instituição que intervém no livre mercado através do exercício direto da coerção ou da concessão de privilégios (sustentados pela coerção). Impostos: Forma de coerção ou interferência no livre mercado em que o estado coleta tributos (os impostos)…

Lots of action on the equality front the past few days. One story gaining national attention from Tennessee is a political action that serves to marginalize the LGBTQ community. State senator Brian Kelsey, of Memphis, has introduced a bill coined “turn the gays away.” This bill would allow businesses to refuse service to the LGBTQ community. According to the bill no “persons” will…

[Disclaimer. This is a paid review. I was assured by Jeff Graubart that negative reviews were fine – he expected only honesty. And I received 40% of the payment up front, with the rest to come after writing the review.] Graubart’s vision of a future society, like the whole of Gaul, is divided into three…

The 2008 global financial crisis has had far-reaching implications, depressing markets for years. Charged with US monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank, with its mantra of “too big to fail,” is empowered to manage the economic downturn. The central bank’s monetary policies effectively redistribute wealth to the upper tiers of society — and the proof is…

Transfer of Power Arguably the most powerful person in the United States (even rivaling the POTUS), Ben S. Bernanke, has left the Federal Reserve. Since 2006 he has sought to make the economy his marionette. Fed policies, under his direction, worked to manage a collapsed housing market, busted mortgage industry and the 2008 global financial crisis –…

The Washington Post‘s E.J. Dionne Jr., predicts that the reemergence of the Democratic left will be a major political story in 2014 (“The Resurgent Progressives,” January 1). He argues that the American right has been unwilling to compromise on policy matters with moderate Democrats. As a result the populace has been dragged ever farther to the right — even…

Existe uma frase magnífica sobre como o capitalismo funciona no mundo real (eu não estou certo de quem a criou, mas eu associo a Noam Chomsky): “A socialização do risco e do custo, e a privatização do lucro”. Essa é uma descrição muito interessante sob qual é a função do estado no capitalismo atual, em…

On the November 10 episode of the Stossel Show, libertarian commentator John Stossel had an exchange with anarcho-capitalist writer David Friedman on the possibility of “privatizing everything” (i.e. all government functions). When they got to military functions, their discussion shed considerable light on what “privatization” means to a lot of the libertarian Right. “Much of…

Existe uma lenda popular secular que diz o seguinte: era uma vez (pois é assim que esses tipos de histórias deveriam começar), no século XIX, a economia dos Estados Unidos, que era quase totalmente desregulada e laissez-faire. Então, surgiu um movimento com o objetivo de sujeitar os negócios a controles regulatórios em prol dos trabalhadores e…

The online liberty group “Thoughts on Liberty” pumps out some good stuff more often than not. The site is intellectually managed and operated by “a team of ladies writing about freedom” who offer their unique perspective on libertarianism. Like most addressing the liberty movement, the authors usually take a right leaning (or all-out right stance)…

Muitos economistas acham que a próxima bolha a estourar em nossa atual crise será a dos empréstimos a estudantes. A dívida de empréstimos a estudantes encontra-se em alta histórica, e as taxas de empréstimos federais estão prestes a dobrar, de 3,4% para 6,8% – a despeito de pequeno esforço para fazer com que os juros dos empréstimos a estudantes acompanhem…

VRIJE MARKT: De inrichting van de samenleving waarin alle economische transacties voortvloeien uit vrijwillige keuze, zonder dwang. DE STAAT: De instelling die de Vrije Markt belemmerd via de directe uitoefening ban dwang of het toekennen van privileges (gesteund door dwang). BELASTING: Een vorm van dwang en belemmering van de Vrije Markt waarin de staat tribuut…

Many economists think that the next bubble to burst in our current crisis will be student loans. Student loan debt is at a historic high, and federal loan rates are about to double, from 3.4% to 6.8% – despite a small effort to have student loan interest rates mimic the rates government grants big banks. This…

The following section of the book, The Illuminatus! Trilogy,  is translated into Deutsch from the English original, written by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. FREIER MARKT: Der Zustand der Gesellschaft in dem alle ökonomischen Handlungen (Geschäfte) auf Freiwilligkeit basieren, nicht auf Zwang. DER STAAT: Die Institution die den freien Markt behindert durch die direkte Anwendung von…

The following article is translated into Deutsch from the English original, written by Kevin Carson. Es gibt einen brillanten Satz dafür, wie Kapitalismus in der realen Welt funktioniert (ich bin mir nicht sicher wer zuerst drauf kam, aber ich verbinde ihn mit Noam Chomsky): die Sozialisation von Risiko und Kosten, und die Privatisierung von Profit. In…

Carson: Had the industrial revolution taken place in a genuine free market, our economy today would probably be far closer to the vision of Lewis Mumford than that of Joseph Schumpeter and Alfred Chandler.

D’Amato: As much as I hate to spoil the ending, neither Democrats nor Republicans are interested in anything like a real free market.