June 2009 - Posts

28 June 2009
The Essential Library
The following are the books which have been the most formative for my worldview. Human Nature David Hume: A Treatise of Human Nature Charles Darwin: Origin of the Species Economics Carl Menger: Principles of Economics Eugen von Bohm - Bawerk: Capital... Read More...
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28 June 2009
Article Recommendations
Current Events The Health Czar Can't Calculate Why Obamacare Can't Work: The Calculation Argument Global Warming is a Fraud : Best essay I've read yet on global warming. Ethics Ought Presupposes Can by Steve Horwitz History John Lilburne:... Read More...
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28 June 2009
The Ontological Revolution: The Proto-Skepticism of Heraclitus
This post is one in a series on the History of Epistemological Thought . Previously in this series: Induction in Ancient Greek Thought. A key element of the cosmologies of the Milesian physiologi is the phenomenon of change. Each Milesian believed the entire universe was once composed of a single kind... Read More...
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27 June 2009
The ABCT Shadowed Forth
Ludwig von Mises is credited with first formulating the Austrian Theory of the Business Cycle. But in the following much earlier passage by Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk (who was a great influence on Mises) one can see the theory shadowed forth. Bohm-Bawerk considers below what would happen if, for some reason... Read More...
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27 June 2009
Menger's Value Scale
This post is part of a series exploring Principles of Economics by Carl Menger. The following explores content from chapter 3 . Previously in this series: Mengerian Marginalism A chief insight of Menger's value theory is the recognition that, it is not enough to simply ask the question, "which... Read More...
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24 June 2009
Krugman's Rearguard Apologists
As most readers will know, a collection of damning quotes has surfaced recently, exposing Paul Krugman, the doyen of the economic left, as having been completely backward on the most material economic event in our generation: the housing bubble. My recent article on the subject, Krugman's Intellectual... Read More...
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22 June 2009
For a New Libertarian Ethics
In order to present the theory of ethics which underlies my libertarian political philosophy, I am going to first carefully discuss the theory of ethics currently dominant among other Austro-libertarians: that of Murray N. Rothbard. Note: In what follows, I'm going to come down pretty hard on Rothbard's... Read More...
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22 June 2009
Krugman's Intellectual Waterloo: Featured on Mises.org
My piece Krugman's Intellectual Waterloo has been made today's Daily Article on Mises.org . Check out the hilarious "Krugman-as-Napoleon" image they put together. My thanks to Jeffrey Tucker for selecting it, to BK Marcus for editing it, and to nirgrahamUK on the Mises boards and anyone... Read More...
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20 June 2009
Vain Intellectuals and Wise Workers
All professions have a tendency toward self-importance. So it should be no surprise that historians have a distinct bias towards eras in which their own forerunners (ancient chroniclers and historians) were existent and employed. Thus, societies without chroniclers are termed “dark ages”... Read More...
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20 June 2009
Cradle of the State
The state was likely born out of a cult. The former would not have been supportable with the latter. Further, it is unlikely that the latter would last long without evolving into the former. Thus it is reasonable to believe that both would have originated in the same place. In my post “Between... Read More...
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20 June 2009
The Racket and the Cult
As I argued in my post The Sword and the Lie , the state is a symbiosis of violent criminals (the sword) and propagandizing intellectuals (the lie). The sword needs the lie. Rulers always outnumber the ruled, so a reign predicated on bald criminality (like a protection racket) would shortly be overthrown... Read More...
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20 June 2009
Between the Rivers, Before the State
It has been argued that man has only risen from the depths of squalor upon becoming “civilized”, that is, upon coalescing into a civitas, or state. Thus mainstream history textbooks include the origination of government as a crucial step in the “march of progress.”Great prosperity... Read More...
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20 June 2009
History of Violence
Why is it that when we study history, so much of it is recounting a succession of rulers and wars: that is, political history? As a liberal, I believe the state is predominantly an agent of violence. And wars are obviously violent. So looked at that way, the common conception of history seems to be a... Read More...
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20 June 2009
The Child, the Parent, and the State
A child is a potential man. Man is characterized by the fact that he acts and that he has morality. To act is to behave with purpose: using reason to willfully choose between alternative means toward ends. Morality is a set of feelings which constrain action. Newborn infants do not act; their behaviors... Read More...
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20 June 2009
Practical Education
What is the point of all this formal learning we expect schoolchildren to do: the endless assignments and tests? One stock answer to this question is that it teaches them how to get things done. That would obviously be learned better in the real world than in school. The somewhat more plausible answer... Read More...
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