Free Market

Middlemen, Government, and the Free Market

by Laurence M. Vance November 1, 2017

There are multitudes of ways in which goods are exchanged on the free market. The most common way that most people purchase merchandise is by shopping at a general or specialty retail store: Walmart, Sears, Kroger, Home Depot, Office Depot, Target, Best Buy, Walgreens, and so on. But in addition to retail stores, goods are also sold through auctions, ...

The Libertarian Angle: Capital and the Free Market (video)

by Future of Freedom Foundation October 19, 2017

FFF president Jacob Hornberger and Richard Ebeling discuss how monopolies are government-created entities and that freeing the market is the only way to liberty and prosperity. Go to the podcast.

The Libertarian Angle: Monopolies, Big Business, and the Free Market (video)

by Future of Freedom Foundation October 10, 2017

FFF president Jacob Hornberger and Richard Ebeling discuss how monopolies are government-created entities and that freeing the market is the only way to liberty and prosperity. Go to the podcast.

Separating Economy and State

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 1, 2017

Throughout history, governments have controlled and regulated economic activity and monetary affairs. It has been generally accepted that such control and regulation are among the essential functions of government. The notion has always been that without government control and regulation of the economy and money, there would be economic and monetary chaos and disorder that would cause suffering for ...

The Invisible Hand of the State

by Will Tippens July 1, 2017

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. — Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations As Adam Smith observed in 1776, when people seek to benefit themselves through voluntary trade, they unwittingly benefit society at large. This phenomenon is often ...

Misguided Attacks on the Rich

by George Leef June 1, 2017

Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy by Robert H. Frank (Princeton University Press, 2016; 208 pages) In 2002, I reviewed an atrocious book for this publication — The Myth of Ownership, by Liam Murphy and Thomas Nagel. It argued that we don’t really deserve to own anything because society makes everything possible. Therefore, ...

Political Planning versus Personal Planning by Everyone

by Richard M. Ebeling May 8, 2017

In politics everyone has a plan. A plan to "fix" the health care problem. A plan to "protect" the environment. A plan to "guarantee" everyone a "living wage." A plan to "control" immigration. A plan to have "sustainable" economic growth. A plan to . . . The list goes on almost endlessly. What's wrong with having a plan? We all ...

What Is a Government Worker Worth Without a Free Market?

by Richard M. Ebeling May 1, 2017

Where are you more likely to earn a better salaried income, in the private sector or working for the government? Well, it turns out that those employed by the federal government and having only high school diplomas or college bachelors’ degrees, are likely to be financially far better off. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released in April 2017 a new ...

The Moral Foundations of the Free Market Society

by Richard M. Ebeling April 17, 2017

Higher education in the United States is engulfed in an ideological campaign against the American political and economic traditions of individual liberty, free competitive markets, and constitutionally limited government. In its place is the “progressive” agenda of collectivist identity politics, the regulatory and redistributive interventionist economy, and political plunder and power. Both “scientific” and casual surveys of political orientation and ...

Time to Smack Down the Small Business Administration

by Laurence M. Vance January 5, 2017

In 2012, Barack Obama elevated the administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to a Cabinet-level position, where the office had been under Bill Clinton. The current administrator, Maria Contreras-Sweet, is unknown to the overwhelming majority of Americans, as are the thirty-three administrators who preceded her. This ignorance is about to change, for, according to a statement ...

The Nebulous Crime of Ticket Scalping

by Laurence M. Vance September 13, 2016

Although the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, are over, for some people associated with the games, things are just beginning. Athletes who won medals are now household names in their respective countries. Many were honored with parades. Some will receive lucrative endorsement deals. Others will appear in television commercials. And although U.S. athletes will have to pay

The Right to Hire and Fire

by Laurence M. Vance July 1, 2016

Do businesses have the right to hire whomever they want for a particular job? Most Americans would agree that they certainly do. But when you ask the same people whether businesses have the right to not hire whomever they don’t want for a particular job, most of them will say that it depends on the reason someone is not ...