Book Review: Economics for Real People by Richard M. Ebeling November 1, 2002 Economics for Real People: An Introduction to the Austrian School by Gene Callahan (Auburn, Ala.: Mises Institute, 2002); 349 pages; $19.95. Back in 1932 an economist named Broadus Mitchell wrote an introductory principles textbook entitled A Preface to Economics. When he came to the discussion of supply and demand, he stated, “I hate graphs, anyhow. They are the only pictures economics books ...
Some Nagging Questions by Sheldon Richman October 29, 2002 Some things have been bugging me about President Bush’s efforts to plunge us into full-scale war against Iraq: If Saddam Hussein’s program to develop weapons of mass destruction is so secret, how did Mr. Bush get aerial photos of all those large above-ground buildings that allegedly house Iraq’s nuclear program? ...
The Free Market and Hawks by Bart Frazier October 29, 2002 Rosalie Barrow Edge should be considered a hero to libertarians and conservationists alike. In 1933, she founded Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Kempton, Pennsylvania. At a time in our country’s history when the economy was a shambles and socialism was hip, Edge managed to establish the first refuge for hawks in ...
NO to Ballistic Fingerprinting by Bart Frazier October 17, 2002 Over the past nine days, a methodical killer has shot 10 people in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, killing 8 of them. There is scant evidence and police are having a hard time finding the killer, as is often the case when crimes appear to be completely random and without motive. One ...
Who’s Deterring Whom? by Sheldon Richman October 7, 2002 The key word in analyzing the confrontation between the U.S. government and Saddam Hussein is “deterrence.” When we think of that word, we typically attach it to U.S. policies versus other governments. But I do not mean deterrence by the United States of Iraq. That would be nothing new. The ...
No Reason to Go to War by Sheldon Richman October 7, 2002 The signals coming out of Washington about the impending war against Iraq are ominous. This is not only because it would be an unprovoked and undeclared war against a nation that has not attacked us, but also because of the new reasons being offered. The Bush administration tried its best ...
Listen to the Administration by Sheldon Richman October 7, 2002 The United States will go to war against Iraq. But anyone who thinks the war will be motivated by evidence of Saddam Hussein’s attempt to procure and wish to use evil weapons will be mistaken. Despite the general claims that President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have as-yet ...
Economic Liberty and the Constitution, Part 5 by Jacob G. Hornberger October 1, 2002 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Table of Contents In the Slaughterhouse Cases (1872), the U.S. Supreme Court, ...
Coming Assaults on America by Sheldon Richman October 1, 2002 What do the coming war against Iraq and the pending threat to medical privacy have in common? Both give the lie to the belief that we Americans live under a system of limited, representative government. The civics textbooks are hooey, but they serve a purpose as a sedative for the next ...
Capitalism, Scandal, and the Government by Richard M. Ebeling October 1, 2002 Every few years voices are heard heralding and warning of a “crisis of capitalism.” The 20th century saw an unending series of such voices of doom that the free market had shown its injustice towards and exploitation of the ordinary working man or that free enterprise fostered ’merchants of death” who dragged ...
Packing Heat, Part 2 by Sheldon Richman October 1, 2002 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 As I described last month, Jeffrey Snyder’s path-breaking article, “A Nation of Cowards” (The Public Interest, Fall 1993), transformed guns and gun control from abstract philosophical and policy issues into a personal moral issue. We cannot — morally or existentially — truly delegate our right and responsibility to ...
Bush, Rumsfeld, and Orwell by Sheldon Richman October 1, 2002 It has long been clear that little of what government leaders say and do makes no sense unless you understand that they think we are idiots, uninformed, or both. Could there be better evidence than recent remarks by President Bush and Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld? Let’s start with the much-admired Secretary ...