Book Reviews: Economics on Trial by Richard M. Ebeling April 1, 1991 Economics on Trial: Lies, Myths, and Realities by Mark Skousen (Homewood, Illinois: Business One Irwin, 1990) 314 pp.; $21.95 (h). For 150 years after Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations in 1776, most economists started from a ...
Why Americans Won’t Choose Freedom by Jacob G. Hornberger March 1, 1991 All across the land there is an unusual stirring among the American populace. The American people are sensing that something is severely wrong in our nation. They see the ever-increasing taxation, regulation, bureaucracies, and police intrusions. And they are gradually discovering that, despite their right to vote, they have ...
Producer Interest vs. The Public Interest: The Origin of Democratized Privilege by Richard M. Ebeling March 1, 1991 In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith constructed some of the most devastating arguments against the then-prevailing system of economic policy — mercantilism. In practically every country in Europe, governments regulated, controlled and planned the economic activities of their subjects. In France, the regulations were so detailed that they specified how many stitches should be used in ...
Are Compulsory School Attendance Laws Necessary? Part 1 by Samuel L. Blumenfeld March 1, 1991 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 It is assumed by the vast majority of Americans that the issue of compulsory school attendance is a settled matter, part and parcel of every civilized nation-state, and a prerequisite of a democratic society. We all acknowledge that a representative form of government requires an educated electorate for its survival. But ...
Book Review: Unfinished Business by Richard M. Ebeling March 1, 1991 Unfinished Business: A Civil Rights Strategy for America's Third Century by Clint Bolick (San Francisco: Pacific Research Institute, 1990) 159 PP; $19.95. At a time in world history when the demand for human rights has become almost universal, little or no attention has been paid to the importance of economic liberty. If a man is to have a right ...
The Preservation of the Bureaucracy by Jacob G. Hornberger February 1, 1991 Two hundred years ago, our American ancestors instituted the most unusual political system in history. The Constitution called into existence a government whose powers, for the first time ever, were extremely limited. Thus, unlike other people throughout history, Americans lived without such things as income taxation, welfare, licensure, immigration ...
Democratized Privilege: The New Mercantilism by Richard M. Ebeling February 1, 1991 Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, most of the governments of Europe established a set of economic policies which became known as mercantilism. Kings, princes and parliaments implemented and vigorously enforced detailed and pervasive controls and regulations over almost every aspect of economic life. Many imports were prohibited, and exports were often subsidized. The state imposed wage, price ...
The Roots of Limited Government by Alan Barth February 1, 1991 The government of the United States, for all its majesty, is a limited government of limited powers. It operates under the terms of a fundamental charter — a written Constitution — which specifies what it may do, and also what it may not do, and which fixes certain procedures for its dealings with its citizens. If a Constitution is ...
Thought and Purpose by James Allen February 1, 1991 Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment. With the majority the bark of thought is allowed to "drift" upon the ocean of life. Aimlessness is a vice, and such drifting must not continue for him who would steer clear of catastrophe and destruction. They who have no central purpose in their life fall an easy prey ...
Book Review: Capitalism by Richard M. Ebeling February 1, 1991 Capitalism by Arthur Seldon (New York: Basil Blackwell, 1990) 419 pp; $29.95. Arthur Seldon has been one of the most influential economists of the post-World War II era. He studied with Friedrich A. Hayek at the London School of Economics in the 1930s. After the war, he worked as an economic consultant in the ...
The Sanctity of Private Property, Part 2 by Jacob G. Hornberger January 1, 1991 Part 1 | Part 2 The last thing which Americans of today wish to face is that they have abandoned the principles of private property on which the United States was founded. In last August's Freedom Daily, I pointed to two examples of where the American people have permitted their public officials to assume absolute and total control ...
Free Trade versus Protectionism by Richard M. Ebeling January 1, 1991 A specter is haunting the economies of the world. It is the specter of protectionism. In one country after the other, cries are heard that international trade, rather than bringing mutual prosperity, imposes economic hardship on some nations so that others may gain. Trading practices among nations are declared ...