Minor Issues

Mark Thornton lays the groundwork for understanding gold and silver before politics gets involved. Mark explains why monetary metals emerge from market “evolution,” how their non-consumptive use creates massive above-ground stocks, and why the same metal serves multiple markets (money vs. consumption) with one price. He explains how demand shifts trigger conservation and recycling, why new mining lags price spikes, how “near-monies” substitute when people economize on cash balances, and why any apparent stability (even par relationships) reflects underlying market conditions, not decree. Today’s price volatility is largely the artifact of intervention, not the metals themselves.Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton uses vitamin K2 (MK-7) as a case study in how technocracy goes wrong, elevating cutting-edge findings and bureaucracy over experience, incentives, and real-world diets. Mark explains why K2 is linked in emerging research to bone health, arterial calcification, and even neurodegenerative conditions, and highlights a paradox: many food sources rich in K2 (beef, eggs, butter, chicken liver, European cheeses, salami) are officially discouraged, while “approved” sources (natto, kefir, sauerkraut) are niche. The takeaway isn’t medical advice, it’s a critique of a compliance-driven health regime that sidelines decentralized knowledge and choice.Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton critiques “green” mandates through the seen–unseen lens, contrasting them with conservation grounded in property rights and price signals. He spotlights silver—vital for electronics, medicine, and water filtration, hard to recycle, and mostly a mining byproduct—now in multi-year supply deficits. Subsidies for solar and EVs accelerate silver consumption and divert it from higher-value uses into short-lived installations. Real conservation comes from ownership, profit and loss, and interest rates, not bureaucratic targets.Donate $5 today to support the Mises Institute's Fall Campaign and receive a physical copy of Hayek for the 21st Century: https://mises.org/mi25A special bonus offer for Minor Issues listeners: donate to the Mises Institute's Fall Campaign and receive a signed copy of Free Trade in the 21st Century: https://mises.org/mi25Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Mark Thornton, a senior scholar at the Mises Institute, discusses the looming threat of hyperinflation stemming from the U.S. monetary policy and deficits. He delves into Mises's stages of inflation, revealing how they set the stage for price surges. Mark explains the shift of central banks from Treasuries to gold and outlines a savvy gold-to-silver trading strategy. The conversation also touches on the impact of global sanctions on de-dollarization, emerging sound-money laws, and practical steps for individuals to safeguard their wealth.

On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton argues that “black swans” aren’t root causes but announcement effects of imbalances created by the Fed’s cheap-credit booms. He highlights Ball State economist James McLure’s idea of sequestered capital—R&D, financial innovations, and opaque private assets shielded from public information—which proliferate under artificially low rates. From the Dutch Tulip Bubble and 1929 investment trusts to today’s candidates—hedge-fund private deals, AI data centers, commercial real estate, and crypto—the pattern is the same: policy-driven credit expansion seeds the very “unknowns” that later trigger crises. The fix isn’t more regulation; it’s removing the fuel line of easy money.See also "Sequestered Capital: An Overlooked Lacuna in the Capital Structure” by James McClure: https://mises.org/MI_137_AThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFreeBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton takes a provocative look at America’s path toward hyperinflation. Mark walks through Mises’s three stages of inflation, contending the US is moving from complacency to active flight from cash, and he ties today’s risks to sanctions policy, BRICS efforts to bypass SWIFT with gold-leaning systems, and foreign central banks rotating from Treasuries into gold. At home, Mark sees households hedging with real estate, older savers turning to precious metals, and younger investors to crypto: classic signs of eroding demand for dollars.Additional Resources"The Gold-Silver Ratio” (Minor Issues Podcast, Episode 119) : https://mises.org/MI_119"Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System" by Mark Thornton (Book review, Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics): https://mises.org/MI_136_A"Exorbitant Privilege Gained and Lost: Fiscal Implications” by Zefeng Chen, Zhengyang Jiang, Hanno Lustig, Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, and Mindy Xiaolan (Journal of Political Economy): https://mises.org/MI_136_BThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFreeBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Is Hans-Hermann Hoppe a firebrand revolutionary, or something very different? On this episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton traces Hoppe’s American debut in 1986 and follows the controversies that later made Hoppe a lightning rod. The case here is straightforward: Hoppe isn’t a political revolutionary aiming to remake society by seizing state power; he’s a natural-rights theorist whose analysis—grounded in property, history, and Austrian economics—argues for social cooperation without a predatory state. Hoppe is an exacting analyst of what works, not an architect of upheaval.Additional ResourcesA Life in Liberty: Liber Amicorum in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe, edited by Jörg Guido Hülsmann and Stephan Kinsella (PDF): https://mises.org/MI_135_A Or, purchase the book online: https://mises.org/LiberAmicorum"Understanding the timing and outcome of the Russian Revolution: a public choice approach” (Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice)" by Gregory Dempster, Robert B. Ekelund, Jr., and Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_135_B"Rent Seeking as an Evolving Process: The Case of the Ancien Régime" (Public Choice) by Robert. B. Ekelund, Jr., and Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_135_C"A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism” by Mark Thornton (in Property, Freedom, and Society: Essays in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe): https://mises.org/MI_135_DThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFreeBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

On this episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton responds to Charlie Kirk’s “most controversial take” on cannabis and drug policy. Mark contrasts Kirk’s opposition to reclassification with the long history of prohibition as a Progressive project, showing how state intervention—not liberty—is responsible for urban decay, social breakdown, and the failures of drug policy. Drawing on examples from alcohol and cannabis prohibition to today’s welfare state, Mark argues that addiction is fueled less by markets than by the permissive culture and coercive power of government."Should America Reclassify Weed?" (Charlie Kirk Show): https://mises.org/MI_134_A"Drug Warriors Claim Colorado Going to Pot" by Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_134_B"The Oregon Problem: It’s Not Drugs! It’s the Socialistic Political Culture" by Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_134_C"The Oregon Problem" (Minor Issues Podcast): https://mises.org/MI_48"Measure 110 and Property Rights" (Minor Issues Podcast): https://mises.org/MI_55The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFreeBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Dive into the intriguing world of central banking as elite policymakers gather in Jackson Hole. Uncover the evolution of this exclusive symposium, once a quaint agricultural meeting transformed into a high-stakes stage for economic strategy. Explore the complex relationship between central bankers and public perception, plus the historical echoes of past financial turbulence. The real insights often lie not in formal speeches but in candid, off-the-record conversations that shape our global economy.

Explore the perilous concept of capital consumption as it relates to our modern economies. Delve into how inflation and low interest rates drive entrepreneurs to prioritize immediate consumption over long-term investment. Insights from seasoned investors reveal the hidden dangers of misallocated capital and its effects on economic growth. The podcast discusses the crucial link between maintaining productive assets and avoiding stagnation, painting a stark picture of the long-term consequences of today's economic policies.