Mises Institute

As Elon Musk takes on federal agencies, the Washington establishment is trying to frame him as an unelected plutocrat using government to help himself and other rich people at the expense of the poor. But these labels apply much more accurately to the establishment itself. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-they-really-hate-elon-musk Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

Recorded at Jekyll Island, Georgia; May 1992.

"I make no apologies for being a champion of prosperity and its source, the free-market economy. It is what gives birth to civilization itself." Narrated by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr., 14 February 2006, pp. 25-40.

This lecture was given to the Department of Economics of the University of Colorado on March 6, 1978. Special thanks to Mr. Fred Glahe for his generous donation of this lecture audio to the Mises Institute. The term Austrian will include people like Shumpeter and Morgenstern. Competition is seen as a state of affairs of perfect knowledge and equilibrium by mainstream economists. This fails to provide explanations as to how those market prices have been achieved. Austrians do not rely on the theory of perfect competition. Each individual reacts to the price which evolves from each of our actions. Austrians endorse Stigler’s concept of continuous upward notion from earlier rivalrous competition. Individuals are free to do the best they can in the market process. Market process is distinct from market equilibrium. Austrians see that at all times there are powerful forces to be discovered and taken advantage of – entrepreneurial profit opportunities. The market process is one of discovery. No outcome is ever known. One learns by experience.

This lecture was presented to the Department of Economics of the University of Colorado on October 25, 1977. Special thanks to Mr. Fred Glahe for his generous donation of this lecture audio to the Mises Institute. Biographical remarks about Lachmann (1906-1990). Then, Lachmann describes Austrian economics as being subjectivism (individual human action), a certain attitude to time (the future is unknowable), and a distrust of macroeconomic entities (they exist, but Austrians look at macro as mechanistic). Lachmann recommends Menger, Jevons and Walras De-homogenized by William Jaffe for comparisons of these three Austrians. Weiser formulated the principle of opportunity cost. Lachmann says that Bohm-Bawerk’s chief question was what is the origin and nature of the rate of interest. Bohm-Bawerk kept working on the theory of capital. Menger did not like his theory. Hayek called 1904-1914 the Golden Decade of the Austrian School. Mises in 1912 wrote his book on the theory of money and credit. In the 1920s a new generation came forward. Around Mises were Hayek, Haberler, and Fritz Machlup. Lachmann was a student and later colleague of Hayek at the London School of Economics. Hayek was most critical of Keynes’ thesis. Lachmann speaks of the years in the wilderness, during which only Mises’ Human Action was a bright light. Lachmann, speaking in 1977, thinks Austrians are reviving.

Friedrich A. Hayek explains Austrian Economics at the Department of Economics of the University of Colorado on April 28, 1975. Special thanks to Mr. Fred Glahe for his generous donation of this lecture audio to the Mises Institute. A full-employment policy produces unemployment. Keynesian economics became the dominant theory wherein inflation was endorsed as a method of increasing aggregate demand which should boost employment. Hayek opposed this expansionist policy of Keynes. Inflation misdirects labor and distorts prices. Halting inflation produces unemployment. Hayek would prefer to have a better term than equilibrium. It is over simplified. (Anecdote: Hayek was almost deaf in his left ear. Marx was deaf in his right. Hayek suggests this says something about their politics.)

Erick Brimen is the CEO of Honduras Próspera, which is described as a "start up city" that offers choice in regulatory treatment. It is an exciting application of libertarian theory to the messy real world of existing States. Find Out More about Honduras Próspera: https://Mises.org/HAP486a

It was not long ago that signs for “Help Wanted” seemed to be in every store window. However, they are now being replaced with “Store Closing” signs. This switcheroo tells us volumes about how people in the economy are adjusting to the Fed’s money printing business. See also, "Profit and Loss" by Ludwig von Mises: https://mises.org/library/book/profit-and-loss Register to attend Educating for Liberty: Mises Circle in Tampa, February 22, 2025, at https://Mises.org/Tampa25. Use promo code Minor25 for 10% off the ticket price. Order a free paperback copy of Murray Rothbard’s What Has Government Done to Our Money? at https://Mises.org/IssuesFree Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues.

Like Santa, who gives free gifts to our children, people think of the state as providing services “for free.” However, the state cannot provide anything without first confiscating wealth from others—like the Grinch, who first stole all the presents in Whoville. Narrated by Millian Quinteros.

Britain‘s new Labour Government is doing what leftist governments always do: raising taxes on everyone, but pretending that only the wealthiest citizens will pay more. Middle-class British farmers are quickly finding out that the taxman is coming for them too. Narrated by Millian Quinteros.