Mises Institute

Mark Thornton shares a timely conversation from the Liberty & Finance podcast with Elijah K. Johnson. Mark explains why $50 silver is a psychological barrier, and how decades of tech shifts, by-product mining, and central-bank gold buying shaped today’s divergence between gold and silver. The thread tying it all together: easy money seeds malinvestment and fragility; metals hedge the fallout. Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

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

Ryan and political scientist Joseph Solis-Mullen talk about how taxes, war, and the state are all part of a centuries-old formula for impoverishing the productive class while enriching the government class. Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbard Radio Rothbard mugs are available at the Mises Store. Get yours at https://Mises.org/RothMug PROMO CODE: RothPod for 20% off

The yearning for a state-controlled system is not born of compassion for others but rather of infantile selfishness. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/economics-and-infantilization-culture

“Science” is now indistinguishable from politics. As the “acid rain” hysteria showed back in the 1970s and 1980s, “follow the science” is just a political slogan, unrelated to actual science. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/acid-rain-scare-and-science-industrial-complex

Once upon a time, American firms built with the long term in view, and the government did not try to hinder them. Today, thanks to reckless federal government spending, we are living hand-to-mouth, accumulating massive debts, and soon enough will be broke. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/going-broke

“The Civil War was really the watershed,” he wrote Meyer. “Lincoln was America’s first dictator, and almost all the Republican Acts were monstrous.” Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/letters-frank-meyer-reveal-rothbards-views-lincoln-slavery-and-popular-sovereignty

Hayek for the 21st Century: Essays in Political Economy brings together Friedrich Hayek’s most powerful essays on the knowledge problem, competition, socialism, and honest money—showing why his ideas are more relevant today than ever. From his devastating critiques of central planning to his insights on decentralized knowledge and market signals, Hayek dismantles the myths of state control with clarity and force. These essays offer essential tools for understanding liberty, spontaneous order, and the perils of political overreach. Narrated by Bill Anciaux.

Hayek for the 21st Century: Essays in Political Economy brings together Friedrich Hayek’s most powerful essays on the knowledge problem, competition, socialism, and honest money—showing why his ideas are more relevant today than ever. From his devastating critiques of central planning to his insights on decentralized knowledge and market signals, Hayek dismantles the myths of state control with clarity and force. These essays offer essential tools for understanding liberty, spontaneous order, and the perils of political overreach. Narrated by Bill Anciaux.

Hayek for the 21st Century: Essays in Political Economy brings together Friedrich Hayek’s most powerful essays on the knowledge problem, competition, socialism, and honest money—showing why his ideas are more relevant today than ever. From his devastating critiques of central planning to his insights on decentralized knowledge and market signals, Hayek dismantles the myths of state control with clarity and force. These essays offer essential tools for understanding liberty, spontaneous order, and the perils of political overreach. Narrated by Bill Anciaux.