Will mankind survive the next billion years? It is of course impossible to give any definite answer to this question. However, it may be possible to discern which of our present policies will increase, or decrease, the likelihood of that eventuality. This can be done not with any precision, to...

Our claim is a limited one: for strict purposes of economic welfare, subsidies are worse than taxes. This is because while taxes divert resources, necessarily, to the second best alternative, which is pretty good all things considered, subsidies come with no such guarantee. Instead, subsidies...

Blackmail consists of two things, each indisputably legal on their own; yet, when combined in a single act, the result is considered a crime. First, one may gossip, and, provided that what is said is true, there is nothing illegal about it. Truth is an absolute defense. Second, if one may speak...

Purpose – The concept of “price gouging” during times of emergency, such as in the aftermath of Katrina, often evokes quite an emotional and reactive response from people who are outraged that stores and companies would increase their prices during a time of emergency. The problem is that...

Purpose – Catholic social teaching is predicated upon their notion of “social justice.” In this perspective, the rich, as do the poor, have rights only to a bare subsistence level of income. Any wealth greater than this amount is owned by all of mankind, not by those who hold private...

The Elgar Companion to Austrian Economics is a major new reference work which highlights the common ground between all the branches of the school while demonstrating the breadth and diversity within it. The Companion reflects the many areas where Austrian economists have made contributions,...

According to Malthus, there is an “Iron Law” for wages: they cannot stay above subsistence levels. When they do, increased population soon enough pushes them down to the previous level of immiseration. One might think that modern economics has long ago confined such views to the dustbin of...

There are not two but rather three views regarding the issue of abortion. The first two, pro life and pro choice, are well known. The present paper is dedicated to an elucidation of the third, evictionism. In this perspective, the pregnant woman is allowed to evict her unwanted fetus, but, if it...

The purpose of this article is to argue in favor of a private employer’s right to discriminate amongst job applicants on any basis he chooses, and this certainly includes unlawful characteristics such as race, sex, national origin, sexual preference, religion, etc. John Locke and many after...