BankNotes Archive – June 2018

by R. Nelson Nash Let’s begin this pondering session with a definition of the term statism. Statism is the principle or policy of concentrating extensive economic, political, and related controls in the state at the cost of individual liberty. A statist is one whose fundamental belief system is fully grounded in … Read more

In a globalizing economy, the study of history is more relevant than ever. by Maarten van Doorn Albert Einstein is supposed to have said: Never memorize what you can look up in a book.” In Einstein’s days, books were unequaled as a source of information. We, on the other hand, … Read more

Frank Shostak Most economists concur with the view that what keeps the economy going is consumption expenditure. Furthermore, it is generally held that spending, rather than individual saving, is the essential condition for production and prosperity. Savings is seen to be detrimental to economic activity as it weakens the potential … Read more

Fernando Monteiro D’Andrea Apart from dealing with government intervention, understanding markets is probably the most challenging task of any business owner or entrepreneur. It was for good reason that Ludwig von Mises insisted that economists and institutions that teach economics go out of their way to share economics theory with business … Read more

By Michael S. Rozeff A private-law society has no government safety net. In 2011, the Congressional Research Service found that the federal government had 83 welfare programs that were costing over $1 trillion. Welfare is the largest component of government spending. One trillion dollars is like 50 million people x $20,000 … Read more

Robert P. Murphy On April 16, 2018 I participated in a debate with George Selgin, hosted by Gene Epstein’s Soho Forum. I was arguing in the affirmative for the resolution: “Fractional reserve banking poses a threat to the stability of market economies.” The full video is available here (and note that some of … Read more