An analogy on why universal health care, or any other social insurance program, is bound to fail over the long-run.
Posts under ‘Theory’
The Anatomy of Deflation
George Reisman explains “good deflation”, the virtues of a stable supply of money and what occurs with increases in productivity. This explanation, thoroughly “Austrian”, goes against conventional economic “wisdom”.
Garet Garrett’s Invaluable Lesson
Garet Garrett warned of uncontrolled public debt in 1931, and still the lesson has yet to be heeded. A crisis of interventionism, as termed by Ludwig von Mises, is fast approaching.
Passion as a Liberty
Entrepreneurship is an extension of the process of rationalization, and is a characteristic innate in the human spirit. Government can only serve to hinder the entrepreneur from finding opportunities to invest and create wealth. As a result, government contributes a net loss to wealth creation.
Hayek, the Business Cycle and the Financial System
In “Monetary Theory and the Trade Cycle” Hayek holds that the business cycle is caused by fractional-reserve banking, which is a natural credit organization formed out of the market. If this is the case, then it follows that economic cycles are an intrinsic part of capitalism.
Healthy Recovery
Important economists are misinterpreting several statistics and falsely pointing towards impending recoveries. The truth is actually quite different. There is higher probability a future double-dip, or a secondary economic collapse.
The Objective of International Price Stability
John Maynard Keynes defends his proposal for a world currency and international clearing house. These proposals came during the Bretton Woods agreement, which would eventually establish the International Monetary Fund. Today, talks ensue on creating a global and international reserve currency.
Don’t Be Fooled by GDP
Third-quarter data for 2009 is misleading, because most of the growth in GDP is only temporary and will cost us the same, or more, in the near future. Economic prognostics should not be based on GDP data, but on sound economic theory.
Time-Preference and Productivity: A Reconsideration
Hayek revisits the topic of capital theory, focusing on time-preference and correcting prior “mistakes” committed in “The Pure Theory of Capital”.
Globalization: The Long-Run Big Picture
[This article was originally published on George Reisman's website, under the same title. His book, Capitalism, is available for free on PDF, although it is far more valuable as an addition to your physical library. It can be purchased from the Ludwig von Mises Institute.]
Globalization, in conjunction with its essential prerequisite of respect for [...]
