A reminder of this prescient remark from Mises’ Liberalism — a book published in 1927: “Fascism can triumph today because universal indignation at infamies committed by the socialist and communists has obtained for it the sympathies of wide circles. But when the fresh impression of the crimes of the Bolsheviks has paled, the socialist program […]
The recurring socialism/fascism cycle — Mises observation Read More »
In this unit of our self-paced course on Socialism, we start with a 7-point summary of Ludwig von Mises’s classic Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis, focusing on socialism’s economic inconsistencies. Mises compares the principles of Socialism and Liberal-Capitalism and finds they differ not in their aims, but in their understanding of justice and the
Mises, *Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis* [Atlas Intellectuals] Read More »
Waterfall is a guided series of courses for everyone interested in issues upon which Objectivism has something distinctive and important to say. The first course: Money. Examine the essential role that money plays in production, trade, and investment with thinkers such as Ayn Rand and Ludwig von Mises as your guide—as well as explore the hostility
Mises’s “The Theory of Money and Credit” [Waterfall] Read More »
A Draw-My-Life on the great Ludwig von Mises — his commitments to understanding wealth creation, the conditions of peace, and the perverse attraction of many to socialism and fascism. The short biographical sketch includes his early life in Vienna, his experience in World War I, his escape from the Nazi grip at the beginning of
“My Name is Mises” — video short Read More »
A question for those who know the great Ludwig von Mises’s work better than I. Are the following two statements, both from Liberalism, consistent with each other? “I am not an ‘enemy of the state’ any more than I can be called an enemy of sulphuric acid because I am of the opinion that, useful
Mises on the state — a consistency question Read More »
Rights in Mises, Hayek, and Rand I am chairing a session and presenting a paper on the theme of “Rights in Mises, Hayek, and Rand” for the annual conference of the Association for Private Enterprise Education, to be held April 1-3, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The rationale for the session: Three giants of twentieth-century
Rights in Mises, Hayek, and Rand — APEE panelists Read More »
First published in 1912 ago, Mises’s The Theory of Money and Credit makes this observation: “Gold is not an ideal basis for a monetary system. Like all human creations, the gold standard is not free from shortcomings; but in the existing circumstances there is no other way of emancipating the monetary system from the changing
Mises on the relative imperfections of the gold standard Read More »
Binary oppositions are rare in philosophy and politics. Frequently, apparent enemy positions share implicit underlying premises. Related: This abstract philosophical taxonomy from Chapter 1 of Explaining Postmodernism:
Our Three-Way Culture War [Chart] Read More »
Ayn Rand Center Europe invited me and and Craig Biddle to Serbia to debate whether Objectivism is an open or closed philosophy. I argued for open and Mr. Biddle argued for closed. A recording of the debate follows. Also following the video window (or in this PDF) is a transcription of my remarks for those
Open Objectivism or Closed? Transcription of my Belgrade debate presentation Read More »
Immanuel Kant is arguably the most influential philosopher in the last two centuries. But how could the strict Kant have anything to do with the often-nihilistic modernist and postmodernist art worlds? In this interview conducted by artist and art critic Jan-Ove Tuv, philosopher Stephen Hicks discuss Kant’s general philosophy and his philosophy of art. Transcription
Stephen Hicks interview on Kant and Modern Art — transcript of the Norway interview Read More »