In praise of old men

In the West, it is said, we tend to admire youth.  That’s true, at least today.  Old people try to act like young people.  I even have a few old relatives who are on Facebook, and they are the same Baby Boomers who’ve been afflicted with trying to keep up with the Joneses their whole [...]

The Food and Depression Administration

Last weekend I was in the midst of throwing something of a temper tantrum after a particularly annoying day.  A friend of mine texted me, asking me to join the usual crowd for dinner, but I wanted nothing to do with it. They would be talking about the very subjects that were getting on my [...]

Anarcho-Capitalism: Alive and Well in the City of Brotherly Coercion

The city of Philadelphia is not exactly known as being friendly to the principles of liberty.  In our town, of course, we have the Tyrrany Bell and Dependence Hall, two relics from the racket that was the American Revolution, which, from this distance in history, must surely be judged to have been a failure.  Hell, [...]

Walter Block’s The Privatization of Roads and Highways: Some initial impressions

It’s 4:15am, and I just finished reading Walter Block’s book on the privatization of roads and highways.  This seems like one of those books that has the potential to grow on the reader in the weeks following completion.  All in all, I find the conclusions of Professor Block to be solid, certain detours down rabbit [...]

Whether the realization of anarcho-capitalism would create just a different kind of State: a brief reply

More than occasionally, an objection is raised against anarcho-capitalism that goes something like this:  Since the private courts, private security, etc. envisaged by anarcho-capitalists would employ coercion against people, then anarcho-capitalism would just be a different kind of State, but a State nonetheless. At first blush, this may seem to be true, but upon the [...]

Blog of an Austrian economist

I don’t know why it took me so long to find this, but there is a new blog I’d like to bring to your attention, which belongs to Patrick Barron, a professor of economics who is in the Austrian tradition.  I haven’t gotten through much of his material yet, but this definitely looks to be [...]