The idea of a government being pro-liberty is strikingly absurd in the current environment. Perhaps the definition of government could be redefined, from a monopoly on force, to a provider of security. A “state” would be a monopoly on force, and “government” would be more general and mean any organization that governed the violators of … [Read more…]
The value of giving a gift is not merely the price you could get from selling it. There is also value gained by the giver and recipient in the form of good will. Gifting, while not normally seen as a capitalistic act, is definitely part of the voluntary market. Whenever two people exchange things of … [Read more…]
The voluntary interactions between humans comprise the free market. Some voluntary actions still can have negative outcomes, such as in the case of scams. Depending on the amount of freedom a society values, these outcomes can then be dealt with violently or nonviolently. A scam is a confidence trick: “an attempt to defraud a person … [Read more…]
Pass a law requiring stricter standards and the natural inclination toward innovation is hampered. Competition occurs due to the number of suppliers in the market. Regulation increases the cost of business and destroys marginally profitable companies, reducing the number of market suppliers. These stricter standards are only beneficial for certain subsets of society, never for … [Read more…]
Whenever people bring up the issue of specific industries such as utilities needing special government treatment it makes me weary. For instance, some suggest that market efficiency can be increased by adding regulation. Then when markets suffer, they clamor for more regulation to “solve” the problem. Perhaps the reason for the markets not performing well … [Read more…]
Statism, being generally a belief in the necessity of government, may not appear to exactly resemble a social movement. It does not have grassroots organization, but I still think it can aptly be described as a movement. “A social movement is a type of group action that seeks to achieve or resist societal change.” This … [Read more…]
“The problem is that when there is a disparity between the value of a product to the buyer and the cost of production to a seller, if there is natural competition (cereal, gasoline, etc. are relatively close to natural competition), the actual price will tend towards the cost for the sellers, since companies will keep … [Read more…]
What’s the point of judging right and wrong? Does it make you happy to feel you are superior to others? The issue should not simply be about the aggression in the system. Aggression is not evil in-and-of-itself, it is made evil because of the impact it has on real people. The distinction is subtle but … [Read more…]
Some out there deny the possibility of humanity soon escaping from tyranny. They just don’t think it can happen. I don’t see the profitability in that line of thinking, not because it offers nothing of value, but because it does not seem to me to be beneficial to plunge a movement, no matter how small, … [Read more…]
The secret to both having and eating your cake is arbitrage. Trade your current cake for a greater size cake that someone will give you in the future. You’ll still get to eat it, just not right yet. Make your wealth produce earnings for others, and you can both have and eat your cake. Figure … [Read more…]