Mere Libertarianism: Blending Hayek and Rothbard
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SHOULD GOVERNMENTS LEASE THEIR AIRPORTS? by Robert W
SHOULD GOVERNMENTS LEASE THEIR AIRPORTS? by Robert W. Poole, Jr. August 2021 Reason Foundation’s mission is to advance a free society by developing, applying and promoting libertarian principles, including individual liberty, free markets and the rule of law. We use journalism and public policy research to influence the frameworks and actions of policymakers, journalists and opinion leaders. Reason Foundation’s nonpartisan public policy research promotes choice, competition and a dynamic market economy as the foundation for human dignity and progress. Reason produces rigorous, peer- reviewed research and directly engages the policy process, seeking strategies that emphasize cooperation, flexibility, local knowledge and results. Through practical and innovative approaches to complex problems, Reason seeks to change the way people think about issues, and promote policies that allow and encourage individuals and voluntary institutions to flourish. Reason Foundation is a tax-exempt research and education organization as defined under IRS code 501(c)(3). Reason Foundation is supported by voluntary contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations. The views are those of the author, not necessarily those of Reason Foundation or its trustees. SHOULD GOVERNMENTS LEASE THEIR AIRPORTS? i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Covid-19 recession has put new fiscal stress on state and local governments. One tool that may help them cope is called “asset monetization,” sometimes referred to as “infrastructure asset recycling.” As practiced by Australia and a handful of U.S. jurisdictions, the concept is for a government to sell or lease revenue-producing assets, unlocking their asset values to be used for other high-priority public purposes. This study focuses on the potential of large and medium hub airports as candidates for this kind of monetization. -
Using Cost-Benefit Analysis to Review Regulation1
Using Cost-Benefit Analysis to Review Regulation1 Tyler Cowen (George Mason University) 1. Introduction One set of proposals for regulatory reform calls for the government to apply cost-benefit analyses to new regulations, or to apply such analyses to old regulations. Cost-benefit analysis is an analytic procedure which estimates the net economic value of a given policy or project. It converts all costs and benefits into a monetary metric and then measures whether the benefits outweigh the costs. Cost-benefit analysis may be characterised by the following concrete procedures: • take most of the world as a given, and ask whether a single policy change would be desirable; • specify all relevant benefits and costs of that policy; • measure those benefits and costs in dollar terms; • take those measurements from evidence on market demand and supply functions, as given by economics; • discount future costs and benefits accordingly to their location in time, according to appropriate economic formulae; • come up with a final figure for net benefits or net costs, using the information generated.2 Under the proposals considered in this chapter, regulations that did not pass a cost-benefit test would be struck down, not enacted, or at least required to undergo some further process of scrutiny. We consider these proposals by asking three questions. First, does cost-benefit analysis feasibly evaluate the quality of regulations (section 2)? Second, does cost-benefit analysis provide a morally acceptable means of judging regulatory policy (section 3)? Third, is there a feasible institutional machinery for giving cost-benefit significant influence over the regulatory process? (section 4) 2. -
European Miracle” Warrior Aristocrats, Spirit of Liberty, and Competition As a Discovery Process
SUBSCRIBE NOW AND RECEIVE CRISIS AND LEVIATHAN* FREE! “The Independent Review does not accept “The Independent Review is pronouncements of government officials nor the excellent.” conventional wisdom at face value.” —GARY BECKER, Noble Laureate —JOHN R. MACARTHUR, Publisher, Harper’s in Economic Sciences Subscribe to The Independent Review and receive a free book of your choice* such as the 25th Anniversary Edition of Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government, by Founding Editor Robert Higgs. This quarterly journal, guided by co-editors Christopher J. Coyne, and Michael C. Munger, and Robert M. Whaples offers leading-edge insights on today’s most critical issues in economics, healthcare, education, law, history, political science, philosophy, and sociology. Thought-provoking and educational, The Independent Review is blazing the way toward informed debate! Student? Educator? Journalist? Business or civic leader? Engaged citizen? This journal is for YOU! *Order today for more FREE book options Perfect for students or anyone on the go! The Independent Review is available on mobile devices or tablets: iOS devices, Amazon Kindle Fire, or Android through Magzter. INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE, 100 SWAN WAY, OAKLAND, CA 94621 • 800-927-8733 • [email protected] PROMO CODE IRA1703 REVIEW ESSAY The “European Miracle” Warrior Aristocrats, Spirit of Liberty, and Competition as a Discovery Process F ANDREI ZNAMENSKI hile reading the news, I recently came across a small story with a photo, which produced more than forty thousand reposts and an avalanche of W comments in the Chinese blogosphere. On the way to an appointment, Gary Locke, the newly nominated American ambassador to China, was spotted at the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport by a Chinese American businessman who happened to know him and who snapped and posted on his blog a picture of the ambassador standing at a Starbucks’ counter, buying a cup of coffee and carrying a backpack. -
The Historic Failure of the Chicago School of Antitrust Mark Glick
Antitrust and Economic History: The Historic Failure of the Chicago School of Antitrust Mark Glick1 Working Paper No. 95 May 2019 ABSTRACT This paper presents an historical analysis of the antitrust laws. Its central contention is that the history of antitrust can only be understood in light of U.S. economic history and the succession of dominant economic policy regimes that punctuated that history. The antitrust laws and a subset of other related policies have historically focused on the negative consequences resulting from the rise, expansion, and dominance of big business. Antitrust specifically uses competition as its tool to address these problems. The paper traces the evolution of the emergence, growth and expansion of big business over six economic eras: the Gilded Age, the Progressive Era, the New Deal, the post-World War II Era, the 1970s, and the era of neoliberalism. It considers three policy regimes: laissez-faire during the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era, the New Deal, policy regime from the Depression through the early 1970s, and the neoliberal policy regime that dominates today and includes the Chicago School of antitrust. The principal conclusion of the paper is that the activist antitrust policies associated with the New Deal that existed from the late 1 Professor, Department of Economics, University of Utah. Email: [email protected]. I would like to thank members of the University of Utah Competition Group, Catherine Ruetschlin, Marshall Steinbaum, and Ted Tatos for their help and input. I also benefited from suggestions and guidance from Gérard Duménil’s 2019 seminar on economic history at the University of Utah. -
School Choice... 3
Focus on Education Privatization Watch Celebrating 30 Years of Privatization and Government Reform Vol. 31, No. 2 2007 Urban School Choice... 3 Briefs 2 New Orleans Schools 4 Charter Enrollment 5 No Choices Left Behind 7 College Dorms 8 Utah Vouchers 9 Milwaukee Schools 10 State Lottery 12 Who, What, Where 16 2 Privatization Watch Privatization Briefs Editor Florida Gov. Crist Orders Privatization Review Geoffrey F. Segal ([email protected]) is Geoffrey Segal is the director of privatization In response to public criticism over state competitive sourc- and government reform at Reason Foundation. ing initiatives, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist directed the state’s Council on Efficient Government to undertake a review of privatization in state government, starting with the nine-year, $350 million ‘’People First’’ contract with Convergys for Managing Editor online personnel services, the largest of former Gov. Jeb Bush’s Leonard Gilroy ([email protected]) Leonard privatization initiatives. Gilroy, a certified planner (AICP), researches housing, ‘’The review will serve as a start- urban growth, privatization, and government reform. ing point for evaluating how to reap the most value from the system, whether privatization has merit—if Staff Writers Shikha Dalmia ([email protected]) it does, we should use it, if it doesn’t, George Passantino ([email protected]) we should not,’’ Crist said at a Feb- Robert W. Poole, Jr. ([email protected]) ruary 2007 news conference with Geoffrey F. Segal ([email protected]) Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink. Lisa Snell ([email protected]) Crist said Sink and three other Samuel R. -
A Hayekian Theory of Social Justice
A HAYEKIAN THEORY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE Samuel Taylor Morison* As Justice gives every Man a Title to the product of his honest Industry, and the fair Acquisitions of his Ancestors descended to him; so Charity gives every Man a Title to so much of another’s Plenty, as will keep him from ex- tream want, where he has no means to subsist otherwise. – John Locke1 I. Introduction The purpose of this essay is to critically examine Friedrich Hayek’s broadside against the conceptual intelligibility of the theory of social or distributive justice. This theme first appears in Hayek’s work in his famous political tract, The Road to Serfdom (1944), and later in The Constitution of Liberty (1960), but he developed the argument at greatest length in his major work in political philosophy, the trilogy entitled Law, Legis- lation, and Liberty (1973-79). Given that Hayek subtitled the second volume of this work The Mirage of Social Justice,2 it might seem counterintuitive or perhaps even ab- surd to suggest the existence of a genuinely Hayekian theory of social justice. Not- withstanding the rhetorical tenor of some of his remarks, however, Hayek’s actual con- clusions are characteristically even-tempered, which, I shall argue, leaves open the possibility of a revisionist account of the matter. As Hayek understands the term, “social justice” usually refers to the inten- tional doling out of economic rewards by the government, “some pattern of remunera- tion based on the assessment of the performance or the needs of different individuals * Attorney-Advisor, Office of the Pardon Attorney, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.; e- mail: [email protected]. -
Reason Papers No
Editor: Tibor R. Machan Managbig Editor: Mark Turiano Executive Editor: Gregory R. Johnson Associate Editors: Walter Block/ Economics Douglas J. Den Uyl/ Philosophy Kelly Dean Jolley/ Philosophy Leonard Liggio/ History Eric Mack/ Philosophy John D. McCallie/ Economics H. Joachim Maitre/ Interrzational Relations Ralph Raico/ History Lynn Scarlett/ Political Science Advisory Board: D. T. Armentanol University ofHartford Yale Brazen/ University of Chicago Nicholas Capaldi/ Urziversity of Tulsa R.L. Cunningham/ University of Sun Francisco John Hospers/ Univmity of Southern Cdlifornia Isreal M. Kirzner/ Nm York University Kenneth G. Luce y/ SUNY College. Fredonia Fred D. Miller, Jr./ Bowling Green State University Herbert Morris/ University of California, Los Angeles Clifton Perry/ Auburn University Paul Craig Roberts/ Georgetown University Morton L. Schagrin/ SUNY College, Fredonia Thomas S. Szasz/ SUNYMedical Center, Syracuse Articles On the Fit between Egoism and Rights ......................Eric Mack 3 Resolving the Tension in Aristotle's Ethic: The Balance Between Naturalism and Responsibility ........ David E. W. Fenner 22 The Irrationality of the Extended Order: The Fatal Conceit of F. A . Hayek ....... Larry ]. Sechrest 38 Special Forum: Rand & Philosophy A Philosopher for the New Millennium? ........ Fred D. Miller. Jr. On Rand as Philosopher ............................... Dough J. Den Uyl Rand and Philosophy (and Capitalism) ..... Douglas B. Rasmussen Ayn Rand's Contribution to Philosophy ....... Neera K. Badhwar What is Living in the Philosophy of AynRand ... Lester H . Hunt Rand and Objectivity ............................................... David Kelly Rand Revisited ...................................... .. ................]. Roger Lee Ayn Rand's Philosophical Significance .................... John Hospers Ayn Rand as Moral & Political Philosopher ..........la n Narveson Discussion Notes Kamhi and Torres on Meaning in Ayn Rand's Esthetics .............................................. -
Markets Not Capitalism Explores the Gap Between Radically Freed Markets and the Capitalist-Controlled Markets That Prevail Today
individualist anarchism against bosses, inequality, corporate power, and structural poverty Edited by Gary Chartier & Charles W. Johnson Individualist anarchists believe in mutual exchange, not economic privilege. They believe in freed markets, not capitalism. They defend a distinctive response to the challenges of ending global capitalism and achieving social justice: eliminate the political privileges that prop up capitalists. Massive concentrations of wealth, rigid economic hierarchies, and unsustainable modes of production are not the results of the market form, but of markets deformed and rigged by a network of state-secured controls and privileges to the business class. Markets Not Capitalism explores the gap between radically freed markets and the capitalist-controlled markets that prevail today. It explains how liberating market exchange from state capitalist privilege can abolish structural poverty, help working people take control over the conditions of their labor, and redistribute wealth and social power. Featuring discussions of socialism, capitalism, markets, ownership, labor struggle, grassroots privatization, intellectual property, health care, racism, sexism, and environmental issues, this unique collection brings together classic essays by Cleyre, and such contemporary innovators as Kevin Carson and Roderick Long. It introduces an eye-opening approach to radical social thought, rooted equally in libertarian socialism and market anarchism. “We on the left need a good shake to get us thinking, and these arguments for market anarchism do the job in lively and thoughtful fashion.” – Alexander Cockburn, editor and publisher, Counterpunch “Anarchy is not chaos; nor is it violence. This rich and provocative gathering of essays by anarchists past and present imagines society unburdened by state, markets un-warped by capitalism. -
De-Socialization in a United Germany
De-Socialization in a United Germany Hans-Hermann Hoppe* I s a result of the defeat of Hitler's Germany in Word War 11, there were 10 million refugees living on a significantly A reduced German territory; 40 percent of the population was bombed-out (the population of Cologne, for instance, had declined from 750,000 to 32,000) and 60 percent was undernourished.' In those territories occupied by the Western Allies, initially the economic system inherited from the Nazi regime-a command-war- economy-was retained. Almost all consumer goods were rationed, all-around price and wage controls remained in effect, and imports and exports were strictly regulared by the military administration. Black markets and barter trade were ubiquitous. Due to general price maxima and an expansionary supply of paper Reichs marks, no goods were to be found and money was largely u~eless.~alack-market prices experienced a highly inflationary development and substitute curren- cies like coffee, cigarettes, and butter emerged. German output in 1946 was less than one-third of what it had been in 1938. Chaos and desperation were the mark of the day. In respone to the beginning Cold War between the Allies, in particular the United States and the Soviet Union, the Western *Hans-Hermann Hoppe is associate professor of economics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.. or details see Gustav Stolper, German Realities (New York:Reynal & Hitchcock, 1948); Frank Grube and Gerhard Richter, Die Schwarzmarktzeit: Deutschland zwischen 1945 und 1948 (Hamburg, 1979); Theodor Eschenburg, Jahre der Besatzung 1945-1949 (Stuttgart,1983); Charles Kindleberger, The German Economy, 1945-1947: Charles Kindleberger's Letters /?om the Field (Westport, Conn.: Meckler, 1989) with a historical introduction by Giinther Bischof. -
Some Worries About the Coherence of Left-Libertarianism Mathias Risse
John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University Faculty Research Working Papers Series Can There be “Libertarianism without Inequality”? Some Worries About the Coherence of Left-Libertarianism Mathias Risse Nov 2003 RWP03-044 The views expressed in the KSG Faculty Research Working Paper Series are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the John F. Kennedy School of Government or Harvard University. All works posted here are owned and copyrighted by the author(s). Papers may be downloaded for personal use only. Can There be “Libertarianism without Inequality”? Some Worries About the Coherence of Left-Libertarianism1 Mathias Risse John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University October 25, 2003 1. Left-libertarianism is not a new star on the sky of political philosophy, but it was through the recent publication of Peter Vallentyne and Hillel Steiner’s anthologies that it became clearly visible as a contemporary movement with distinct historical roots. “Left- libertarian theories of justice,” says Vallentyne, “hold that agents are full self-owners and that natural resources are owned in some egalitarian manner. Unlike most versions of egalitarianism, left-libertarianism endorses full self-ownership, and thus places specific limits on what others may do to one’s person without one’s permission. Unlike right- libertarianism, it holds that natural resources may be privately appropriated only with the permission of, or with a significant payment to, the members of society. Like right- libertarianism, left-libertarianism holds that the basic rights of individuals are ownership rights. Left-libertarianism is promising because it coherently underwrites both some demands of material equality and some limits on the permissible means of promoting this equality” (Vallentyne and Steiner (2000a), p 1; emphasis added). -
Richard T. Ely and Woodrow Wilson at “The Hopkins”
SUBSCRIBE NOW AND RECEIVE CRISIS AND LEVIATHAN* FREE! “The Independent Review does not accept “The Independent Review is pronouncements of government officials nor the excellent.” conventional wisdom at face value.” —GARY BECKER, Noble Laureate —JOHN R. MACARTHUR, Publisher, Harper’s in Economic Sciences Subscribe to The Independent Review and receive a free book of your choice* such as the 25th Anniversary Edition of Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government, by Founding Editor Robert Higgs. This quarterly journal, guided by co-editors Christopher J. Coyne, and Michael C. Munger, and Robert M. Whaples offers leading-edge insights on today’s most critical issues in economics, healthcare, education, law, history, political science, philosophy, and sociology. Thought-provoking and educational, The Independent Review is blazing the way toward informed debate! Student? Educator? Journalist? Business or civic leader? Engaged citizen? This journal is for YOU! *Order today for more FREE book options Perfect for students or anyone on the go! The Independent Review is available on mobile devices or tablets: iOS devices, Amazon Kindle Fire, or Android through Magzter. INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE, 100 SWAN WAY, OAKLAND, CA 94621 • 800-927-8733 • [email protected] PROMO CODE IRA1703 The Shaping of a Future President’s Economic Thought Richard T. Ely and Woodrow Wilson at “The Hopkins” F CLIFFORD F. THIES AND GARY M. PECQUET homas Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) was the first and is still the only president oftheUnitedStatestoholdanearneddoctoraldegree.HisPh.D.wasawarded T by the Johns Hopkins University (“The Hopkins”) in 1886. He was also the president of an institution of higher education and, unique among U.S. -
Big Business: a Love Letter to an American Anti-Hero | Tyler Cowen
BOOK REVIEW Big Business: A Love Letter to an American Anti-Hero By Tyler Cowen 2019 ST. MARTIN’S PRESS, 249 PAGES Reviewed by Camille Vazquez yler Cowen’s latest book, “Big general director of the Mercatus Center, Business: A Love Letter to an adjunct scholar for the Cato Institute, American Anti-Hero,” is both timely author, columnist, and much more. “Big Tand approachable. A book of this caliber Business” came as a response to recent is to be expected from Cowen, given his alarming polls showing, among other wealth of knowledge and experience, which things, that 51 percent of young people do includes serving as an economics professor not support capitalism and, unsurprisingly, at George Mason University, chairman and similar numbers carry across different The JOURNAL of The JAMES MADISON INSTITUTE first, we should lower our standards for judging their morality, and second, these businesses should strive to be more socially responsible. To begin, Cowen raises the point that were it not for the innovation from businesses, we would be without the technology for many forms of transportation and utilities, pharmaceuticals, clothing, food, communication devices, and access to online information. Additionally, businesses provide countless jobs and salaries that allow us to purchase what we need. The idea that businesses act as our great providers is instrumental to leading Cowen into his second argument, which is that there is an inherent cognitive dissonance between our need for businesses and our negative perception of them. Cowen explains that the root of this cognitive dissonance stems from our tendency to anthropomorphize businesses, thus creating a false perception that demographics.