Speaking of Liberty
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Removing Obstacles on the Path to Economic Freedom1
Removing Obstacles on the Path to Economic Freedom1 John B. Taylor Mont Pelerin Society Fort Worth, Texas May 22, 2019 My remarks on removing obstacles on the path to economic freedom touch on themes raised at Mont Pelerin Society meetings for many years. But here I emphasize that the obstacles often change their form over time and pop up in surprising ways. I see two basic kinds of obstacles. First are obstacles based on claims that the principle ideas of economic freedom are wrong or do not work. The principle ideas of economic freedom include the rule of law, predictable policies, reliance on markets, attention to incentives, and limitations on government.2 This first kind of obstacle largely promotes the opposite of these principles, arguing that the rule of law should be replaced by arbitrary government actions, that policy predictability is no virtue, that market prices can be replaced by central decrees, that incentives matter little, and that government does not need to be restrained. Many were making such claims at the time that the Mont Pelerin Society was founded in 1947. Communist governments were taking hold. Socialism was creeping up everywhere. “The common objective of those who met at Mont Pelerin was undoubtedly to halt and reverse current political, social, and economic trends toward socialism,” as R. M. Hartwell described the first meeting in his history of the Mont Pelerin Society.3 Despite many successes, these claims have returned today in renewed calls for socialism and criticism of free market capitalism as a way to improved standards of living. -
Bibliography
Bibliography Archival Insights into the Evolution of Economics (and Related Projects) Berlet, C. (2017). Hayek, Mises, and the Iron Rule of Unintended Consequences. In R. Leeson (Ed.), Hayek a Collaborative Biography Part IX: Te Divine Right of the ‘Free’ Market. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. Farrant, A., & McPhail, E. (2017). Hayek, Tatcher, and the Muddle of the Middle. In R. Leeson (Ed.), Hayek: A Collaborative Biography Part IX the Divine Right of the Market. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. Filip, B. (2018a). Hayek on Limited Democracy, Dictatorships and the ‘Free’ Market: An Interview in Argentina, 1977. In R. Leeson (Ed.), Hayek a Collaborative Biography Part XIII: ‘Fascism’ and Liberalism in the (Austrian) Classical Tradition. Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan. Filip, B. (2018b). Hayek and Popper on Piecemeal Engineering and Ordo- Liberalism. In R. Leeson (Ed.), Hayek a Collaborative Biography Part XIV: Orwell, Popper, Humboldt and Polanyi. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. Friedman, M. F. (2017 [1991]). Say ‘No’ to Intolerance. In R. Leeson & C. Palm (Eds.), Milton Friedman on Freedom. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press. © Te Editor(s) (if applicable) and Te Author(s) 2019 609 R. Leeson, Hayek: A Collaborative Biography, Archival Insights into the Evolution of Economics, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78069-6 610 Bibliography Glasner, D. (2018). Hayek, Gold, Defation and Nihilism. In R. Leeson (Ed.), Hayek a Collaborative Biography Part XIII: ‘Fascism’ and Liberalism in the (Austrian) Classical Tradition. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. Goldschmidt, N., & Hesse, J.-O. (2013). Eucken, Hayek, and the Road to Serfdom. In R. Leeson (Ed.), Hayek: A Collaborative Biography Part I Infuences, from Mises to Bartley. -
10022 Hon. Brad Ellsworth Hon. Michael C. Burgess Hon
10022 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS, Vol. 155, Pt. 8 April 2, 2009 After I stepped down from Congress in who are interested in the cause of individual the United Press International, Baptist Medical 1984, I partnered with Burt in the coin busi- liberty, peace, and sound money. Many of Center and Florida City Magazines Inc. In the ness, a partnership which lasted until I re- them got their introduction to these ideas Star-Telegram, his goal has always been to turned to Congress in 1996. Our partnership through one of the many organizations nur- present the issues that are important to his was based on nothing more than our words. tured by Burt Blumert. community and keep citizens informed. Over As anyone who ever dealt with Burt could tes- Madam Speaker, perhaps the highest com- the years, Harral served as Senior Editor of tify, that was all that was needed, because pliment one can pay to a departed friend is to Metro news, Ombudsman, Editor of the edi- Burt’s word was truly his bond. I am unaware say that they left the world better than they torial pages, Editor of zoning operations, and of anyone who dealt with Burt who questioned found it. That is certainly true in the case of supervised the online department. Under his his integrity or his commitment to his cus- Burt Blumert. While I am saddened that I will tenure in 1995, the Texas Associated Press tomers. never again benefit from Burt’s good humor Managing Editors (APME) recognized the As well-known and respected as he was for and wise counsel, I am comforted by knowing weekend and daily commentary sections as his leadership in the coin business, Burt was that I was blessed by his friendship and the best in the state. -
Causes and Consequences of the Inflation Taxi
Causes and Consequences of the Inflation Taxi Abstract: While ethical implications of direct taxation systems have recently received renewed attention, a more veiled scheme remains unnoticed: the inflation tax. We overview the causes of inflation, and assess its consequences. Salient wealth redistributions are a defining feature of inflation, as savers and fixed income individuals see a relative wealth reduction. While evasion of this tax is difficult in many instances due to the primacy of money in a monetary economy, the tax codes of most developed countries allow avoidance techniques to be employed. We analyze the ways that inflation taxes may be avoided in an attempt to preserve personal wealth, as well as the consequences of such practices. 1 Causes and Consequences of the Inflation Tax Introduction Much recent literature focuses on the ethics of direct taxation (Joel Slemrod 2007; Bagus et al. 2011; Robert W. McGee 2012c). Whether income and consumption taxes are coercively imposed on both consumers and producers has long been contested. Being this as it may, taxes can be, and often are, remitted to the government voluntarily as if they were not reliant on their coercive imposition. In this case we are led to believe that there is no difference between taxation and voluntarily donations of money to the government –both will result in spending that is consistent with taxpayers’ desires. The curiosity that arises is that if people did not donate money voluntarily to the government, neither coercion nor taxation would be necessary.ii However, the degree of “voluntariness” of the governing process implementing taxation cannot affect the core nature of the problem (Robert McGee 1994). -
The Mont Pelerin Society
A SPECIAL MEETING THE MONT PELERIN SOCIETY JANUARY 15–17, 2020 FROM THE PAST TO THE FUTURE: IDEAS AND ACTIONS FOR A FREE SOCIETY CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR MAKING THE CASE FOR LIBERTY RUSSELL ROBERTS HOOVER INSTITUTION • STANFORD UNIVERSITY 1 1 MAKING THE CASE FOR LIBERTY Prepared for the January 2020 Mont Pelerin Society Meeting Hoover Institution, Stanford University Russ Roberts John and Jean De Nault Research Fellow Hoover Institution Stanford University [email protected] 1 2 According to many economists and pundits, we are living under the dominion of Milton Friedman’s free market, neoliberal worldview. Such is the claim of the recent book, The Economists’ Hour by Binyamin Applebaum. He blames the policy prescriptions of free- market economists for slower growth, inequality, and declining life expectancy. The most important figure in this seemingly disastrous intellectual revolution? “Milton Friedman, an elfin libertarian…Friedman offered an appealingly simple answer for the nation’s problems: Government should get out of the way.” A similar judgment is delivered in a recent article in the Boston Review by Suresh Naidu, Dani Rodrik, and Gabriel Zucman: Leading economists such as Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman were among the founders of the Mont Pelerin Society, the influential group of intellectuals whose advocacy of markets and hostility to government intervention proved highly effective in reshaping the policy landscape after 1980. Deregulation, financialization, dismantling of the welfare state, deinstitutionalization of labor markets, reduction in corporate and progressive taxation, and the pursuit of hyper-globalization—the culprits behind rising inequalities—all seem to be rooted in conventional economic doctrines. -
The Philosophy of Free Trade and Its Applicability in East Asia
ENCUENTROS ISSN 1692-5858. No. 1. Junio de 2011 • P. 69-82 Is Free Trade a Culture-Bound Ideal? The Philosophy of Free Trade and Its Applicability in East Asia ¿Está ligada la cultura al pensamiento de libre comercio?: su filosofía y aplicabilidad en el Este de Asia Tae Jin Park [email protected] West Virgina State University ABSTRACT Proponents of free trade, especially theorists known as “neo-liberals,” preach free trade as a global ethic and emphasize four great benefits from it: 1) reciprocal economic growth; 2) individual freedom; 3) political democracy; 4) international peace. This review article will examine the validity of these assumptions in East Asia. Although many East Asian states are great beneficiaries of the liberal international trade system that has developed since the end of World War II, their political and economic developments generally do not conform to Western expectations because their cultural values are still “Confucian” and their political economy relied heavily on state leadership. The philosophy of free trade is largely incompatible with East Asian historical experiences. The credibility of the free trade doctrine in East Asia comes from the power and influence of the U.S. rather than from the usefulness of the free trade doctrine. Key words: Free trade, neo-liberalism, East Asia, Confucianism, capitalism, democracy. RESUMEN Los defensores del libre comercio, especialmente los teóricos se conocen como “neo-liberales,” predicar el libre comercio como una ética global y hacer hincapié en cuatro grandes beneficios: 1) crecimiento económico recíproco, 2) la libertad individual, 3) la democracia política, y 4) la paz internacional. -
U.S. POLICY in the AMERICAS and the ROLE of FREE TRADE by Otto J
❏ U.S. POLICY IN THE AMERICAS AND THE ROLE OF FREE TRADE By Otto J. Reich, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State Freer trade has long been a centerpiece of U.S. policy in the The United States knows that our destiny is tied to the Americas, not only to boost economic growth but also to well-being of our neighbors. We understand that we strengthen the ties that unite the region's 34 democracies, says cannot be safe at home if our neighborhood is not safe. Otto Reich, the United States' top diplomat for the region. We appreciate that our prosperity grows as our neighbors “There is a fundamental and mutually supporting dynamic prosper. We believe that healthy relations between the between political and economic freedom,” he says. Having United States and the other countries of the Western recently obtained a grant of trade promotion authority (TPA) Hemisphere are to our mutual benefit, and this from Congress, Bush Administration officials are poised to perspective informs our policy toward the region. pursue the FTAA talks with renewed vigor as the United States and Brazil prepare to assume joint leadership for the While we in the United States believe that trade is the final phase of the negotiations. Ambassador Reich most beneficial element of our economic relationship acknowledges legitimate concerns — in developed and with the world, we are increasing our foreign aid and its developing countries alike — over the potential disruptions efficacy. For 2002, the U.S. Agency for International of open trade, but says “without change, there is only Development (USAID) foreign aid program for Latin stagnation.” America and the Caribbean amounted to $828 million. -
Atlas Network Records
http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c80k2f0h No online items Register of the Atlas Network records Finding aid prepared by Dale Reed Hoover Institution Library and Archives © 2015, 2019 434 Galvez Mall Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305-6003 [email protected] URL: http://www.hoover.org/library-and-archives Register of the Atlas Network 2015C50 1 records Title: Atlas Network records Date (inclusive): 1946-2013 Collection Number: 2015C50 Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives Language of Material: In English and Spanish Physical Description: 319 ms. boxes, 1 oversize box(160.5 Linear Feet) Abstract: Correspondence, writings, memoranda, conference papers and other conference materials, fundraising and grant award records, other financial records, and printed matter relating to international promotion of free market economic policies. Hoover Institution Library & Archives Access The collection is open for research; materials must be requested at least two business days in advance of intended use. Publication Rights For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives. Acquisition Information Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2015. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Atlas Network records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives. Historical Note The Atlas Network was founded in Fairfax, Virginia, as the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, in 1981. Its founder, Sir Antony Fisher (1915-1988), had already created the Institute of Economic Affairs in his native Great Britain and the Fraser Institute in Canada. The purpose of these organizations was promotion of free market economics, limited government, and deregulation and privatization to the greatest extent possible. -
Frontier Culture: the Roots and Persistence of “Rugged Individualism” in the United States Samuel Bazzi, Martin Fiszbein, and Mesay Gebresilasse NBER Working Paper No
Frontier Culture: The Roots and Persistence of “Rugged Individualism” in the United States Samuel Bazzi, Martin Fiszbein, and Mesay Gebresilasse NBER Working Paper No. 23997 November 2017, Revised August 2020 JEL No. D72,H2,N31,N91,P16 ABSTRACT The presence of a westward-moving frontier of settlement shaped early U.S. history. In 1893, the historian Frederick Jackson Turner famously argued that the American frontier fostered individualism. We investigate the Frontier Thesis and identify its long-run implications for culture and politics. We track the frontier throughout the 1790–1890 period and construct a novel, county-level measure of total frontier experience (TFE). Historically, frontier locations had distinctive demographics and greater individualism. Long after the closing of the frontier, counties with greater TFE exhibit more pervasive individualism and opposition to redistribution. This pattern cuts across known divides in the U.S., including urban–rural and north–south. We provide evidence on the roots of frontier culture, identifying both selective migration and a causal effect of frontier exposure on individualism. Overall, our findings shed new light on the frontier’s persistent legacy of rugged individualism. Samuel Bazzi Mesay Gebresilasse Department of Economics Amherst College Boston University 301 Converse Hall 270 Bay State Road Amherst, MA 01002 Boston, MA 02215 [email protected] and CEPR and also NBER [email protected] Martin Fiszbein Department of Economics Boston University 270 Bay State Road Boston, MA 02215 and NBER [email protected] Frontier Culture: The Roots and Persistence of “Rugged Individualism” in the United States∗ Samuel Bazziy Martin Fiszbeinz Mesay Gebresilassex Boston University Boston University Amherst College NBER and CEPR and NBER July 2020 Abstract The presence of a westward-moving frontier of settlement shaped early U.S. -
Libertarianism Karl Widerquist, Georgetown University-Qatar
Georgetown University From the SelectedWorks of Karl Widerquist 2008 Libertarianism Karl Widerquist, Georgetown University-Qatar Available at: https://works.bepress.com/widerquist/8/ Libertarianism distinct ideologies using the same label. Yet, they have a few commonalities. [233] [V1b-Edit] [Karl Widerquist] [] [w6728] Libertarian socialism: Libertarian socialists The word “libertarian” in the sense of the believe that all authority (government or combination of the word “liberty” and the private, dictatorial or democratic) is suffix “-ian” literally means “of or about inherently dangerous and possibly tyrannical. freedom.” It is an antonym of “authoritarian,” Some endorse the motto: where there is and the simplest dictionary definition is one authority, there is no freedom. who advocates liberty (Simpson and Weiner Libertarian socialism is also known as 1989). But the name “libertarianism” has “anarchism,” “libertarian communism,” and been adopted by several very different “anarchist communism,” It has a variety of political movements. Property rights offshoots including “anarcho-syndicalism,” advocates have popularized the association of which stresses worker control of enterprises the term with their ideology in the United and was very influential in Latin American States and to a lesser extent in other English- and in Spain in the 1930s (Rocker 1989 speaking countries. But they only began [1938]; Woodcock 1962); “feminist using the term in 1955 (Russell 1955). Before anarchism,” which stresses person freedoms that, and in most of the rest of the world (Brown 1993); and “eco-anarchism” today, the term has been associated almost (Bookchin 1997), which stresses community exclusively with leftists groups advocating control of the local economy and gives egalitarian property rights or even the libertarian socialism connection with Green abolition of private property, such as and environmental movements. -
Write-Ins Race/Name Totals - General Election 11/03/20 11/10/2020
Write-Ins Race/Name Totals - General Election 11/03/20 11/10/2020 President/Vice President Phillip M Chesion / Cobie J Chesion 1 1 U/S. Gubbard 1 Adebude Eastman 1 Al Gore 1 Alexandria Cortez 2 Allan Roger Mulally former CEO Ford 1 Allen Bouska 1 Andrew Cuomo 2 Andrew Cuomo / Andrew Cuomo 1 Andrew Cuomo, NY / Dr. Anthony Fauci, Washington D.C. 1 Andrew Yang 14 Andrew Yang Morgan Freeman 1 Andrew Yang / Joe Biden 1 Andrew Yang/Amy Klobuchar 1 Andrew Yang/Jeremy Cohen 1 Anthony Fauci 3 Anyone/Else 1 AOC/Princess Nokia 1 Ashlie Kashl Adam Mathey 1 Barack Obama/Michelle Obama 1 Ben Carson Mitt Romney 1 Ben Carson Sr. 1 Ben Sass 1 Ben Sasse 6 Ben Sasse senator-Nebraska Laurel Cruse 1 Ben Sasse/Blank 1 Ben Shapiro 1 Bernard Sanders 1 Bernie Sanders 22 Bernie Sanders / Alexandria Ocasio Cortez 1 Bernie Sanders / Elizabeth Warren 2 Bernie Sanders / Kamala Harris 1 Bernie Sanders Joe Biden 1 Bernie Sanders Kamala D. Harris 1 Bernie Sanders/ Kamala Harris 1 Bernie Sanders/Andrew Yang 1 Bernie Sanders/Kamala D. Harris 2 Bernie Sanders/Kamala Harris 2 Blain Botsford Nick Honken 1 Blank 7 Blank/Blank 1 Bobby Estelle Bones 1 Bran Carroll 1 Brandon A Laetare 1 Brian Carroll Amar Patel 1 Page 1 of 142 President/Vice President Brian Bockenstedt 1 Brian Carol/Amar Patel 1 Brian Carrol Amar Patel 1 Brian Carroll 2 Brian carroll Ammor Patel 1 Brian Carroll Amor Patel 2 Brian Carroll / Amar Patel 3 Brian Carroll/Ama Patel 1 Brian Carroll/Amar Patel 25 Brian Carroll/Joshua Perkins 1 Brian T Carroll 1 Brian T. -
The Mont Pelerin Society: a MANDATE RENEWED
1 The Mont Pelerin Society: A MANDATE RENEWED By Deepak Lal Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to this special meeting of the MPS. In this address I would like to explain why it has been called at such short notice and how I hope it provides a renewal of the mandate our founders set for the society.1 After being anointed with the Presidency of this august body in Tokyo (in early September), my wife and I went on to a lecture tour in China. We were in Shanghai on a tour of the magnificent Suzhou industrial estate outside Shanghai, with MPS member Steven Cheung. On the afternoon of the 15th September Steve received a call on his Blackberry that Lehman Brothers had gone into bankruptcy. Steve opined that this marked the end of American capitalism. I thought this somewhat hyperbolic. But, on getting back to London at the end of September, as I was tending my roses, my neighbor, a Thatcherite heart surgeon, said over the hedge that, given the recent events in the capital markets, did I still stand by the views I had expressed in my last book on "Reviving the Invisible Hand".2 I replied that even a severe trade cycle downturn would not undermine the well tested classical liberal principles I had espoused. Though, Gordon Brown might be in trouble having repeatedly congratulated himself for having abolished boom and bust. Two subsequent events shattered this complacency. I had been following a political betting site called Betfair on which some youngsters at the Tokyo MPS meeting were placing bets on a McCain victory.