Why does economic education matter? Look no further than the ongoing crisis in Venezuela, where the Washington Post is reporting that food shortages are so bad that people are attacking food trucks when they make deliveries. It all started when Hugo Chavez and his successor, Nicolas Maduro, tried to formulate public policy while ignoring economics. […]
The news from Venezuela just keeps getting worse: runaway inflation, rolling electricity blackouts, shortages of even the most basic goods, people dying in hospitals waiting for care that just doesn’t ever arrive. The world looks on, appalled at the spreading miseries, and asks: “Why is this happening?” And, “What can be done about it?” These […]
We do not think it means what you think it means. There are a lot of polls about what millennials think about capitalism and socialism. According to these polls, millennials like socialism, but not capitalism. But what do they mean by capitalism and socialism? For reference, here are the definitions of capitalism and socialism according […]
The Washington Post recently blared the headline: “Majority of Millennials Now Reject Capitalism, Poll Shows.” I suspect, perhaps unfairly, that this is a matter of some pleasure for the Post’s editorial board. But if you actually read the article, a different picture emerges. In fact, 42 percent of the millennials polled say they support capitalism. […]
You hear the words “socialism” and “capitalism” thrown around a lot, but what do they really mean? And what are the pros and cons of each system? In this special On Demand program, we take an honest look at these concepts and explore the practical and philosophical issues behind them. Is socialism a fairer system […]
Did you know? Rose Wilder Lane, daughter of Little House on the Prairie author Laura Ingalls Wilder, was sympathetic to communism until a Red Cross mission to Russia, that would later influence her to become a libertarian? This article from the Foundation for Economic Education explains her disillusionment with communism: “Lane visited the Soviet Union […]
Did you know that one time in a meeting of economists in 1947 Mises shouted at Milton Friedman, among others, that they were socialists? Check it out in the clip below. What do you think? Tell us in the comments. Be sure to check out “Commanding Heights”, the documentary this clip is excerpted from.
The following blog post by Abigail Hall appeared on the Independent Institute’s blog on September 3rd, 2015. Below is an excerpt. Some people look at the conditions in Venezuela and point to oil prices as the source of many of its problems. The Venezuelan government, led by President Nicolás Maduro, blames opposition leaders for the […]
Venezuela’s condition continues to deteriorate, with opposition leaders imprisoned and elections allegedly rigged, the situation looks like it will not change anytime soon. This brings up the question, when are societies justified to rise up in a violent manner against government? Check out this short Learn Liberty video and let us know what you think […]