Free Banking and Economic Development, Part 2
When Adam Smith first drew attention to the benefits of fractional-reserve banking, those benefits were but a glimmer of far more impressive gains to come. In 1776, the year of the appearance of Smith’s Wealth of Nations, Scotland had only 10 note-issuing banks, the...I was a Farm Worker
It makes no economic sense for an employer to pay $20 an hour for a job that is only worth $10 an hour.
How About a Union for Business Owners?
Most people look at “business” as something separate from everything else in life, and at best, a necessary evil. Something you have to do. Or a way to make money—in a practical, but never creative, artistic or (perish the thought) moral way. In today’s political...Germany Faces Political Isolation
One month ago it appeared that Germany held the whip hand in its titanic struggle against those seeking to cure all economic ills with the snake oil of currency debasement. Now, it appears that the ground beneath its feet is being swept away in a flood of popular...Now France Has a Socialist President Too
France now has something in common with the United States: A Socialist President. Welcome to the club, France! Not that this represents a big change. The last president of France was nothing more than a corrupt guardian of that country’s massive entitlement and...Jim Crow, Racism, and the Free Market
It is often claimed that capitalism leads to all sorts of ills, such as racism and cartels (or monopolies). As with most attacks on capitalism, these claims attempt to blame capitalism for the consequences of government intervention into the economy. The Jim Crow laws...The Danger of “States’ Rights”
Defenders of freedom must reject the entire notion of “states’ rights” and instead embrace the principle of individual rights.
Free Banking and Economic Development, Part 1
The most tangible achievements of the free market—the vast improvements in technology and productivity, the industrial plant and infrastructure from which these derive, and the extensive retailing networks that deliver industry’s fruits to consumers—would be far more meager were it not for past and present lending financed by fractionally-backed bank liabilities.