According to Rand, then, tariffs are destructive because they are a form of physical coercion by the government. They violate the citizens’ freedom to choose with whom to trade and on what terms and thus limit their ability to pursue their lives.
MARKETS
Do Reciprocal Tariffs Double-Down on Protectionism, or Promote Free Trade?
Economically, unilateral free trade remains beneficial even in the face of foreign tariffs.
Tariffs Don’t Save Industries — Free Markets Do
America’s industrial capacity is today at an all-time high — and not because of tariffs.
Protectionism and the Fallacy of Composition
Protectionism can’t enrich the country as a whole, only boost certain individuals and industries while impoverishing the rest.
Progress In a Free Economy
The Industrial Revolution has allowed mankind to improve his environment.
Why Do Business Leaders Appease Their Enemies?
The fundamental reason for appeasing the critics of business is that company executives lack the moral argument for defense. As Ayn Rand argues in ‘The Sanction of The Victims,’ most business leaders have accepted the moral code of altruism.
Time To Privatize the United States Postal Service
Decades of ossification, political interference, and financial losses have left USPS in unsustainable position.
Bitcoin Bests $100,000
If Bitcoin is someday supplanted by another digital asset offering indisputable improvements, its foundational role in seeding and anchoring the cryptocurrency asset class — and in driving trillions of dollars of investment into similar and related assets and enterprises — will remain as significant, if not more so, than its contributions to the present.
Killing Thousands of Jobs: California’s Fast-Food Minimum Wage Law
California’s minimum wage law for fast-food workers is, like any such law, a price floor; it is a price control on labor.
Walgreens, Mass Closures, and the Power of Incentives
Despite Walgreens being ranked as one of America’s most trusted brands, with a rich history dating back to 1901, 500 stores are slated to shut their doors in 2025 with more closures to come in the years following.
Insights on The Benevolent Nature of Capitalism
By the “benevolent nature of capitalism,” I mean the fact that it promotes human life and well-being and does so for everyone.
Tariffs Don’t Save Industries — Markets Do
In reality, America’s industrial capacity – the ability of the American economy to produce value in the form of industrial outputs – is today at an all-time high.
Establishment of Gold as Money (Part 6 of 10)
The establishment of gold as money is essential to the achievement of a capitalist society.
The Freedom of Production and Trade Under Capitalism (Part 3 of 10)
An appropriate vehicle for the establishment of the freedom of production and trade, whether all at once or gradually, would be the establishment of one last regulatory-type agency: the Deregulation Agency.
Ludwig von Mises: Defender of Capitalism
Ludwig Von Mises is important because his teachings are necessary to the preservation of capitalism and thus of civilization.
U.S. Tariffs Benefit The Politically Connected at The Expense of Honest Americans
The best way to address unfair trade practices is not through blanket tariffs but by expanding trade with allies and non-hostile nations.
The “Joy” of Rationing and Price Controls: Kamala Harris vs. The Price Gougers
There is a lack of public comment and debate about Kamala Harris’s call for price controls on groceries and rents, the most stunning and frightening policy proposal made in my lifetime.
Free Markets, and Not Statist Regulators, Should Decide The Fate of Google
The DOJ’s case against Google is a moot point and waste of taxpayer dollars.
Free Market Fundamentals and NatCon Inconsistencies
Endorsing individuals’ freedom to trade with foreigners is simply of a piece with the more general endorsement of individuals’ freedom to trade with whomever they please, whether fellow citizens or not. The protectionist position, in contrast, invariably relies upon arbitrary distinctions that ensnare protectionists in intellectual and ethical inconsistencies.
What Americans Can Learn From Venezuela’s Crackdown on ‘Price Gougers’
Ten years ago, Venezuela set out on a path to economic ruin and grave shortages of basic consumer goods, because of price controls on groceries and other products. Is the US really going to travel on the same road?
Trade Deficits Don’t Really Matter
Free nations as such don’t gain or lose from trade; only individual traders do.
Celebrating Work
Let’s celebrate the important value of work on Labor Day—and demand that our governments stop killing jobs through their taxes, climate action plans and regulations and let people invest, trade, and work freely.
Free Markets Help Workers Flourish
The fundamental principle that we need to recognize to help all workers flourish, ignored by most labor unions and governments alike, is freedom.
The “Next” US Recession
There’s strong and growing evidence that the “next” US recession has begun — or will begin soon.
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