Tag: the state

“What Has the Government Done To Our Money?” Part I

,

I’ve been reading this book by Rothbard (in preparation for Mises University later this month) and like all the books I’ve read by Rothbard so far, it is fantastic. Superb…stunning, these might be more appropriate words. It is taking me a long time to read it because I want to write down everything Rothbard says in my notes. I can’t read a sentence or two without stopping to quote him. I thought I’d share some of those quotes, and my thoughts on the book. He starts out by saying how confusing money is to people. This has led to a…

Read More

“The Enterprise of Law” Part II

, ,

One of Benson’s primary subjects in his book is the need for police protection. He discusses police protection provided by the government, and then explores the possibility of police being provided by the free market. When the government is in charge of this, like anything, they have no motivation for providing the best product at the lowest cost. “This does not imply that police chiefs and judges will be completely ambivalent to the costs a department or court generates; it means that they are likely to make a relatively smaller effort at monitoring employees to check on wasted time and resources.” He also makes another point about the difference between…

Read More

Away Down the Hill, Chapter Ten

I counted the following weeks in groups of three. I knew that every three days there would be a letter from Franz. It was a lovely feeling to look forward to something like that. Sometimes I was happy with the letters I received, and sometimes I cried because they were so dull and war-like. I never asked myself why I did not like those letters, I never examined my heart, and so the next few months passed. Most of the men were gone, and only a few lingered. Frederick stayed on for the longest. Some days when I went to…

Read More

“The Enterprise of Law” Part I

, ,

There is a little known book out there called “The Enterprise of Law” by Bruce Benson. I was introduced to it by Richard Maybury, who highly recommended it in his books. That was about two years ago. I got the book from our local (public) library and enjoyed reading it. I thought, “oh, these are some interesting ideas on privatizing some government jobs.” Then more recently, I was reminded of the book and I realized it was a manifesto, of sorts, for anarchy. Since I’m swamped with reading, I don’t have time to reread the book, but I found my…

Read More

The Empire is Killing Us

, ,

Many historians identify the ancient Roman empire as trigger that caused the whole civilization to collapse. The empire was expensive, taxes got higher, inflation was rampant, and eventually this ended their culture. Here’s an article at LewRockwell.com about our empire and choice that lies ahead of us.

Read More

Away Down the Hill, Chapter Nine

I soon recovered from my bout of tears. The next morning I was sure that I loved Franz, with all my heart. And that day I received a letter from him. I walked, very fast, through the ward rooms with it, on my way to my room. “A letter, Adele?” “Yes, from Franz,” and I smiled in joy. I only heard Frederick sigh in return. My dearest Cathie, we have been so busy, this was the first chance I got to write you. My apologies if it was late. What have you been doing, without me to talk to? I…

Read More

Away Down the Hill, Chapter Eight

It was curious to see how differently the men began to heal. Franz gained strength every day and was so invigorated and full of ambition. Some of the others had no reason to get well. Their families were gone, and they were disillusioned with the war. They laid in their beds, wasting away and growing stronger in body, but weaker in their minds. Frederick was somewhere in between. He wasn’t as young as Franz, and didn’t have that energy for revenge. Yet he didn’t lie there hopeless, just waiting for death. He got better just a little bit at a…

Read More