Ludwig von Mises scholar Richard Ebeling looks at Mises the policy analyst and advisor, as opposed to Mises the pure economist, over at the Coordination Problem blog : much of Mises’ conception of the general economic order, its workings and requirements, and the institutional and policy “rules” that would help establish and maintain freedom and prosperity did not arise from a pure “a priori” deductive spinning out of implications from the “action axiom.” They are, in many cases, the general theoretical insights and the social institutional and economic policy “wisdoms” derived from living through, acting within, and learned lessons from those momentous and often catastrophic events that shook Europe in the first half of the twentieth century, and particularly as experienced in the everyday reality of Austrian political and economic life during this time….if you had asked him a fiscal, or monetary, or regulatory policy question in the context of his role as analyst at the Chamber of Commerce, he would not have said, and did not simply say, “laissez-faire” – abolish the central bank, deregulate the economy, and eliminate taxes. He accepts that there are certain institutional “givens” that must be taken for granted, and in the context of which policy options and decisions must be worked out. He seemed to usually think with three policy “horizons” in his mind.
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Mises as Policy Advisor
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Fifty years ago, as it turns out, according to the UK Telegraph : In 1951, a quiet, picturesque village in southern France was suddenly and mysteriously struck down with mass insanity and hallucinations. At least five people died, dozens were interned in asylums and hundreds afflicted.
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CIA Doses French Bread With LSD?
On Tuesday I noted USA Today ’s cover story on the prospects for marijuana law reform. Three recent legislative developments reinforce the impression of growing tolerance (or at least waning repression): On March 2, Hawaii’s Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill that would eliminate criminal penalties for possessing up to an ounce of marijuana, currently a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
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Marijuana Decriminalization Advances
If you watch cable news this weekend (which, if you a normal and well-adjusted person, you probably won’t), you’ll likely hear a lot of discussion about the so-called Slaughter Solution, a procedural manuever that House Democrats are considering in hopes of making it easier to pass health care reform. NRO’s Daniel Foster and Slate’s John Dickerson have posted detailed explanations, but the gist is this: Rather than vote up or down on the Senate bill (which many House Democrats don’t like), the House would instead vote to pass a reconciliation bill that amends the Senate bill. Attached to the reconciliation bill would be a rule that says that once it’s passed, the original Senate bill is automatically considered passed too.
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The Slaughter Solution, And Other Tactics For Passing Health Reform
On March 4, 2010, Jacob Sullum, Nick Gillespie and Virginia Postrel appeared on a special episoode of Fox Business Network’s Stossel devoted to prohibition to discuss drug laws, ridiculous media scare stories, and legalizing markets in human organs. Approximately 30 minutes. Go to Reason.tv for downloadable iPod and audio versions
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Reasoners on The Tube: Jacob Sullum, Nick Gillespie, & Virginia Postrel Talking Drugs, Media Hysteria, and Human Organ Markets on Very Special…
Even if Democrats extract the votes to put ObamaCare over the top, writes Shikha Dalmia, it will at best be a Pyrrhic victory for them. Regardless of the outcome, this monstrosity might cost the Democrats the Congress this November, ruin the party for a long time, and prematurely render Barack Obama a lame duck president for the rest of his term. View this article.
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New at Reason: Shikha Dalmia on the ObamaCare Quagmire
CNN has a pretty good review of the pitfalls of foreign aid , looking at how the massive effort in Haiti could end up harming the country in the long run. Given that there are about 10,000 NGOs at work in Haiti right now, and that the United States has already spent $700 million on aid to Haiti, it would be good to have some signs that it’s not, you know, making things worse. What’s the right way to provide aid?
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NGOs Falling Short in Haiti
Yesterday, I reported that the Mississippi State Senate had unanimously passed a bill that would require anyone hired to do an autopsy by one of the state’s counties be certified in forensic pathology by the American Board of Pathology. The bill was a reaction to the news that several Mississippi counties were attempting to resurrect an old state law to bring back controversial medical examiner Steven Hayne, who isn’t board certified
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Mississippi AG Jim Hood Still Actively Supporting Steven Hayne
From our April issue, Senior Editor Michael C. Moynihan reports on the scene in Massachusetts as he followed Republican state legislator Scott Brown and Democratic gaffe master and Attorney General Martha Coakley in their race for the late Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat.
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New at Reason: Michael C. Moynihan on the Revolutionary Takeover of Ted Kennedy’s Senate Seat
Uh oh, the violent teabaggers are at it again, hyperbolizing about totalitarianism and advocating open revolt : The mounting anger and hatred, coursing through the bloodstream of the body politic, make violence and counter-violence inevitable. Brace yourself.
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Heyyyyy! Think the Time Is Right for a Palace Revolution
