Laissez-faire Blog: liberalismo, liberismo e Scuola Austriaca nel mondo

"Come può accadere che le istituzioni che servono al benessere comune e sono estremamente significative per il suo sviluppo sorgano senza una volontà comune intenzionata a formarle?"

Carl Menger

"A society that does not recognize that each individual has values of his own which he is entitled to follow,
can have no respect for the dignity of the individual and cannot really know freedom."

F. A. von Hayek

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Saggio di Ralph Raico sula storia del liberalismo e della libertà

L’Istituto Bruno Leoni è lieto d’annunciare la pubblicazione di "La storia del liberalismo e della civiltà occidentale" (disponibile sul sito www.brunoleoni.it), un interessantissimo saggio sulla storia del liberalismo scritto dallo storico americano Ralph Raico, professore allo State University College di Buffalo (N.Y.). Con questo testo, Raico sottolinea lo stretto rapporto tra liberalismo e civiltà occidentale, ripercorrendo l’evoluzione del pensiero liberale e della civiltà europea.

venerdì, gennaio 30, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Estate Taxes: An Historical Perspective

Until recently, estate taxes (also known as death taxes) were the almost exclusive headache of the super rich, their tax attorneys, and their estate planners. But a strong economy, an ever-widening distribution of wealth--both good things--coupled with tax policy that has failed to keep up with economic growth have extended the reach of estate taxes well into middle-class America.

by HERITAGE FOUNDATION

venerdì, gennaio 30, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Le ragioni dei neo-colbertisti contro i mercatisti Con la Cina non ci stiamo più sulle spalle di Atlante

Mercatisti e colbertisti. Inaspettatamente, sulla questione Cina, sono emerse in chiaro antagonismo due posizioni di politica economica preottocentesche, che da tempo si confrontavano in maniera sotterranea. Anche gli schieramenti sono inediti. Tra i mercatisti si collocano i liberali tradizionali; gran parte degli ex comunisti, della ex destra interventista e degli ex democristiani; la quasi totalità della classe intellettuale. Tra i colbertisti si annoverano i movimenti “originali”, come la Lega; i settori di Forza Italia che appoggiano l'operato del ministro dell'Economia (proprio in relazione alle cui posizioni è stato coniato il termine “neocolbertismo”) e, ovviamente, la massa dei produttori - soprattutto imprenditori e lavoratori dipendenti - che vedono compromessa la loro attività economica dall'invadenza cinese.

martedì, gennaio 27, 2004 , pubblicato da Carlo Zucchi

Liquid Asset

The anti-privatization movement claims that water is a human right that only governments can provide. The problem is that they cannot. It is clear that the public sector has failed.

by TECH CENTRAL STATION

martedì, gennaio 27, 2004 , pubblicato da Carlo Zucchi

Martin Luther King Day

King was a brave and courageous person. I agree with him that a person should be judged by the content of his character and not by the color of his skin.
...
The great paradox of the civil rights revolution is that instead of enforcing and expanding equality before the law, the revolution created differential rights based on race, gender, and, any day now, sexual orientation. The great liberal revolution, centuries in the making, that brought forth equality in law, has been overthrown. In its place we see rising a new feudal legal order of status-based rights.

from LewRockwell.com

mercoledì, gennaio 21, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Repudiating the National Debt

In the spring of 1981, conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives cried. They cried because, in the first flush of the Reagan Revolution that was supposed to bring drastic cuts in taxes and government spending, as well as a balanced budget, they were being asked by the White House and their own leadership to vote for an increase in the statutory limit on the federal public debt, which was then scraping the legal ceiling of one trillion dollars.

by Murray N. Rothbard (Mises Institute)

mercoledì, gennaio 21, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

2003: The Year of Antitrust

In many respects, 2003 was the Year of Antitrust: the Bush administration continued its aggressive expansion of antitrust into previously-unknown areas of the economy; the European Union continued to stamp out free markets through its egalitarian approach to antitrust; and civil antitrust suits continued to run amok without any interference from Congress or feckless federal courts

by CAPITALISM MAGAZINE

mercoledì, gennaio 21, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Sell oil for gold, not dollars

Eccezionale articolo su Aljazeera:
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Muhammad has said Saudi Arabia should sell oil for gold, not dollars, to avoid being "short-changed" by a decline in the US currency.

lunedì, gennaio 19, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Lettere di Economisti (spagnolo)

Un interessantissimo sito liberale in spagnolo, che da molti anni pubblica mensilmente lettere di grandi personaggi del liberalismo. Vi linkiamo alla sezione delle lettere di economia, nella quale le ulitme tre lettere pubblicate riguardano Don Lavoie, Jesus Huerta de Soto e Schumpeter.

domenica, gennaio 18, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Democrats, Poverty, and Rich Bashing

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that no wealth is created when you do what nearly all of the Democratic presidential hopefuls want to do, namely, simply reshuffle existing wealth, from those who have it (either from having earned or from having lucked into it), to those who lack it.

LewRockwell.Com

venerdì, gennaio 16, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

A Captive Saddam Won't Set Iraq Free

Saddam Hussein's capture is an enormous seasonal gift to President Bush's reelection effort. But don't expect the acquisition of this single piece of the Iraq puzzle to transform that country into a democracy anytime soon. The uninspiring, but inescapable, fact is that Saddam Hussein never stood between the Iraqi people and Western-style democracy. ... yes, a Saddam-free Iraq may have been a little wealthier; it may even have been a little freer. But it
would not have been a liberal democracy without Saddam, and it will not be a democracy significantly faster once the Iraqi people learn of Saddam's ignominious end.

Cato Institute

venerdì, gennaio 16, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Declaration of Financial Freedom

... to assure these basic rights and responsibilities, governments are instituted to protect and maintain order. But, since 1937, when Social Security was established, the United States government has acted systematically to remove or inhibit these rights.

For Our Grandchildren Social Security Education Project.

venerdì, gennaio 16, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Statistical mishmash muddles unemployment rates

USA is said to be in a 'jobless recovery.' Supposedly, the unemployment rate keeps falling because people have simply given up looking for jobs. However, the real answer is quite simple: numbers are being mixed and matched from different sources with little notion of how they are calculated.

venerdì, gennaio 16, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Manufacturing confusion

"Manufacturing jobs" has become a battle cry of those who oppose free trade and are sounding an alarm about American jobs being exported to lower-wage countries overseas. However, manufacturing jobs are much less of a problem than manufacturing confusion.

by Thomas Sowell.

venerdì, gennaio 16, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Financial Reckoning Day (book review)

If you’re encouraged by the book’s subtitle to paw through the pages looking for investment advice, you won’t find much beyond “Buy gold.” What they offer is an entertaining presentation of how money and markets work, and how people tend to react when the Fed’s dollars show up in every tree and cereal box.
Financial Reckoning Day is a condemnation of the Fed and a critique of the “something-for-nothing” attitude its policies inspire. Notwithstanding some malign remarks about Ayn Rand and her philosophy, which Greenspan once espoused, it is a worthwhile and enjoyable read.

venerdì, gennaio 16, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Free Trade: Moral Questions and Partisan Politics

Truly free trade is the best method of recognizing the dignity of human beings created as image-bearers of God and promoting sustainable prosperity worldwide. Attempts to isolate the U.S. through unfair trade restrictions undermine the interests of both those in developing nations and large sectors of American society.

Acton Institute.

venerdì, gennaio 16, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Silvio's Empty Promises

MILAN -- A new year and a new season, but old plot lines are already being recycled in the world of Italian politics.

By ALBERTO MINGARDI

giovedì, gennaio 15, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Opening the Door to Economic Freedom

Un interestante e breve articolo sulle le libertà in Cina. Nonostante tracci una discutibile linea di demarcazione fra libertà economiche e libertà civili (tentazione molto comune quando si pensa ad economie asiatiche come China o Singapore), racconta con brevità a che punto sono le libertà individuali in Cina.

giovedì, gennaio 15, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Why increased consumption hampered America's economic recovery

Dal Mises.org. Gerard Jackson illustra la folle politica economica di Alan Greenspan: incoraggiare il consumo finanziato col debito invece che consentire la liquidazione dei progetti malinvestiti. Su questo argomento, visitate anche l'articolo "Consumo di Capitale" di Carlo Zucchi, nella sezione 'articoli' del nostro sito.

giovedì, gennaio 15, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Looser laws leave patrons spoilt for choice

Sono 10.000 i cafe in eccesso in Svizzera. L'associazione dei baristi svizzeri chiede al governo una nuova legislazione che aumenti allo stesso tempo il livello degli standard e le barriere in entrata.
Un tipico esempio di capitalismo politico! Imprenditori inefficienti chiedono protezione al governo, per paura che nuovi concorrenti pieni di energia e nuove idee possano eliminarli dal mercato.

mercoledì, gennaio 14, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Want to Limit Lobbying? Cut Government

Presidential candidates John Kerry and John Edwards have been trying to breathe life into their moribund campaigns by attacking lobbyists.

In their view, the traditional Washington career path -- a stint in government followed by a lucrative job lobbying former colleagues -- is inherently corrupt. Both candidates propose restrictions, including limits on the ability of former government officials to function as lobbyists.

Is this the right approach? ...

mercoledì, gennaio 14, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

There Is No Central Plan for Winning Liberty

by Richard M. Ebeling

People who become enthusiastic supporters of the freedom philosophy often ask how the case for individual liberty, free markets, and constitutionally limited government can be successfully spread across the land. How can it triumph over the prevailing system of governmental paternalism?
...
At the end of the day, if freedom is achieved it will be done by winning over enough people one person at a time through reason, persuasion, and example. It is not an easy task, but it is the only way that is consistent with the principles of freedom we hold so dear.

mercoledì, gennaio 14, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Economics of Insurance: The Case of New Jersey

Il New Jersey si fregia dell'onore di avere le assicurazioni automobilistiche peggiori degli Stati Uniti. Nonostante si tratti delle più costose, molte compagnie hanno abbandonato il mercato (negli ultimi dieci anni, venti assicurazioni hanno lasciato il New Jersey).
Le ragioni di questo esodo sono chiare: la legislazione del New Jersey introduce distorsioni allo sviluppo spontaneo del mercato e stabilisce incentivi perversi. La legge impone alle compagnie di accettare qualsiasi nuovo cliente, indipendentemente dalla sua storia automobilistica, ottenendo il risultato perverso di forzare le assicurazioni a garantire sussidi ai cattivi guidatori...

mercoledì, gennaio 14, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

With Friends Like These, U.S. Enemies Don’t Seem As Bad

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan didn't make President Bush's "axis of evil" list, but that omission says more about the inconsistency of U.S. foreign policy than it says about the state of freedom in those countries. Not only is each of these countries a member of the "axis of dependency" in U.S. foreign policy in the Muslim world, each poses a danger to peace in their respective regions.

martedì, gennaio 13, 2004 , pubblicato da Massimiliano Neri

Friedrich the Great

Dismissed by critics as a free-market extremist, economist Friedrich Hayek is gaining new attention as a forerunner of cognitive psychology, information theory, even postmodernism. A reintroduction to one of the most important thinkers you've barely heard of.