Economics Is about Individual Choice

"The light which the economic theorist can throw on an economic process, or on the outcome of such a process, is viewed as deriving from his ability to relate back the process to the individual acts of choice of which the process is made up. Through the theorist’s understanding of the decisions made by individuals, and of the way in which these decisions have mutual impact upon one another, and become mutually adjusted to one another, he is able to 'explain' the course of economic events, and to understand the probable results that will follow from given exogenous changes operating on the system." (Emphasis added.)

Israel M. Kirzner, An Essay on Capital, 1966

If Adam Smith Were Writing the Wealth of Nations Today

“It is not from the benevolence of the mask maker, glove maker, or hand-sanitizer maker that we expect our person protective equipment, but from their regard to their own self-interest. We address ourselves not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities, but of their advantages.”

Latest AIER Articles

My latest articles at the American Institute for Economic Research are "Occupational Licensing Harms Consumers and Producers" and "What the Market Economy Really Is."

TGIF: The Myth of Market Failure

When I say that market failure is a myth, I don’t mean to deny that ... regrettable situations can occur. I only mean to deny that they are peculiar to the market.

Read: "The Myth of Market Failure."

My Case for Socializing the Means of Production

From Cato Unbound:

In a sweeping essay, Sheldon Richman explains why private property and free competition are superior to state-provided goods and services. He warns against granting "private" corporate monopolies, which are not true privatizations, but act as arms of the state. He adds that for many state activities, the best way to privatize is not to provide the service at all — as in the case of punishing victimless crimes, which no one should do. For legitimate services, he recommends a "homesteading" approach, in which stakeholders in a public service, such as a school, would receive shares in a new, independent corporation.

See the full article.

TGIF: Proposers versus Producers

Why do people who really make us better off get nowhere near the attention when they die that prominent national politicians get?

The rest of TGIF is here.

Must-Read on Health Care

I exaggerate only slightly -- and I mean slightly -- when I say that all you really need to read on the healthcare debate is Steve Horwitz's Freeman article "Profit: Not Just a Motive."

No one who is ignorant of these arguments can be counted as a serious participant in the debate.