Unfortunately, there are Austrian-School economists—most of them—and there are pseudo Austrian ones—enough to spoil the whole. It seems that many of that kind can be observed, lately. In France, where I do my best to promote Murray Rothbard’s legacy, we have our share of pseudos. Quite a share, actually. I like to call them “economyths”. Consider.
A few weeks ago, François Facchini published a book with the following title: “Quelle fiscalité pour demain ?”—“What taxation for tomorrow?”1 The tone is already set, isn’t it? As I am sure you had guessed, this book is not meant to explain that “Taxation is Theft”, but rather that taxation is a necessary evil that we can at least try to keep below 100%. [continue reading…]
The first two chapters—my “Preface” and Hans’s “Introduction”—were published the week of Rothbard’s birthday here on the Property and Freedom Podcast (PFP315 and PFP314). The other main chapters will be released sequentially weekly on Mondays. The next in the queue:
An exciting event celebrating Rothbard, in commemoration of his 100th year, “100 Years with Rothbard,” will be held in Porto, Portugal, June 27, 2026.
This event, being organized by PFS member Manuel Ogando, is sponsored by several Portuguese libertarian groups: Mises Portugal, Catalaxia, Don’t Trust Verify (bitcoin podcast), ZugaTV (libertarian podcast), and Golpe de Estado Podcast (ancap podcasters). [continue reading…]
From the “never trust a politician” files (see Milei and his reversion to the mean with his political rhetoric) we now have the latest edition of “never trust a celebrity.” Our latest victim (or shall we say perpetrator) is Rob Schneider’s X post (March 27, 2026) .
Briefly, Scheider is now promoting (non-ironically) the idea of reinstating the draft in the US (a sadly “new” idea re-emerging). Upon publishing his unsolicited opinion he received a tidal wave of backlash (or “ratio” in X-posting parlance). He soon doubled down to “explain” it was meant to be a legal instrument to de-incentivize politicians from sending other kids off to war if they know their own children might get called up. The most charitable interpretation of this stance is that he is incredibly naïve, not only about politics but likewise American history (e.g. the recent wars where there has been no congressional approval of military incursions along with well-publicized Vietnam era draft dodging by politically connected youth).
In a recent article for Die Weltwoche, Phillip Gut discusses the “triumph of the chainsaw,” citing specific praise for Javier Milei in The Washington Post.
“The rapid transition from nearly a century of socialism to free-market capitalism continues to demonstrate the superiority of the latter,” says Gut. However, the Milei administration, which took office in December 2023, is actually just as socialist as its predecessors. So what free-market capitalism is Gut talking about? Indeed, beyond a few half-hearted steps toward deregulation—which in no way challenge the most cherished interests of the business classes most closely tied to power—Mileism is more of the same, even in Argentina’s statism standards: high taxes, money printing, indebtedness, and so on. There is certainly no clear improvement whatsoever.
This is how writer and economist Andy Duncan began the opening lecture at the annual meeting of the Property & Freedom Society (PFS), held in September 2012 in Bodrum, Turkey. [continue reading…]
That’s “a categoric no” said Daniel McAdams, director of the Ron Paul Institute. Ron Paul “would never say the things” that Milei says about foreign policy. Neither would any real libertarian.
The Death Penalty for Terrorists Law (Hebrew: חוק עונש מוות למחבלים, romanized: Hok Onish Mevot leMachavlim) is a 2026 Israeli law. It prescribes execution by hanging for certain terrorist offences, and in practice applies only to Palestinians and not Jewish Israelis.[1][2][3] The bill was passed 62–48 by the Knesset on 30 March 2026.
The first two chapters—my “Preface” and Hans’s “Introduction”—were published the week of Rothbard’s birthday here on the Property and Freedom Podcast (PFP315 and PFP314). The other main chapters will be released sequentially weekly on Mondays. The next in the queue:
Germany is preparing for war and, above all, is preparing for that particular form of enslavement represented by military conscription. Many German media outlets have highlighted the fact that, starting from January 1, 2026, all German men between the ages of 17 and 45 will be required to obtain authorization from the Bundeswehr Career Center (Karrierecenter der Bundeswehr) if they intend to leave German territory for more than three months.
The Rothbard Institute from Brazil has published today my article “The Mises Institute Versus the Legacy of Murray Rothbard.”
In the article, I discuss the decline in the quality of the articles published on Mises.org over the last few years, a trend in which the emergence of Javier Milei has played a significant role.
For more on the editorial decline at Mises.org, click here.
Given the nature of your recent public statements about the Mises Institute,1 we hereby grant you a Distinguished Eternal Fellow designation. We will host more than ever your past, present and future articles, books, and lectures on rothbardbrasil.com.
That Germany is not a free country and that free speech is under attack there, as all over the so-called free world, is hardly news. However, there are some peculiarities of Germany illustrated here.
The AFD (Alternative for Germany) election campaign poster from Wilko Möller below reads: We protect your children.
AFD (Alternative for Germany) election campaign poster from Wilko Möller: “We protect your children”
In 2026, a German court ruled that the raised-arm gesture (especially the man’s right arm) visually resembled the banned Hitler salute closely enough to violate a special German law prohibiting the use of symbols of so-called unconstitutional organizations. Möller was fined 11,600 Euros. The verdict is still under appeal.
Incidentally, the same law prohibits the exclamation, in public speeches, of “Alles für Deutschland” (Everything for Germany). AFD politician Björn Höcke was found in violation of the law twice, and fined first 13,000 Euro, and for the second time 19,900 Euro.
On my list of things to write someday is an overview of the social thought of Hoppe, whom I consider to be the preeminent social thinker of our time, along the lines of Oxford University Press’s 100-page “A Very Short Introduction” series (previously called “Past Masters“).1 I may use the term “A Précis” due to my fascination with Louisiana law and French terms and my former law professor Alain Levasseur’s fondness for this term for a concise, student-oriented textbook or summary-style treatise, something shorter and more accessible than a full-scale, comprehensive treatise, or “a student edition of a comprehensive treatise with the same title.”2
In the meantime, the assembled links will have to suffice.
See, e.g., Plato by R.M. Hare, Kant by Roger Scruton, etc. [↩]
See, e.g., Alain Levasseur, Louisiana Law of Obligations in General: A Précis (3rd ed. LexisNexis, 2009); idem, Louisiana Law of Conventional Obligations: A Précis (LexisNexis, 2010); idem, Alain Levasseur and David Gruning, Louisiana Law of Sale and Lease: A Précis, 3rd ed. (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2015). [↩]
This is April 1, but this is not an April Fool’s Day joke (I despise April Fool’s Day jokes).
In response to “Mises Institute: Quo Vadis?,” Property and Freedom Journal (March 25, 2026), Professor Hoppe has been removed as a Distinguished Senior Fellow (~2000–2026) with the Ludwig von Mises Institute, as indicated in the following email exchange. Hans was appointed Senior Fellow early in his association with the Mises Institute, which began when he moved to the US to study with Rothbard in 1985, and elevated to Distinguished Senior Fellow around 2000 or so. Hans remains the only person to have ever received this distinction from the Mises Institute; it now has no one with this designation.1
In response to all this, Hans asked me to post this image:
As noted here, the 2026 Twentieth Annual Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society will be held from Thursday, September 17, 2026 to Tuesday, September 22, 2026.
To donate with BITCOIN please use the address below. If you would like us to credit your payment (for dues, conference fees, etc.) please email Stephan Kinsella ([email protected]) when you make the bitcoin payment.
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“Property does not exist because there are laws, but laws exist because there is property.” — FrédéricBastiat
“Because the concept of property, for instance, is so basic that everyone seems to have some immediate understanding of it, most people never think about it carefully and can, as a consequence, produce at best a very vague definition. But starting from imprecisely stated or assumed definitions and building a complex network of thought upon them can lead only to intellectual disaster. For the original imprecisions and loopholes will then pervade and distort everything derived from them. To avoid this, the concept of property must first be clarified.” —Hans-Hermann Hoppe, TSC, ch. 2
The Property and Freedom Society (PFS; Facebook) stands for an uncompromising intellectual radicalism: for justly acquired private property, freedom of contract, freedom of association—which logically implies the right to not associate with, or to discriminate against—anyone in one's personal and business relations—and unconditional free trade. It condemns imperialism and militarism and their fomenters, and champions peace. It rejects positivism, relativism, and egalitarianism in any form, whether of "outcome" or "opportunity," and it has an outspoken distaste for politics and politicians. As such it seeks to avoid any association with the policies and proponents of interventionism, which Ludwig von Mises identified in 1946 as the fatal flaw in the plan of the many earlier and contemporary attempts by intellectuals alarmed by the rising tide of socialism and totalitarianism to found an anti-socialist ideological movement. Mises wrote: "What these frightened intellectuals did not comprehend was that all those measures of government interference with business which they advocated are abortive. ... There is no middle way. Either the consumers are supreme or the government."
(A more complete statement of our Principles can be found here.)
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