The Human Action Podcast

Keith Knight's Top Ten Problems with Democratic Socialism

Bob sits down with the managing editor of the Libertarian Institute, Keith Knight, to sample arguments from his recent four-hour video cataloguing sixty-four problems with democratic socialism.Related:Find More from Keith Here: Mises.org/HAP559a64 Arguments Against Democratic Socialism: Mises.org/HAP559bKeith's Domestic Imperialism: Nine Reasons I Left Progressivism: Mises.org/HAP559c

Does the Free Market Naturally Lead to Price Deflation?

Bob uses U.S. economic history, centering on the greenback era, to work through some subtle but important distinctions in Austrian monetary theory. He also addresses whether free-market economies have a natural tendency toward price deflation under a commodity standard, why the stock-versus-flow distinction matters for understanding gold production and the price level, and how to distinguish "bad" policy-induced monetary deflation from the "good" price deflation that accompanies genuine productivity growth.Related:Patrick Newman, "The Depression of 1873-1879: An Austrian Perspective": Mises.org/HAP558aClarence Long, "The Course of Money Wages during 1860-1890": Mises.org/HAP558bBob's Understanding Money Mechanics: Mises.org/HAP558cBob's Article, "Hayek’s Plan for Private Money": Mises.org/HAP558dThe Charts Shown in this Episode: Mises.org/HAP558e

Greenspan's Legacy: Did the Fed Cause the Housing Bubble?

In the wake of Alan Greenspan's recent passing, Bob revisits two contested claims about his legacy: did the Fed under Greenspan fuel the housing bubble, and did that bubble cause the 2008 financial crisis? Related:Bob's Article from October, 2007, "The Worst Recession in 25 years?": Mises.org/HAP557aPeter Schiff was Right (2006-2007 Edition): Mises.org/HAP557bMark Thornton, 2004, "Housing: Too Good to Be True": Mises.org/HAP557cBob's 2008 Article, "The Importance of Capital Theory": Mises.org/HAP557dThe Charts Shown in this Episode: Mises.org/HAP557e

Slavery Was Propped Up by Government: A Misesian Analysis

Bob walks through what Ludwig von Mises wrote about slavery in Human Action, arguing that the institution was not — as the 1619 Project claims — the foundation of American capitalism.Related:Ludwig von Mises, Human Action: Mises.org/HAP556a

From 2008 to the Coming Reset: Larry Lepard's Case for Sound Money

Bob sits down with fund manager and author Lawrence Lepard to discuss his book The Big Print, which argues that the core problem with modern America is not corporate greed or partisan politics, but a monetary system deliberately structured to benefit those closest to the Fed at the expense of wage earners and savers.Related:The Big Print: What Happened To America And How Sound Money Will Fix It: Mises.org/HAP555a