The Luddites destroyed their factories' machines in protest against the side effects of the industrial revolution: the replacement of man by machine. Fearful of loosing their jobs due to the introduction of machines that could do the world of... more

Reading “The Affluent Society” was the first instance where I was lead to ponder the relationship between the services offered by the public sector with the products offered by the private sector. The two are linked more than we would... more

I'm not sure where I read it, but I recall a scholar once stating that “the only reason poor people in a capitalist country refrain from opposing capitalism is because they live with an illusion that they too can be... more

Ancient civilizations from Egypt to Persia, Mesopotamia, Greece, and the Roman Empire required a constant supply of fresh new lands, servants, and resources in order to maintain their quality of life and political might. The various kingdoms of Europe required... more

The healthiness of our economies are often measured by growth. Public officials and corporate leaders both preach the doctrine of infinite growth, often forgetting that we live in a world of finites. Once the entire global population of 6 billion... more

Our societies pride themselves on being “open” and “democratic”. The common folk praise the conquest of the free world over the tyranny of dinosaur Marxist ideologies, hailing the fall of the red curtain as the triumph of democracy. With fewer... more

Horrible book - if you could even call it that. "On Culture and Cultural Revolution" is nothing more than a desperate collection of unfinished personal notes and boring speeches by Lenin. Immediately I thought of Mao's controversial Cultural Revolution... more

As of a few days ago a 7% sales tax has been implemented throughout the island. The subject was a touchy one during the 2004 elections and criticism had been mounting during the months leading up to the implementation, but... more

I once read in an old text book that a socialist was a person who “wishes to extend their control from politics into the economic realm”. Such an explanation is sufficient by my book, but its simplicity reinforces the perception... more

While not necessarily on the opposite side of the political spectrum from me, Yasmin tends to come up with some opposition to whatever I say. Whether it concerns the supremacy of vanilla over chocolate, the color of a shirt, or... more

When progressives and socialists tout the word “equality”, a number of things come to my mind. First I think of the “equality of poverty” achieved in socialist countries such as Cuba. I think of concepts such as wealth distribution, progressive... more

I am not an economist but I do enjoy reading works by economists both from the right (Ludwig Von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard) and the left (Raul Prebisch and John Maynard Keynes.) I am a socialist - a title... more

I guess that the title hyped me up a little too much. Other readings of German Social Democrat Rosa Luxemburg have given me a larger rise. “Reform or Revolution,” while groundbreaking for its day, is a choppy essay that... more

SAN JUAN (AP) – Some 1,000 public workers could voluntarily be transferred to jobs in the private sector next year under an executive order signed Thursday by Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá. La Fortaleza Deputy Chief of Staff Marta Beltrán said... more

In the market, economic power is vested in the consumers. They ultimately determine, by their buying or abstention from buying, what should be produced, by whom and how, of what quality and in what quantity. The entrepreneurs, capitalists, and landowners... more

If there is one thing, for example, that anarcho-communism hates and reviles more than the State it is the rights of private property; as a matter of fact, the major reason that anarcho-communists oppose the State is because they wrongly... more

PONCE (EFE) – Ponce Mayor Francisco Zayas Seijo announced Monday that he has signed an executive order to benefit airlines providing service to and from the Mercedita regional airport in that municipality. Zayas Seijo ordered municipal employees traveling on official... more

The capitalistic social order, therefore, is an economic democracy in the strictest sense of the word. In the last analysis, all decisions are dependent on the will of the people as consumers. Ludwig von Mises, Human Action Two things. First,... more

TIM TERMAN always looks for the black and white certified Fair Trade logo when he buys bags of coffee from the Mountain People's Co-op in Morgantown, W. Va. He pays nearly twice as much — up to $10 a pound... more

La Paz, Apr 1 (Prensa Latina) A Recent poll showed 80 percent of Bolivians support President Evo Morales despite efforts by the opposition and hostile media to censure his government. The IMF, World Bank and IDB are losing their clout... more

We would be further along on all of these fronts today had it not been for the immense success of the Anglo-American right in insisting, for nearly a generation now, that in Margaret Thatcher's words, "there is no alternative," that... more

The Argentine government on Friday added beef on the hoof to the list of meat products whose export has been suspended to bring down the price of beef on the domestic market... The government's consumer-protection office placed ads saying: "If... more

La apertura de esta nueva sucursal es un ejemplo de que esta compañía quiere arroparnos por completo teniendo establecimientos relativamente cerca (en el caso de Humacao, Caguas y Cayey) lo que nos lleva a inferir que, posiblemente, dentro de... more

McDonalds is the devil. Or at least that's what the argument was in a recent class of mine. I can agree with the next socialist and anti-globalist that McDonald's ad tactics, food quality, and immoral business practices are of concern,... more

I pull out of my garage. The steering wheel mysteriously turns itself to the side. Flat tire. Shit. Third one in less than a month. Having misplaced my wallet only a day before, I was without cash and carried only... more

There are two major recent events which dealt a final blow to my occasional and doubtful half-hearted sympathy towards a laissez-faire market. (Even a socialist has his rainy days.) The first was the 1st Summit on Municipal Development held in... more

SAN JUAN (EFE) – Multiple establishments from all over the island were taken by surprised by Consumer Affairs Department personnel who issued $10,000 fines to 38 business owners for violating advertising laws. Consumer Affairs Secretary Alejandro Garcia Padilla said these... more

The economic value of a stay-at-home spouse is closer to $30,000 a year. Our society doesn’t place a high dollar value on a homemaker's work, and those who choose to stay home do so at their own economic peril... The... more

Che Guevera's status as a super star celebrity is well known as t-shirts, mugs, posters, and even consumer products remind us on a daily basis. I too once was an admirer of Che Guevara even framing a portrait of him... more

Much has changed since 1990. Companies can no longer depend on pro-American sentiment to drive sales; many companies are working hard these days to appear less American and more local. McDonald's now offers highly localized menus for each market. It... more

What I most liked about Muji ["no label, quality goods," a Japanese non-brand brand] is how uncluttered the place felt. And I realize now that it was because you didn't have all these little products everywhere screaming out at you... more

Ms. Zhou, who has studied the psychology of queuing in Hong Kong, although not at theme parks, said there was a tendency among Asians and others in more collective cultures to compare their situation with those around them. This may... more

What is happiness? In the United States and in many other industrialized countries, it is often equated with money. Economists measure consumer confidence on the assumption that the resulting figure says something about progress and public welfare. The gross domestic... more

Bumvertising™, or the use of sign holding vagrants to advertise, is a development of PokerFaceBook.com's most recent advertising campaign. Homeless men are able to provide a valuable and tangible service to a company, while receiving an additional revenue stream in... more

And, how can we—as a society—hold individuals accountable for themselves, when it is not reasonably possible to find work? Ludwig Von Mises Institute... more

The law itself [Americans with Disbilities Act] has mandated vast amounts of physical configurations of every building to public access with nary a thought to the relationship between cost and benefit." But even before this law was passed, there was... more

Today's planners meet in little rooms, draw pretty pictures on paper maps, use the prettiest crayons they can find, and — whamo — the city has a plan. Wonder and utopia are supposed to follow, and never again will the... more

I quickly received a response from Jim Fedako, contributing writer for the Ludwig Von Mises Institute as mentioned in yesterday's "Libertarian Economics and True-Cost Pricing" article. Check:Date: 10/2/2005 10:58:28 EDT From: Jim Fedako To: luis@barriomulas.com Subject: Re: Mises and True-Cost... more

That's the future: it is an extension of today, just as today is an extension of everything that followed before. There is no dramatic hinge of history that causes all rules to change, as socialist or fascist or other totalitarian... more

The Ludwig Von Mises Institute is a prestigious and vocal libertarian organization that maintains a secure position in my bookmarks and RSS reader. Their blog maintains a conservative viewpoint on economics and is usually the first place that I'll hit... more

Among the slogans of the day was that we should spend less on the war and more on social needs. Libertarians can agree in some way: give everyone back their money and let each individual spend on his or her... more

DACO - Puerto Rico's consumer watchdog agency - in coordination with a local radio station have now begun to offer news bulletins on where the consumer can purchase the lowest-priced gas. Already an updated table can be found on their... more

I think a lot of folks think that Wal-Mart doesn't offer health insurance to all of its workers because Wal-Mart's mean or greedy or too interested in profits. A lot of people are mad at Wal-Mart because they pay less... more

Abbott Laboratories, Roche Holding AG and more than 20 other pharmaceutical companies agreed to reduce prices for AIDS drugs by as much as 55 percent in Latin America. The agreement will allow 11 countries including Brazil, Argentina and Mexico to... more

The Gurkhas are unusual but not unique. The United Arab Emirates, where Tyler is now, relies almost exclusively on mercenaries. The French Foreign Legion continues to attract a small number of mercenaries from around the world. During the Vietnam war... more

We collected data on over 1000 taxicab rides in New Haven, CT in 2001. After controlling for a host of other variables, we find two potential racial disparities in tipping: (1) African-American cab drivers were tipped approximately one-third less than... more

First, income inequality says nothing about absolute levels of income. If the real incomes of society’s poorest people are rising by X%, what does it matter if the real incomes of society’s wealthiest people are rising by X+1%?. Don Boudreaux,... more

John Kenneth Galbraith in his book The Affluent Society points out the interesting relationship between private goods and public services:The line which divides our area of wealth from our area of poverty is roughly that which divides privately produced and... more

Every time there is a technological innovation, some people benefit but others lose. Every time a person decides to patronize one store over another, some people benefit but others lose. Every time any economic transaction happens, in fact, there are... more

A comment of mine from a recent posting:Yes, I can see how handing out cans of food instead of offering literacy programs could give a politician more control over their populace, but I highly doubt that that's Tabare's vision. His... more

“We are here today,” said the speaker, “to find the solution for this country.” The hoard of businessmen, government officials, university representatives, and independent organizations applauded as the speaker paved the way for speeches from private consultants, NGO heads, and... more

Yes. I'm all for economic development. In fact, I support economic development against environmental conservation (as long as the balance can be kept.) Still - I understand that a country has reached its limit when more people die of obesity... more

I will be attending a conference on Globalism in Puerto Rico tomorrow. Will be interesting, eh? The leftist and protectionist popular rubbing elbows with neoliberals and Silicon Valley's finest.... more

The main thesis of De Soto's books is that people in developing countries have only informal ownership of land and goods, without interaction with the formal legal and economic systems. This makes it impossible for the poor to convert their... more

I'm on one of those 15 minute breaks for my 3-hour Saturday morning mega-class (as if 15 minutes made me feel any better about it.) I know I'll be hungry within the next half hour but I was not about... more

Napoleon famously sneered at Britain as "a nation of shop-keepers." Adam Smith had described them a nation whose government was influenced by shop-keepers. Napoleon subscribed to the soldier’s code, whose virtues included courage, honour, pride, and loyalty. The merchant’s code,... more

The Heritage Foundation has published an interesting "Index of Economic Freedom" for the year of 2004.... more

Ever since I was a young lad I had always had difficulty shuffling through the various forms of Marxism in search of understanding its variants. "What the hell is a Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist?," I use to ask myself back in high school.... more

When debating about globalization, it often becomes obvious that supporters of 'trade justice' and 'fair trade' have a pretty modest vision of the perfect future for farmers in poor countries. They want them to be doing them exactly the same... more

One of my favorite laissez-faire sites, The Adam Smith Institute expounded the following article quote as proof of the success of market policy:Most of us have forgotten that when the Pilgrim Fathers landed on the shores of Massachusetts they established... more

Brazil's controversial rules on the labeling of food products containing more than 1 percent genetically modified (GMO) material are scheduled to go into effect on Wednesday, following a 30-day delay... Food sold for human consumption will be monitored by consumer... more

There is only one morally proper way to keep Wal-Mart out of any community: don't patronize its stores. If Wal-Mart cannot make money in a given location, it will either not move there or will close the store. So far,... more

Neither the entrepreneurs nor the farmers nor the capitalists determine what has to be produced. The consumers do that. . . . Their buying and their abstention from buying decides who should own and run the plants and the farms.... more

In the United States, we have already gone beyond these limits. Growth is no longer improving the average American's well being.... Americans are more than twice as prosperous now as in 1960. Our per capita Gross Domestic Product and our... more

Third, we must consider global risk. Let us say that protectionism helps a country avoid a declining industry. The world as a whole does not gain. Those economic problems are simply shouldered by another country, and in a less efficient... more

Peasants inherit their knowledge, workers must be taught it. Sometimes this inherited knowledge is more practical, efficient, and more accessible than "worker education," but if we resort to an "inherited profession" system, you can say "bye bye" to social mobility.... more

Ebay is a great way to get your foreign products while excluding yourself from excessive consumption and institutionalized globalism.... more