Bob Murphy

Author Archive

Thoughts on the “Vice” Episode on Charlottesville

Partly because I had technical hang-ups and partly because I wanted to collect my thoughts, I’ve waited a bit before saying anything publicly about this shocking video on Charlottesville. So here are my reactions, and again I’m closing the comments on this because I think that will help to contain further fighting. ==> It will […]

Responding to Steve Landsburg on Government Debt

Steve graciously commented on my recent talk from Mises U, in which I rehashed the Great Debt Debate of 2012. (Steve left a comment here and here.) Below, I will respond to Steve’s points individually. But before doing that, let me give an analogy. ================== A HYPOTHETICAL DEBATE ON GUNS PAUL: It’s impossible for handguns […]

Potpourri

==> Tom Woods interviews Federico Fernandez on the real legacy of Che. ==> Rob Bradley writes a tribute to Milton Friedman on 105th anniversary of his birth, esp. his views on energy. ==> I take issue with Tyler Cowen’s recent post when he implied that the serious conservative intellectuals were all fine with a carbon […]

Tom and Bob Triple Play

I am swamped with work so I can’t really do more than just point you to these, but… ==> For Liberty Classroom, Tom and I did a Q&A with some of his subscribers, which he then made episode 960 of his show. It’s not as polished as a regular podcast episode but if you can […]

I Throw Scott Sumner Under the Bus

In a recent EconLog post, Scott writes: You are about to take a bus from Zurich to Milan, right over the Alps. You have three buses to choose from: 1. Bus A is a self-driving machine, fitted with a rear-mounted camera and the latest automatic steering mechanism, designed by noted Swiss engineer Johan Taylor. When […]

The Jewish Calendar a Microcosm of History

In our Bible study we covered Leviticus 23, and this was the ending of the commentary from Guzik. I thought it was very intriguing: ================ 1. Structurally, the first four feasts are linked together, and the last three feasts are also linked – and there is a separation of time between these two groups of […]

If Libertarians Reject the “Left/Right Spectrum” Then Why Do We Use Those Terms?

I’m genuinely asking the question. (And this isn’t just coming from me; I’ve seen other people in the last few months making this point.) On the one hand, we libertarians like to roll our eyes at standard political surveys or classification schemes in which Adolf Hitler is the polar opposite of Josef Stalin. We like […]

Who Bears the Burden of Government Debt?

As I explain in this video, I might get hit by a bus, so I wanted to go on record explaining this stuff. And here’s the link to the legendary “The Economist Zone” post.