If sound money was a corollary of the principles of the free society, an essential barrier to prevent government abuses, fiat currency is a natural consequence of the principle that there are no absolute truths: that law is a mere instrument of the state, that words can mean whatever the bureaucrats and the politically correct crowd say that they mean. This positivism has also infected economic policy. I believe that there is such a thing as non normative economic science, “positivist economic science.” But economic science, as it deals with human action, needs to be based in a true conception of what is human action. Economic policy, requires a direction, and a non-normative science, like economics, cannot give ultimate criterion of value. Paraphrasing Wilhelm Roepke, the battle against fiat currency also “belongs to the things which can be understood and remedied only in the area beyond supply and demand.”
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Dedollarization: Causes, Constraints, and Consequences
This paper traces the historical ascent of the dollar, explains the institutional foundations of its current supremacy, and surveys the growing landscape of dedollarization initiatives.
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Economist and Revolutionary – Adam Smith and 1776
Samuel Gregg examines Adam Smith’s analysis of the economic drivers behind the American Revolution. He highlights Smith’s revolutionary solutions for resolving the conflict and concludes by applying these enduring insights to contemporary global issues.
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Permission to Earn a Living: History, Economics, and the Ethics of Occupational Licensing
Where occupational licensing exceeds genuine public safety needs, it substitutes centralized judgment and political privilege for the preferences of consumers and workers.
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Ending the Era of Energy Favoritism: How Technology-Neutral Policy Can Unlock the US Power Grid
The US energy system should shift from a hodgepodge of politically favored technologies toward a market-driven portfolio that is cleaner, more reliable, and increasingly affordable.
