The Human Action Podcast

This week, Bob talks with Dr. Patrick Newman about his new book, Cronyism: Rise of the Corporatist State, 1849–1929, which reviews how big business built the regulatory state, the Fed, and cartels like the AMA, all justified in the name of the "public interest."Related:Cronyism: Rise of the Corporatist State, 1849–1929: Mises.org/HAP562aBob on the Speaker Panel, Why Is the Healthcare System Broken?: Mises.org/HAP562b

Bob returns to the fractional reserve banking debate to clarify a point the critics keep missing: in the Mises-Hayek-Rothbard framework, it's fractional reserve banking itself that sets the boom-bust cycle in motion, not merely central banks.Related:Lawrence White, Free Banking in Britain: Mises.org/HAP561aBob's Previous Episode on Rothbard vs Free Bankers: Mises.org/HAP561bBob's Paper on the History of Fractional Reserve Free Banking: Mises.org/HAP561cRoger Garrison's Presentations on Capital-Based Macroeconomics: Mises.org/HAP561d

Bob reviews Murray Rothbard's 1988 essay "The Myth of Free Banking in Scotland," his sharp response to Larry White's influential account of Scottish free banking.Related:Rothbard's Article, "The Myth of Free Banking in Scotland": Mises.org/HAP560aBob's Debate with George Selgin on Fractional Reserve Banking: Mises.org/HAP560bGeorge Selgin's Article, "Scottish Banks and the Bank Restriction, 1797–1821": Mises.org/HAP560cJoe Salerno's Article on Mises as Currency School Free Banker: Mises.org/HAP560dLawrence White, Free Banking in Britain Mises.org/HAP560e

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

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