Murray Rothbard Quotes About Economics

Quotes about: Economics

• It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a ‘dismal science.’ But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.

  Murray Rothbard

  Ignorance, Discipline, People

  "The Speech Pope Francis Should Have Given" by Lawrence W. Reed, fee.org. September 24, 2015.

• It is easy to be conspicuously 'compassionate' if others are being forced to pay the cost.

  Murray Rothbard

  Liberty, Cost, Libertarian

  Murray Rothbard (2009). “Review of Austrian Economics, Volume 8”, Ludwig von Mises Institute

• Free-market capitalism is a network of free and voluntary exchanges in which producers work, produce, and exchange their products for the products of others through prices voluntarily arrived at.

  Murray Rothbard

  Liberty, Economics, Produce

  Murray Newton Rothbard (1997). “The Logic of Action Two: Applications and Criticism from the Austrian School”, Edward Elgar Publishing

• There can be no such thing as 'fairness in taxation.' Taxation is nothing but organized theft, and the concept of a 'fair tax' is therefore every bit as absurd as that of 'fair theft.'

  Murray Rothbard

  Liberty, Taxation, Fairness

• The libertarian creed...offers the fulfillment of the best of the American past along with the promise of a far better future. Libertarians are squarely in the great classical liberal tradition that built the United States and bestowed on us the American heritage of individual liberty, a peaceful foreign policy, minimal government, and a free-market economy.

  Murray Rothbard

  Past, Government, Peaceful

• This, by the way, is the welfare state in action: Its a whole bunch of special interest groups screwing consumers and taxpayers, and making them think they're really benefiting.

  Murray Rothbard

  Philosophy, Thinking, Political

  "Tariffs, Inflation, Anti-Trust and Cartels". Lecture by Murray Rothbard, 1986.

• In short, the early receivers of the new money in this market chain of events gain at the expense of those who receive the money toward the end of the chain, and still worse losers are the people (e.g., those on fixed incomes such as annuities, interest, or pensions) who never receive the new money.

  Murray Rothbard

  People, Liberty, Events

  "The Case Against the Fed" by Murray Rothbard, mises.org. June 5, 2009.

• The fundamental axiom, then, for the study of man is the existence of individual consciousness

  Murray Rothbard

  Men, Liberty, Study

  Murray N. Rothbard (2011). “Economic Controversies”, p.17, Ludwig von Mises Institute

• The diversity of mankind is a basic postulate of our knowledge of human beings. But if mankind is diverse and individuated, then how can anyone propose equality as an ideal? Every year, scholars hold Conferences on Equality and call for greater equality, and no one challenges the basic tenet. But what justification can equality find in the nature of man? If each individual is unique, how else can he be made 'equal' to others than by destroying most of what is human in him and reducing human society to the mindless uniformity of the ant heap?

  Murray Rothbard

  Unique, Men, Years

  Murray N. Rothbard (2009). “Man, Economy, and State, Scholar's Edition”, p.1309, Ludwig von Mises Institute

• Children are prepared for democracy by being led to discuss current events without first learning the systematic subjects (politics, economics, history) which are necessary in order to discuss them. The Mole effect is to substitute slogans and superficial opinion for considered individual thought. And the opinion is that of the lowest common denominator of the group.

  Murray Rothbard

  Children, Educational, Order

• The more these readjustments are delayed ... the longer the depression will have to last, and the longer complete recovery is postponed.

  Murray Rothbard

  Recovery, Liberty, Lasts

  Murray N. Rothbard (2009). “Man, Economy, and State, Scholar's Edition”, p.1001, Ludwig von Mises Institute

• If government manages to establish paper tickets or bank credit as money, as equivalent to gold grams or ounces, then the government, as dominant money-supplier, becomes free to create money costlessly and at will. As a result, this 'inflation' of the money supply destroys the value of the dollar or pound, drives up prices, cripples economic calculation, and hobbles and seriously damages the workings of the market economy.

  Murray Rothbard

  Government, Gold, Tickets

  "Taking Money Back" by Murray Rothbard, The Freeman, September-October 1995.

• It is particularly odd that economists who profess to be champions of a free-market economy, should go to such twists and turns to avoid facing the plain fact: that gold, that scarce and valuable market-produced metal, has always been, and will continue to be, by far the best money for human society.

  Murray Rothbard

  Champion, Gold, Facts

• Money is different from all other commodities: other things being equal, more shoes, or more discoveries of oil or copper benefit society, since they help alleviate natural scarcity. But once a commodity is established as a money on the market, no more money at all is needed. Since the only use of money is for exchange and reckoning, more dollars or pounds or marks in circulation cannot confer a social benefit: they will simply dilute the exchange value of every existing dollar or pound or mark.

  Murray Rothbard

  Money, Oil, Discovery

  "Making Economic Sense". Book by Murray Rothbard (p. 274), 1995.

• Pollution and overuse of resources stem directly from the failure of government to defend private property. If property rights were to be defended adequately, we would find that here, as in other areas of our economy and society, private enterprise and modern technology would come not as a curse to mankind but as its salvation.

  Murray Rothbard

  Technology, Rights, Government

• Rights might be universal but their enforcement must be local.

  Murray Rothbard

  Philosophy, Rights, Political

• Modern economics is a set of formal models and equations purporting to fully determine human behaviour, at least in the economic realm. And there is no way that uncertainty can be compressed into determinate mathematical models.

  Murray Rothbard

  Way, Behaviour, Modern

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