The Human Action Podcast

One of the highlights of our Austrian Economics Research Conference is the interaction between scholars and entrepreneurs, and the new ideas that such conversations spark. Here business consultant Hunter Hastings outlines how technological innovation is already making centralized "designed" systems obsolete, and how artificial intelligence opens up a whole new era of spontaneous order.

David Hart, editor and librarian at Liberty Fund, joined us in Auburn today to deliver a dynamite lecture on his favorite subject: Frederic Bastiat the radical. We think we know Bastiat from The Law, but his work in economics and social theory actually spans thousands of pages. And he was a thoroughgoing radical in his personal and professional life, both in his Basque hometown of Bayonne and in the "Babylon" of Paris. Hart makes the case that Bastiat was not only a serious and underappreciated thinker, but also a proto-Austrian to whom we owe a huge intellectual debt. This is a very entertaining and revealing look at one of the true founders of modern libertarian thought.

Our show this weekend features Overstock.com’s Patrick Byrne, who spoke at our event last weekend in San Diego. Byrne, the rare philosopher-capitalist, discusses the historical origins of liberty and explains the greatest threats to it that exist today.

Dr. Kevin Gutzman is a history professor at Western Connecticut State University, a New York Times best-selling author, and one of the leading Constitutional scholars in the country today. He and Jeff talk about his new book, 'Thomas Jefferson—Revolutionary: A Radical's Struggle to Remake America'.

Dr. Gutzman discusses some of the overlooked ways Jefferson shaped America, and how his radical views are often underplayed by many academics today. Jefferson’s views on self-governance freedom of conscious, and rejection of centralized control made him perhaps the most libertarian Founding Father — one whose ideas are still relevant today.

This weekend, we welcome back Michael Boldin, founder of the Tenth Amendment Center and fearless advocate for political decentralization. Michael joins us next weekend at our event in San Diego (see Mises.org/Events), so we decided to ask him about the burgeoning CalExit movement and the Left's newfound appreciation for secession. Think California couldn't survive as an independent country? Think the current US boundaries are written in stone? If so, Michael will change how you think about the possibility of local rule in a deeply divided America. Stay tuned.

Overstock.com founder Patrick Byrne, the keynote speaker at our upcoming event in San Diego, is a brilliant innovator and freedom advocate. He holds a PhD in philosophy from Stanford, but understands e-commerce and blockchain technology like an engineer. He also understands Austrian economics, and courageously uses his public profile to make the Hayekian case for a decentralized political, economic, and social order. This video is excerpted from his talk given on our Auburn campus discussing the relationship between Austrian theory and the blockchain, and what it means for the eventual demise of government gatekeepers and middlemen.

Brutus, writing in 'The Antifederalist Papers', had this to say about judges:

There is no power above them, to control any of their decisions. There is no authority that can remove them, and they cannot be controlled by the laws of the legislature. In short, they are independent of the people, of the legislature, and of every power under heaven. Men placed in this situation will generally soon feel themselves independent of heaven itself.

Now, Trump has announced his nominee for the Supreme Court. Here to explain everything from a libertarian perspective is Allen Mendenhall, a lawyer, PhD, and director of the Blackstone and Burke Center. How will Gorsuch likely rule on important issues, given what we know about him? Is he an activist, an authoritarian, an originalist, or a positivist? Is he too cozy with federal power, or does he show a libertarian Coloradan streak? And, if confirmed, will he occupy a "stolen" seat?

Jeff Deist and Tom Woods discuss everything happening with Donald Trump in Washington, DC—especially the Left-Progressive reaction to it—and analyze Trump from a libertarian perspective.

Our guest this weekend is John Tamny, a writer and editor at Real Clear Markets (RealCleearMarkets.com) and 'Forbes'. Jeff Deist and John dissect Trump's economics, especially Trump's reflexive trade protectionism and fetish for exports over imports. They also talk about the policies Trump might get right, especially when it comes to the Fed. John has a great Misesian take on everything the new administration might mean, pro and con — so don't miss this interview.

We've all heard the term crony capitalism, but what does it mean exactly? We know it involves using government to enrich certain interests, through contracts, lobbying, and rent-seeking. But, crony capitalism is far more: it is a systematic distortion of real capitalism, from local restaurants and real estate all the way up to global commodities and FOREX markets. Here to consider all the angles is our guest Nick Sorrentino, proprietor of AgainstCronyCapitalism.org.

Nick and Jeff Deist discuss how huge public companies—think defense giants like Lockheed Martin and Boeing—engage in an obvious form of fiscal cronyism, while Wall Street funds and investment banks engage in what we might call monetary cronyism. And we also discuss how average people reap undue benefits in a million small ways, from selling their homes in artificially overheated markets to making money from small businesses made possible only by bubbles. Is that tech startup really "worth" a $50 million payout to the founders? Thanks to the endless distortions of crony capitalism, we may never know.