Audio Essays

The Myth of Free Banking in Scotland

Murray N. Rothbard — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 10:21:01 -0500

Reviewing Lawrence H. White's Free Banking in Britain, Murray Rothbard dismantles the claim that Scotland enjoyed a century of successful free banking before the Peel Act of 1845. Drawing on Sydney Checkland's history, he shows that the Scottish banks pyramided credit on the Bank of England rather than standing on their own specie, suspended payment alongside England from 1797 to 1821, and let reserves fall from 10–20 percent to as little as 1 percent, while depositors who asked for gold met argument, rebuff, and the threat of losing future credit. The rarity of bank failure that White counts as proof of success, Rothbard argues, is evidence of the opposite.

The Myth of Democratic Socialism

Murray N. Rothbard — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:15:01 -0500

Democratic socialists insist the horrors of the twentieth century were a betrayal of their ideal—that their version would be staffed by good people, to good ends. In this 1977 essay, Murray Rothbard argues the brutality is inherent in the system, not the personnel, which makes "humanistic" or "democratic" socialism a contradiction in terms.

Originally published in the Libertarian Review.

Why Do So Many Intellectuals Hate Free Markets?

Ralph Raico — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 12:28:03 -0500

Why do so many intellectuals despise the market that sustains them? Ralph Raico weighs Hayek's theory of "scientism" against Schumpeter's portrait of a resentful, over-produced intelligentsia—and finds both wanting, pointing instead to the harder puzzle: why capitalism's most successful intellectuals are so often its fiercest critics.

Excerpted from chapter 3 of Classical Liberalism and the Austrian School.

Private Property, Public Purpose

Henry Hazlitt — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 17:07:03 -0500

Contrary to age-old prejudices, the wealth of the rich is not the cause of the poverty of the poor, but helps to alleviate that poverty. No matter whether it is their intention or not, almost anything that the rich can legally do tends to help the poor.

The Economics and Ethics of Interest Rates

Jörg Guido Hülsmann — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 08:20:03 -0500

Guido Hülsmann examines the interest rate through both economic analysis and moral theology—tracing the debate from Aristotle through Aquinas and Heinrich Pesch to the Austrian School. His conclusion overturns the traditional doctrine: interest income from voluntary lending is intrinsically just and good, both for the contracting parties and for society as a whole, because it funds the division of labor in finance, strengthens social bonds between savers and borrowers, fuels economic growth through longer production processes, and creates a natural saturation mechanism that prevents capital accumulation from becoming an end in itself.

However—and this is the essay's most important turn—the legitimacy of interest income is corrupted when it arises through unjust institutions, particularly the fiat money system. Central banks override the natural saturation of capital accumulation, inflate credit markets beyond any limit that would exist under sound money, and redistribute income from the poor to those closest to money creation. The scholastics were wrong to condemn all interest as usury. But the income generated by today's monetary system—artificial, coerced, and redistributive—is precisely the institutionalized usury that Bernard Dempsey warned about in 1943.

Read the original article: https://mises.org/articles-interest/economics-and-ethics-interest-rates

Marxism and the Manipulation of Man

Ludwig von Mises — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 13:16:03 -0500

In 1952, at the height of Soviet power, Ludwig von Mises stood in the San Francisco Public Library and systematically dismantled Marx—not just his economics, but his philosophy, his theory of history, and his manipulation of language. This is the fifth of nine lectures, published in 2006 as Marxism Unmasked.

Mises examines why Marxism went essentially unchallenged for decades—not because its arguments were strong, but because its opponents rarely engaged its philosophical foundations. He traces the intellectual lineage from Saint-Simon's totalitarian world council through Comte's positivism to Marx's dialectical materialism, showing how each system claimed to have discovered the final truth and therefore demanded the end of free inquiry. Along the way, Mises dismantles the conflation of Marxism with Freudian psychoanalysis, explains why governments have a built-in bias toward socialism, and reveals that the word "organize" entered political language as a Napoleonic term meaning to treat individuals as a builder treats stones. The essay's central insight is deceptively simple: the debate was never between planning and chaos. It was always between the plan of the dictator and the plans of free individuals—and the police exist to settle the dispute.

Nations by Consent

Murray N. Rothbard — Mon, 11 May 2026 10:46:03 -0500

Murray Rothbard argues that the nation-state's boundaries—invariably acquired by force—deserve no more sanctity than any other product of conquest. He proposes radical decentralization through secession, down to the neighborhood level, as the path to genuine nations formed by consent rather than coercion.

The Mantle of Science

Murray N. Rothbard — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 09:14:00 -0500

In this 1960 essay, Murray Rothbard warns critics of scientism not to concede the very term science to positivist methodology. He reclaims scientia as “correct knowledge,” and defends the idea that economics and the social sciences can be rigorously scientific through sound reasoning about purposeful human action, without pretending to be physics.

Mises and Hayek Dehomogenized

Joseph T. Salerno — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 08:27:56 -0600

Today, the term "Austrian economics" is used to designate two very different paradigms.

This essay was originally published in 1993 in the Review of Austrian Economics, Volume 6, Number 2.

War, Peace, and the State

Murray N. Rothbard — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 10:27:00 -0500

In this classic 1963 essay, Murray Rothbard argues that the state is inherently hostile to peace because war enhances its power, prestige, and control. While individuals benefit from peace and voluntary exchange, governments thrive on conflict, using war as a tool to centralize authority and suppress liberty. Rothbard challenges the moral legitimacy of state warfare and calls for a truly libertarian stance—non-intervention and individualism.

The Cultural War in Economic Science

Jesús Huerta de Soto — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 08:27:00 -0600

The challenge facing economic science is to counter the reactionary counterrevolution by states and governments that smother voluntary cooperation and free human interaction based on liberty. The chains must be thrown off in favor of the libertarian ideal of an anarchocapitalist system.

This audio essay is a narration of the keynote lecture by Jesús Huerta de Soto presented at the 8th Conference on Austrian Economics in Madrid on August 2, 2024.

The Cultural Background of Ludwig von Mises

Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 17:03:00 -0600

Originally published in the Mises Institute's Studies in Classical Liberalism series in 1999.

The text of this essay is available at https://mises.org/essays-political-economy/cultural-background-ludwig-von-mises

A Libertarian Critique of Intellectual Property

Butler Shaffer — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 01:00:00 -0500

In this monograph, Butler Shaffer addresses an important question that has aroused much interest among libertarians: What is the status of intellectual property? Are patents and copyrights legitimate? This is a major contribution to libertarian legal theory and an indispensable guide to a vital topic.

Narrated by Clay Barnett. Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com).

Middle-of-the-Road Policy Leads to Socialism

Ludwig von Mises — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:00:00 -0500

This address was originally delivered before the University Club of New York on April 18, 1950. This audio essay is narrated by Gennady Stolyarov, II.

The Historical Setting of the Austrian School of Economics

Ludwig von Mises — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:00:00 -0500

This audio essay is narrated by Gennady Stolyarov, II.

Austrian School Arguments on the Free-Market Origin of Money

Gennady Stolyarov II — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 01:00:00 -0500

Austrian Economics offers an elegant, logical, and thoroughly causal explanation of how money came to be, again demonstrating the power of the free market to spontaneously organize human activity in meaningful and universally beneficial ways.

I, Pencil

Leonard E. Read — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:00:00 -0500

The audio version of Leonard Read's classic essay. Narrated by Floy Lilley.

Private and Public Services

Claude Frédéric Bastiat — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 01:00:00 -0500

From Chapter IX of The Bastiat Collection: Volume II: "Harmonies of Political Economy (Book Two)". Pages 481-505 in the text. Narrated by Brannon King.

The Cultural and Spiritual Legacy of Fiat Inflation

Jörg Guido Hülsmann — Thu, 07 May 2009 01:00:00 -0500

Chapter 13 in The Ethics of Money Production. From Part 2, "Inflation," pages 175-191. Narrated by Floy Lilley.

Not Yours to Give

David Crockett — Thu, 07 May 2009 01:00:00 -0500

Taken from Free Market Economics: A Basic Reader, compiled by Bettina Bien Greaves (pp. 227-231). Narrated by Floy Lilley.

That Which Is Seen, and That Which Is Not Seen

Claude Frédéric Bastiat — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:00:00 -0500

From Chapter I of The Bastiat Collection: Volume I. Pages 1-48 in the text. Read by Josiah Schmidt.

Methodological Individualism

Joseph Schumpeter — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 01:00:00 -0500

Includes a summary by Frank van Dun. Preface by F.A. Hayek. Read by Josiah Schmidt.

The Candlemakers' Petition

Claude Frédéric Bastiat — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600

"The Candlemakers' Petition" is a well known satire of protectionism written and published in 1845, as part of Bastiat's Economic Sophisms. This audio essay is narrated by Gennady Stolyarov, II.

Dispelling Popular Great Depression Myths

Gennady Stolyarov II — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600

Stolyarov reviews Robert P. Murphy’s The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal (2009).

The Death of Politics

Karl Hess — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Originally published in Playboy in March 1969, this essay is narrated by Jeff Riggenbach. Music by Kevin MacLeod.

The Truth About Taxes

Murray N. Rothbard — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 01:00:00 -0500

This essay originally appeared in the Review of Austrian Economics 7, No. 2 (1994), pp. 75–90, as "The Consumption Tax: A Critique". Narrated by Harold Fritsche. Music by Kevin MacLeod.

Seeing the Unseen

Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr. — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 01:00:00 -0500

Narrated by Harold Fritsche. Music by Kevin MacLeod.

The Health Plan's Devilish Principles

Murray N. Rothbard — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 01:00:00 -0500

Narrated by Harold Fritsche. Music by Kevin MacLeod.

Repudiating the National Debt

Murray N. Rothbard — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 01:00:00 -0500

Narrated by Harold Fritsche. Music by Kevin MacLeod.