Knowledge consists of the triad: information, interpretation, and judgment. Much of modern political economy has miscarried by proceeding as though knowledge were merely information - that is, as though interpretation were symmetric and final. Economic prosperity depends greatly on new knowledge...

It turns out, of course, that Mises was right. Thus the economist Robert Heilbroner concluded on the great debate over central economic planning. Yet for urban transit, researchers and planners still argue that central planning is necessary to coordinate the system. Do Mises and Hayek not apply...

Writers as diverse as Schumpeter (1943), Habermas (1976), Daniel Bell (1976) and Fred Hirsch (1977) have suggested that the ideal of a market-based and voluntaristic society, while perhaps attractive, is fundamentally flawed (see Hirschman 1982). Such a society, they admit, can generate material...

Widely criticized by consumer groups, the misunderstood credit bureau has helped consumers by fostering trust between strangers. Privacy advocates should note that credit bureaus promote social accountability far more discretely than do the media and the legal system

Mainstream economists-Neoclassicals, in the narrow sense-have from time to time remarked on Israel Kirzner's theory of entrepreneurship. They have maintained that Kirzner says things that do not fit into normal economic theory, that conflict with normal theory, that are too speculative to...

The Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act of 1938 with amendments in 1962 is inconsistent regarding FDA certification of a drug's efficacy. The act requires efficacy certification for the drug's initial ("on-label") uses, but does not require certification before physicians may prescribe for subsequent...

Friedrich Hayek and Israel Kirzner have suggested that the availability of profit opportunities tends to evoke entrepreneurial discovery. But many have downplayed the conjecture because the Hayekians have not been able to demonstrate the validity of the conjecture. In fact, Hayekians discuss why...

Consumers want products and services that are safe and of good quality. Corresponding to such demand is the demand for assurance, before the fact, that the quality and safety will be as promised. This demand for assurance creates opportunities for entrepreneurs to profit by providing assurance -...

When government intervenes in the marketplace, if often justifies the intervention as an effort to correct a "market failure" - an inability of the market to achieve potential gains from trade. Government attempts to correct market failure through regulation, taxation, and command-and-control...

Smith’s two-sentence rebuke of the slave trade was quoted in full four times in early anti-slavery literature. It helps us make sense of Part V of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and understand Smith’s posture toward slavery. Also, it might inform our understanding of the relationship between...