THE FREE MARKET READER The Ludwig von Mises Institute gratefully acknowledges the Patrons whose generosity made the publication of this book possible: O. P. Alford, III J. C. Arthur, MD Lemuel R. Boulware E. O. Buck Jerry D. Busch Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Capen Philip L. Carret Edward E. Culver Charles G. Dannelly Roland S. DeMott John L. Doyle Dr. William A. Dunn Mrs. Card G. Elliott, Jr. Jason H. Fane Arthur C. Fennekohl Willard Fischer Mr. and Mrs. James R. Focht Don L. Foote Heritage Mark Foundation William A. Galbraith, Jr. Mrs. St. John Garwood Bernard G. Geuting Captain Maino des Granges W. Grover Freeway Fasteners Thomas R. Haig, Jr. David J. Hosbein, MD John F. Kieser D. Covington Logan David Manley Dorothea Marica James T. Morton Victor Niederhoffer James Panyard Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association Francis M. Powers, MD Lewis E. Randall Donald Mosby Rembert James M. Rodney Sheldon Rose Jean C. Sanford Adolph Schoepe Fluidmaster, Inc. Ed Schoppe E. D. Shaw, Jr. Shaw Oxygen Company Donald R. Stewart Twin Oil Company C.S. Trosper THE FREE MARKET READER ESSAYS IN THE ECONOMICS OF LIBERTY EDITED BY LLEWELLYN H. ROCKWELL, JR. The Ludwig von Mises Institute Copyright © 1988 by The Ludwig von Mises Institute All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles. Published by The Ludwig von Mises Institute 851 Burlway Road, Burlingame, California 94010 Typesetting by Thoburn Press, Tyler, Texas Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 88-083186 ISBN 0-945466-02-1 T O. P. A , III, O LFORD entrepreneur and activist for liberty CONTENTS Introduction: Tax Payers and Tax Eaters Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. 1. Fundamentals Ten Great Economic Myths Murray N. Rothbard Creative Economic Semantics Murray N. Rothbard Competition at Work: Xerox at 25 Murray N. Rothbard Looking Beneath the Surface Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. The Fraud of GNP Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. Racial Discrimination and the Free Market Mark D. Hughes Mises Contra Marx David Gordon Keynesian Myths Murray N. Rothbard Liberty and Property Ludwig von Mises The Interest Rate Question Murray N. Rothbard How the Market Creates Jobs and How the Government Destroys Them Walter Block The National Bureau and Business Cycles Murray N. Rothbard 2. Fiat Money and the Gold Standard Confidence and Money Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. Bank Runs and Water Shortages Murray N. Rothbard The World Currency Crisis Murray N. Rothbard Understanding the Business Cycle Mark D. Skousen Money Inflation and Price Inflation Murray N. Rothbard First Step Back to Gold Murray N. Rothbard Sound Money: Gold or Denationalized? Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. Alan Greenspan: A Minority Report Murray N. Rothbard Fiat Paper Money: Tyranny’s Credit Card Tucker Alford Back to Fixed Exchange Rates Murray N. Rothbard Monetary Crises Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr The Real Secrets of the Temple