Competition can mean rivalry or freedom. All firms must serve the preferences of consumers in order to exist. Monopoly has historically been an artificial privilege granted by the state.

Monopolies do not last for long in free markets unless maintained by government interventions. Antitrust policies were generally not demanded by consumers, but created by jealous competitors. Antitrust laws are insensible and wasteful.

The eighth in a series of ten lectures, from Fundamentals of Economic Analysis: A Causal-Realist Approach.

Recorded at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, on June 14, 2007.

Fundamentals of Economic Analysis: A Causal-Realist Approach

Competition and Monopoly | Peter G. Klein

Economist Jeff Degner joins Ryan McMaken to discuss how inflationary monetary policy has changed our culture, and the family with it.

Free Book: Get your copy of Hayek for the 21st Century, featuring Hayek’s classic essays on liberty, knowledge, and markets. Claim yours at https://mises.org/Hayek21

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Inflation and Family Economics

On this episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton responds to Charlie Kirk’s “most controversial take” on cannabis and drug policy. Mark contrasts Kirk’s opposition to reclassification with the long history of prohibition as a Progressive project, showing how state intervention—not liberty—is responsible for urban decay, social breakdown, and the failures of drug policy. Drawing on examples from alcohol and cannabis prohibition to today’s welfare state, Mark argues that addiction is fueled less by markets than by the permissive culture and coercive power of government.

"Should America Reclassify Weed?" (Charlie Kirk Show): https://mises.org/MI_134_A

"Drug Warriors Claim Colorado Going to Pot" by Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_134_B

"The Oregon Problem: It’s Not Drugs! It’s the Socialistic Political Culture" by Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_134_C

"The Oregon Problem" (Minor Issues Podcast): https://mises.org/MI_48

"Measure 110 and Property Rights" (Minor Issues Podcast): https://mises.org/MI_55

The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFree

Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Charlie Kirk on Drugs: Addicted to Progressive Values?

The federal government taking an ownership stake in Intel is neither a promising new approach to governance nor an unprecedented leap into economic fascism. It’s simply Trump embracing the corrupt status quo he ran against with a superficial rebrand.

Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/real-problem-trumps-intel-deal

The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFree

Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

The Real Problem with Trump’s Intel Deal

The Power and Market group look at the redistricting fight, try to make sense of Trump’s trade deals, and discuss the possible meeting between Putin and Trump.

Tariffs on India, Redistricting Battles, and a Possible Trump-Putin Meeting

William L. Anderson joins Tho and Connor this week to discuss Trump mobilizing federal agencies to clean up the crime-ridden city of DC and his recent book review of Margeret Roberts’ Blowback: The Untold Story of the FBI and the Oklahoma City Bombing.

Trumps DC “Takeover” and the Lessons of the OKC Bombing

On this episode of Power and Market, the roundtable talks about a new brewing scandal involving the Fed, revisits the conversation on nationalizing Washington DC, and the new "golden age" of the Smithsonian.

Fraud at the Fed, Smithsonian, and DC Council

Assistant editor Joshua Mawhorter joins Tho Bishop and Connor O’Keeffe on the Power and Market Podcast. The three discuss Trump’s acquisition of a stake in Intel, consider how monetary policy contributes to a lot of the national health problems MAHA is focused on, and react to Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech.

Intel, MAHA, and Trump’s Similarities with Richard Nixon

Is Hans-Hermann Hoppe a firebrand revolutionary, or something very different? In this episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton traces Hoppe’s American debut in 1986 and follows the controversies that later made Hoppe a lightning rod. The case here is straightforward: Hoppe isn’t a political revolutionary aiming to remake society by seizing state power; he’s a natural-rights theorist whose analysis—grounded in property, history, and Austrian economics—argues for social cooperation without a predatory state. Hoppe is an exacting analyst of what works, not an architect of upheaval.

Additional Resources

A Life in Liberty: Liber Amicorum in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe, edited by Jörg Guido Hülsmann and Stephan Kinsella (PDF): https://mises.org/MI_135_A Or, purchase the book online: https://mises.org/LiberAmicorum

“Understanding the timing and outcome of the Russian Revolution: a public choice approach” (Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice)“ by Gregory Dempster, Robert B. Ekelund, Jr., and Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_135_B

“Rent Seeking as an Evolving Process: The Case of the Ancien Régime“ (Public Choice) by Robert. B. Ekelund, Jr., and Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_135_C

“A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism” by Mark Thornton (in Property, Freedom, and Society: Essays in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe): https://mises.org/MI_135_D

The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFree

Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Hans Hoppe is No Revolutionary

San Francisco politicians have made it so difficult to build new housing that a black market for apartments has emerged. 

“San Francisco Has A Black Market for Housing. That’s as Bad as It Sounds.” by Chris Calton: https://Mises.org/RR251_A

Free Book: Get your copy of Hayek for the 21st Century, featuring Hayek’s classic essays on liberty, knowledge, and markets. Claim yours at https://mises.org/Hayek21

Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbard

Radio Rothbard mugs are available at the Mises Store. Get yours at https://Mises.org/RothMug 
PROMO CODE: RothPod for 20% off

San Francisco’s Black Market for Housing

President Trump has deployed naval vessels off the coast of Venezuela, citing its escalation of the war on drugs. However, the true motivation for Washington’s involvement in the region is likelier related to disputed oil claims affecting well-connected energy companies.

Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/venezuela-military-deployment-about-cronyism-not-national-security

The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/Hayek21

Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

The Venezuela Military Deployment Is About Cronyism, Not National Security

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Competition and Monopoly | Peter G. Klein

Mises Institute

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