So for the purpose of enlightening the other contributors to this thread here's a brief rundown of the key players running the Mises Institute.
I'll start with the namesake given he has absolutely zero to do with the institute itself but has been handpicked as a father figure largely due to dreaming up praxeology as an effective way to avoid the typical scrutiny that accompanies any economic theory. For the purpose of the anarcho-capitalists at Mises his discarding of any empirical data was the perfect mechanism to cram every scrap of wing-nuttery into a neat little package.
Interesting to note that the von Mises coat of arms has been used as the emblem of the institute, clearly used to give it a veneer of legitimacy but feudalism is hardly compatible with free markets. My personal feelings regarding von Mises is that he would be seething at how his name has been rubbished by the Southern U.S. libertarian movement but given he also promoted his own brand of supremacy it's probably just desserts.
"It cannot be denied that Fascism and similar movements aiming at the establishment of dictatorships are full of the best intentions and that their intervention has, for the moment, saved European civilization. The merit that Fascism has thereby won for itself will live on eternally in history. But though its policy has brought salvation for the moment, it is not of the kind which could promise continued success. Fascism was an emergency makeshift."
-von Mises on the merits of fascism as a counterweight to communism
Women's rights were also not high on the agenda, likewise his inherent belief that races were created unequal.
"Nor is it any longer of greater significance that the political rights of women are restricted, that women are denied the vote and the right to hold office... The right to occupy public office is denied women less by the legal limitations of their rights than by the peculiarities of their sexual character."
"Nothing, however, is as ill founded as the assertion of the alleged equality of all members of the human race."
And capital punishment another bedrock piece of ideology, in this case it was the guillotine as a legitimate instrument in shaping a harmonious society.
"The liberal champions of equality under the law were fully aware of the fact that men are born unequal and that it is precisely their inequality that generates social cooperation and civilization. Equality under the law was in their opinion not designed to correct the inexorable facts of the universe and to make natural inequality disappear."
So economic theory aside, von Mises had all the key ingredients which fit neatly into the neo-confederate vision of the world, white supremacy, misogony & xenophobia, the triple pillars used so effectively in a post-slavery America. An environment which has seen (mostly) white males knocked off the perch of societal domination. The relentless pursuit of private ownership another symptom of slave traders losing their rights over blacks & other minority groups. It's notable that Mises Institute still promotes the notion that Lincoln was a bleeding heart liberal who betrayed his own people & allowed the trojan horse of government to impede on the free market. This mentality of legitimising the slave trade has morphed into other areas of human exploitation, this unfortunate byproduct is one reason I suspect von Mises would be turning in his grave.
Of the various mouthpieces for Mises it's Walter Block who comes across as the most twisted, having made a name for himself with the book Defending the Indefensible, Block has become particularly vocal in his views about selling children & legitimising rape on private property.
"Suppose that there is a starvation situation and the parent of the 4 year old child (who is not an adult) does not have enough money to keep him alive, a wealthy NAMBLA man offers this family enough money to keep him and his family alive. If he will consent to his having sex with the child, would it be criminal child abuse to accept this offer?"
"There can be no such thing as 'involuntary intercourse' for the female slave whose owner is a pimp. In her slave contract she has already agreed to alienate her body for such sexual services. Yes, it is indeed, and only rape if the owner does not consent to this sexual intercourse".
"Sexual harassment is not a coercive action because it is part of the package deal : the secretary agrees to all aspects of the job when she agrees to accept the job and especially when she agrees to keep the job. If she continues to patronise or work at a place where she is molested, it can only be voluntary".
Block also despises charity using his own sick brand of Darwinism - "charity disrupts the survival of the fittest, thus obstructing the evolution of the human species."
Now it's particularly noteworthy that the Mises Institute strips the State of any right to invest any tax dollars in education, orphanages, day care, health care or social security. So if someone is handicapped, gravely sick, discriminated against, was born in a broken family, or for any other reason is unable to provide for themselves, Block's solution is to simply let them die.
It would be nice to believe that Walter Block is just an attention seeking renegade but given the fact that other senior figures at Mises have not only plugged his book, they have also gone so far as to give him the title of 'Senior Fellow'. From this one can only conclude the Institute fully endorces his vile commentary.
The other key barometer for Mises values has been their longstanding relationship with the KKK & David Duke in particular. Former chairman Murray Rothbard praised Duke during his failed presidential run and current chairman Lew Rockwell has frequently promoted anti-black sentiment in his newsletters.
"Given the inefficiencies of what DC laughingly calls the criminal justice system, I think we can safely assume that 95 percent of the black males in that city are semi-criminal or entirely criminal."
"We are constantly told that it is evil to be afraid of black men, it is hardly irrational."
"Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks."
So this should all just be a bit of fun, and exercise in free speech, right? Perhaps not when a guy like Nick Larson decides congress needs an 'anti-establishment' anarcho-libertarian. His platform includes legalizing child pornography as well as incestuous marriage; allowing men to have multiple wives and physically discipline them; repealing the 19th Amendment; and abolishing state funding for girls and women to attend high school and college.
It should be no surprise that his mandate strikes an uncanny resemblance to views promoted by Mises & Block in particular. Along with being locked up for threatening to kill the president, Larson also admits to raping his wife prior to her suicide.
And last but not least is the libertarian view on gun rights, I surely don't need to delve into this in any great detail but Sacha Baron Cohen has nailed it in Who is America, the Kinderguardians a surreal insight into the minds of gun fanatics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLjAj8620Nk
