Mises Daily Email

Saturday, November 15, 2025

One of the most damaging myths of history is the claim that Herbert Hoover made the Great Depression worse by embracing free markets. In truth, Hoover paved the way for the New Deal innovations that turned the 1929 crisis into a decade-long depression. The primary difference between Hoover and Roosevelt was that Roosevelt was an excellent politician adept at sweet-talking the voters and other politicians. Hoover was a notoriously cold fish. Joshua Mawhorter helps to expose the myth today at mises.org.

Another myth smashed is the one claiming that the slave economy in the United States was highly capitalistic. In truth, the slave economy was never efficient or rational like real capitalism. Lipton Mathews explains.

You’ll find much more at mises.org this weekend, including a send-up of the CPI and David Gordon’s takedown of John Rawls.

Ryan

Editor-in-chief

How Herbert Hoover Became Known as an Economic Non-Interventionist

Joshua Mawhorter

One of the most enduring myths of American history is that Herbert Hoover was a laissez-faire advocate who “did nothing” while the US economy slid into depression. How did he gain this undeserved reputation?

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Hobbes’s Accidental Case Against the State

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Minor Issues, Major Conversations: Mark Thornton’s Four-Interview Roundup

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Trump’s 50 Year Mortgage Mistake

Connor, Ryan, and Tho discuss Donald Trump’s FDR-like proposal.

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The Misesian

In the latest issue of The Misesian, we give readers a sense of what happens at Mises University by featuring lectures and photos from the event, as well as testimonials from students.