Mises Daily Email

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Legal tender laws don’t force us to use dollars for everyday transactions, but they do overwhelmingly favor the dollar for use in paying taxes, paying debts, and more. This manufactured demand for dollars goes a long way in securing its global status.

Sadly, the advent of monetary tyranny came in spite of many hard lessons learned about government intervention in previous periods. Justin Ptak today explains some of the early lessons Americans learned about market freedom.

Ryan McMaken, Editor-in-Chief

Monetary Tyranny: How Legal Tender Laws Paved the Way and How Competition Sets Us Free

Michael S. Milano

By making paper money legal tender, the government shut the door on sound money. Repealing legal tender laws is the first step back to liberty.

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Zohran Mamdani’s Socialism Flunks Basic Economics

Mere words can’t
make socialism work.

LISTEN +

Why Socialism
Always Fails

Ludwig von Mises presented this lecture at the University of Houston in 1972.

LISTEN +

Money Demand and Demonetization: Concluding Comments

Professor Bagus concludes his arguments regarding the effects of the hypothetical close of Argentina’s central bank.

Hofstadter on Lincoln

Historian Richard Hofstadter was a well-known progressive, but his take on Abraham Lincoln certainly differs from the hagiographic approach most US historians take toward him.

4 Reasons Why Socialism Fails

Even a degenerate capitalism produces more prosperity than the best socialism. Socialism only comes with negatives and no positives.

How 50-Year Mortgages Turn Home Owners into Renters

50-year mortgages mean walkaways and bank bailouts. Taxpayers pay.

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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.