The Morality of Profit

Check out the Atlas Network's newest video on the Morality of Profit!

GMU Econ Society Nominated for Student Group of the Year -- Time to vote!

Congratulations! The GMU Economics Society has been nominated for the SFL Student Group of the Year! This is a wonderful recognition….now we need your help to vote once a day for the Econ Society from now until February.

SFL Voting Rules:
Each person can vote once per day, but only once per day. We will be tracking IP addresses of voters, so if you vote multiple times per day all of your votes will be thrown out.

The winners will be announced at the International Students For Liberty Conference in February. If we win, all of our members will be recognized on stage! If you haven’t already registered for the conference, please do so here:http://politicalconferences.org/2010/07/2011-international-students-for-liberty-conference/

And vote here once a day:http://www.surveymonkey.com/2011sflawards

This Week's Upcoming Events

GMU Economics Society Meeting
Wednesday, September 22nd, at 5:00pm
Enterprise 318


Atlas Liberty Café with Peter Boettke
Wednesday, September 22nd at 10am
At the Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC

The Atlas Economic Research Foundation hosts monthly Liberty Café’s. This month’s Liberty Café will focus on the Wall Street Journal article, "Spreading Hayek, Spurning Keynes." George Mason University Professor of Economics Dr. Peter J. Boettke will discuss the current economic crisis, its causes and a free market response. To RSVP for the event, please contact Anca.Rusu@atlasnetwork.org.

A couple of us will be going in together - we're taking the Mason to Metro shuttle at 8:40am and then taking the metro in - if you'd like to join, meet at the Mason to Metro Shuttle Stop right by Rappahannock Parking Deck. Email me at liya02@gmail.com for details or questions.

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=145624268808425#!/event.php?eid=154405574577515&ref=ts


Cato on Campus: Balancing Liberty and Security in an Age of Terrorism
Friday, September 24th at 4:00pm
At the Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC

Come out to the FIRST DC Forum For Freedom Event at the Cato Institute. The event will be featuring David Rittgers, Legal Policy Analyst, Cato Institute; and Michael German, National Security Policy Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union; moderated by Chip Bishop, Manager of Student Programs, Cato Institute.

This will be a great opportunity to meet the Cato Scholars as well as other students from George Washington University, Georgetown, American, Maryland—and more! There will be a FREE reception to follow. To register: http://www.cato.org/events/100924sf.html

If you want to metro in, a bunch of us will be meeting at at the Mason to Metro shuttle at 2:40pm and taking the metro in - if you'd like to join, meet at the Mason to Metro Shuttle Stop right by Rappahannock Parking Deck. Email me at liya02@gmail.com for details or questions. The dress code is business casual. After the event & reception, there will be the Mason Liberty Social (see next event below for details).

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=145624268808425#!/event.php?eid=152252314795032&ref=ts


Mason Students For Liberty Social
Friday, September 24th at 6:30pm
Hunan Number 1 - 3033 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA

Hunan happy hours have been a great way for Mason and DC area liberty groups to come together! Come join Mason Liberty again this year for great discussion and networking-Friday, September 24th at 6:30 pm. If you’ll be at the Cato for Campus Event on Friday, all of us will be heading to the social after the Cato event. Hope to see you guys there!

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=145624268808425


Economics Society Discussion Group
Wednesday, September 29th at 5pm
Enterprise 318

Next week’s reading will be the first History of Economic Thought paper of the semester before we dive into specific schools of thought. Email us so we can send you the paper!

Be sure to come out to the discussion group and bring your questions!

Additionally, we’ll start using the Econ Discussion Group on Facebook, so be sure to join that as well: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=160522500628158&ref=ts



Reminders:


Students for Liberty Mid-Atlantic Conference
Saturday, October 9th
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA

Have you registered for the Students For Liberty Mid-Atlantic Conference yet? If you haven’t be sure to do so ASAP! Join Students For Liberty in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania birthplace of the Declaration of Independence as Drexel University’s Student Liberty Front hosts the 2010 Mid-Atlantic Regional Students For Liberty Conference. Come meet fellow students as we improve our knowledge and understand of individualism and free markets. The Mid-Atlantic Conference is your opportunity to meet other students interested in similar ideas and some of the biggest names in the liberty movement. Leave with the skills necessary to be a leader for liberty on campus, a stronger intellectual framework, connections to new friends and organizations dedicated to liberty, and a revitalized vision for the future of the freedom movement. As of now, there are over 100 registered students – you don’t want to miss out!

Registration and attendance is FREE, as are all of the events and meals during the day-long conference. Several members of the GMU Econ Society have already registered, and we're planning on carpooling up there - so if concern over transportation is holding you back, worry no longer! If you have registered for the conference and need a ride, email us back ASAP so we can start planning. And if you’ve registered and would LIKE to drive, let us know how many you’re able to take. The drive is about 2-2 ½ hours. Additionally, accommodations will be taken care of as well – just be sure to note that in your registration application and they will get you connected to stay with students at Drexel. To find out more about the conference and to register, visit: http://politicalconferences.org/2009/10/philadelphia-conference/.

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&tid=1188099640258#!/event.php?eid=110082322375037&ref=ts


Fall 2010 Economics Department Welcome Reception
Thursday, September 23, 3-4:30pm
Economics Department, Enterprise 354

Econ majors and minors are invited to come enjoy refreshments and meet professors and advisers. This is a great way to meet other economics students, as well as a way to get to talk to your professors outside of a classroom environment. There will also be a raffle...you can win some free books (possibly signed by some of your professors)!

Separation of Health & State Debate Video

All,

The video for Debate over the Separation of Health & State with Economists Bryan Caplan and David Balan is now up!

Debate: Separation of Health & State from GMU Econ Society on Vimeo.

This is only the debate portion -- unfortunately the audience Q&A did not come out due to technical difficulties.

Dr. Caplan also set-up a resource page where you can have access to the opening statements by both debaters, the PowerPoint slides, and the video, check it out:

http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/bcaplan/hsdeb.htm

January Upcoming Events

GMU Economics Society First Meeting
Thursday, January 21st at 6pm
Enterprise 318 (conference room) -- GMU Fairfax Campus
Learn about how you can become more involved in the Econ Society & if you have ideas for the Spring semester, come prepared to share them at the meeting! :)


Global Warming Realities & Fantasies
Friday, January 22nd at 4pm
F.A. Hayek Auditorium at the Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington D.C. 20001
Cato scholar, Climatologist and Environmental Scientist Patrick Michaels will puts the facts straight about global warming and will tackle the up-and-coming climate change legislation on Capitol Hill.

For more details and to register, visit the facebook event:
http://www.facebook.com/#/event.php?eid=244182689711&ref=ts
or
http://www.cato.org/events/100122sf.html


Internship & Seminar Information Session
Wednesday, January 27th at 6pm
Enterprise 318 -- GMU Fairfax Campus
Looking for an internship for Summer 2010? Come out to the Internship Information Session to meet with internship coordinators and learn about some of the greatest internship programs, including: the Koch Summer Fellowship Program (Public Policy Internship), IHS Internships and Seminars, IHS film, production and journalism opportunities, the Koch Internship Program (in DC), Cato Institute internships, FEE internships and seminars, and more!

Chad Swarthout vs. Michael Moore

Chad Swarthout, a student at George Washington University and officer of the GW Liberty Society, gets Michael Moore to admit that Moore's new movie, Capitalism: A Love Story, is about corporatism and not true free market capitalism.

Unfortunately, Michael Moore continues to ramble and shows his blatant ignorance of scarcity in the world. "Everything should be free....."

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1733261710?bclid=43205421001&bctid=43610564001

Economic Liberty Lecture Series: Lew Rockwell, Wednesday 9/9

First GMU Econ Society event of the Fall 2009 semester: Economic Liberty Lecture Series: Lew Rockwell

Get started early and come out to the first GMU Economics Society Event of the semester. This will also be the first installment of the Economic Liberty Lecture Series for the 2009-2010 school year.


Dinner, Lecture, and a Movie
5:30 pm – Dinner
6:00 pm – Talk with Q&A
7:30 pm – Movie
ADMISSION: FREE

Location: George Mason University, Fairfax Campus
Student Union Building II, Room 5

SPEAKER: Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. is chairman of the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, editor of LewRockwell.com, and author of The Left, the Right, and the State.

MOVIE: Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
“Arrested for participating in the White Rose resistance movement, anti-Nazi activist Sophie Scholl (Julia Jentsch) is subjected to a highly charged interrogation by the Gestapo, testing her loyalty to her cause, her family and her convictions. Based on true events, director Marc Rothemund's absorbing Oscar-nominated drama explores maintaining human resolve in the face of intense pressure from a system determined to silence whistle-blowers.”

Presented by:
GMU Econ Society
www.gmueconsociety.blogspot.com

The Future of Freedom Foundation
www.fff.org fff@fff.org 703-934-6101


Coming out to events is also a GREAT way to network so join the GMU Econ Society on Wednesday, September 9th to see Lew Rockwell!

Dan Mitchell on Tax Policy

Check out these highly entertaining videos of class-warfare tax policy, Obama's deferral proposal, the social security tax plan, and corruption in the government. Dan Mitchell, an expert in tax reform from the Cato Institute, discusses the problems with these policies. Also, Dan Mitchell received his Ph.D in Economics from George Mason.



President Obama and other politicians are advocating higher taxes, with a particular emphasis on class-warfare taxes targeting the so-called rich.


President Obama's proposal to severely restrict "deferral" will cause a significant tax increase on American companies trying to earn market share in other nations. For all intents and purposes, the White House plan is protectionism, but the target is American companies rather than their foreign rivals.


In addition to several other tax increases, Barack Obama wants to increase the Social Security payroll tax burden by imposing the tax on income above $250,000. This would be a sharp departure from current law, which only requires that the tax be imposed on the amount of income needed to "pay for" promised benefits. But more important, at least from an economic perspective, the initiative would increase the top tax rate on productive behavior by as much as 12 percentage points - and this would be in addition to his proposal to kill the 2003 tax rate reductions and further boost the top rate by 4.6 percentage points. This mini-documentary explains why a big tax rate increase on highly productive people would be very damaging to America's prosperity, especially in a competitive global economy.


Washington is riddled with corruption, much of which actually is legal. The politicians and other insiders claim that more ethics laws and lobbying rules are the solution. Some even say the only answer is campaign finance laws that restrict 1st Amendment rights to fully participate in the political process.

Enjoy & spread the word!

Man vs. Wild and the Division of Labor

The sun is scorching the Namibian desert, and a silhouette of a man appears along the red rock face. Cameras pan across towards the figure and suddenly a Puff Adder snake slithers from underneath a rock close to the man. The Puff Adder is one of the most dangerous snakes in all of Africa due to its immense size and the poisonous venom it secretes in its fangs. The man quickly grabs a hefty rock and throws it at the head of the snake ending its life. Almost unbelievably the hero grabs the head of the snake and saws it off with his knife and then takes a bite out of the body of the snake. Is this a scene from a movie? Is this man Indiana Jones? No.

Click on READ MORE for the extended post.


This is a scene from the Discovery Channel series Man vs. Wild, and our rugged hero is Bear Grylls, an ex-special forces officer from Britain. Is the above scene out of the ordinary? Nope, the show gets much more intense ( Bear drinks water from elephant dung, fishes with maggots in the Alps, and eats raw Zebra meat from a carcass in Africa). The premise of the show is that the survival expert must be dropped into a hostile environment and survive for up to 5 days without any given shelter, food, or water. Each episode finds Bear Grylls finding unique (and often sketchy) water and food sources, and creating his own shelter using his vast knowledge about survival tactics and indigenous plant life. Whether it be desert, plains, tundra, jungle, or even a deserted island, Grylls finds a way to squeak by in life.

By now you're probably wondering, what does this have to do with economics. Those of you that know me well know that I often exclaim "That's Capitalism!" when I see amazing things like Porsche Carreras or have great opportunities. After seeing the recent episode I immediately thought to myself, "Hmm isn't capitalism great to let me sit lazily watching this crazy man survive in high definition on my plasma flat-screen!". Furthermore, capitalism is allowing this crazy man to provide me utility by watching him surviving in the wilderness, and presumably he is very well-paid for doing things many people would never want to do. As our new VP Liya would say, this is "non-unique". True enough, this really is a bland point. And then it hit me, the real amazing part is not that capitalism gives the opportunity for Bear Grylls to know how to survive but the really amazing thing is that most of us don't NEED to know how to survive like Bear Grylls to continue living.

We can chalk this fact up to the division of labor. Instead of two people both trying to do everything for themselves individually, one provides food, the other provides shelter. Through their specialization and free trade they both gain free time, or at least more of the goods they exchange. Adam Smith wrote about this in The Wealth of Nations. It is this division of labor that lifted humanity out of nomadic tribes, and the extent of this division of labor is what makes up most of the difference between richer and poorer nations. The concept is fairly simple, maybe even too simple, and we've often heard it before in economics, anthropology, and even history classes. I guess that too often we overlook the power of this concept because it is so simple.

I don't want to understate the immense awesomeness of the division of labor. For hundreds of thousands of years humanity barely made survival in day-to-day life. Today we can devote less than a few minutes to thinking where to get our food and water from, and most of us can relax for at least half of our day without needing to do much. This seems obvious and normal to us, but watching Man vs. Wild for an hour can really show the work involved with surviving in the natural world all by oneself. How much time do you spend each day finding a clean water source or catching game to eat for dinner? The division of labor saves us from all of the hardship involved with that sort of lifestyle. Anything that allows for more division of labor (ie. new technology allowing workers to be freed up for other processes) creates more wealth, more choices, and a greater betterment for mankind. What a beautiful set-up that allows us to avoid being forced to spend all of our time barely surviving and lets us live in relative luxury. It is only in the capitalist system of free-markets that provides full room for the division of labor to grow to the fullest extent.

The message to take from all of this is that it can be easy to forget the simple but important lessons of economics that shape our everyday lives. Think how ridiculous it is when someone argues against dividing labor further, as the division of labor always grows wealth. Next time someone says that a new un-manned machine process will cut jobs or will take away from the human element of a job, just remind them that we could possibly have full employment if we stopped all cooperation. Without the division of labor we could all be fully employed in providing for our own survival without cooperation. Fortunately most would not chose such a scenario, as anyone who has seen Man vs. Wild would tell you that it is not the most pleasant way of living. At least it makes good television to watch while enjoying the free time that the division of labor allows!

A perfect World?

Would you want to live like this?

What Marginal Revolution can do for you...

On Sunday, Tyler Cowen from the Marginal Revolution blog had linked to the Econ Society blog. That was it; there was no small description of the blog for any reason to why you should click the link. In the comments, you do not find anything referring to Econ Society giving the view that perhaps most were interested in the other links. Then we looked at the web trends.
From an average of 20 visits and 30 page views per day we sparked by one link from Marginal Revolution to almost 615 visits and 800 page views! Some spillovers are still occurring today. Thanks Tyler and Marginal Revolution.

“Who Cares About Anarchy When You Can Have Limited Government?”

From the FREE FOR ALL blog courtesy of Center for Liberty and Community:

A Sunday Night Social Debate * May 18, 2008 * 4:00-5:30pm at the Galaxy Hut

Presented by the Center for Liberty and Community
CLICK READ MORE for the bios of debaters and event info

Jan Helfeld will argue in favor of limited government as the optimal system for achieving human happiness. Helfeld is a lawyer and businessman turned TV producer. In the last few years he has traveled the world as a lecturer and debater at numerous universities. He has produced documentaries such as “To Invade or Not Invade” about the Iraq War and other philosophical explorations such as “The Proper Function of Government”, “The Socratic Interviewing Technique”, and “The Media Against Business.” He also has hosted/produced several TV shows in Puerto Rico and Washington, DC. See a video clip of Jan’s interview with Senator Harry Reid at: http://www.freeliberal.com/blog/archives/003277.php

And in favor of anarchy…

Michael Owen is a certified gun-toting, swing-dancing anarcho-capitalist. He received his Ph.D. in 2003 from North Carolina State University in theoretical astrophysics. He is currently employed as a computational fluid dynamics engineering consultant for a small firm in Maryland. He is the husband of Congressman Ron Paul's Communications Director, Rachel Mills.

The debate will be moderated by Kevin Rollins, publisher of the The Free Liberal, the Center for Liberty and Community’s web magazine.

This debate is free and open to the public. RSVPs (to publisher[at]freeliberal.com) are appreciated but not required. Following the debate we will commence our usual social hour.

Galaxy Hut is located on Wilson Blvd between Danville and Edgewood Sts in Arlington, Virginia (Directly across from the Whole Foods Supermarket and a few blocks from the Clarendon Metro Stop on the Orange Line. http://www.galaxyhut.com * 2711 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201.

BIRTH OF FREEDOM premier in D.C.

The Acton Institute, the brilliant institute that brought us the CALL OF THE ENTREPRENEUR, are premiering their new film THE BIRTH OF FREEDOM in Washington D.C. on Thursday June 19 at 7 p.m.
It will be located at National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution
1776 D Street NW btw 17th and 18th, C and D Streets NW.

7 p.m. - Displaying the movie
8 p.m. - Question and Answer session with an experts panel
8:30 p.m. - Reception with hors d'oevres and a cash bar

The tickets are complimentary.

Tax Freedom Day

Today we celebrate Tax Freedom Day. This is the last day of the year we work to pay off all the taxes that are taken from us by the government. Thanks to The Tax Foundation for the info...
and to celebrate our freedom, they even made a song.


I had thought about it and thought today wouldn't be complete without a little tune from the Beatles:

Liberty Fund has an Interactive Room Too Good Not to Share

Most know Liberty Fund for their catalog of books and online library. Now how about a chance to tour their online interactive GOODRICH ROOM. The room's walls have different names throughout history that have helped lead the argument on Liberty. From the Amagi and Gilgamesh to the Declaration of Independence. Each historical figure opens a new tab with a small historical note and its importance for liberty.

If you knew about the catalog but did not know about the online library, then it is time to get acquainted. It is a large database of online materials and difficult to decide where to begin. Liberty Fund has made easier and given us a starting point, HERE. You can log on to create reading lists, share with others, and view other members lists. Can it get any better?

ENJOY!

Invitation from the Russian Cultural Center and Sergey Samoilenko, Communication Professor, GMU/GWU:

A great initiative is being put forth by the Russian Cultrual Center in Washington, DC. The conference will be held 02/11/08 at 11:00am, Location: GMU, Fairfax Campus, Student Union II
Room: SUB II Room 3 & 4

They would like to invite you and your friends to our video-conference "US-Russia relations - the students' perspective" next Monday. Russian Cultural Center launches a series of online video conferences for young people from Russia and the U.S "US-Russia
relations - the students' perspective". The first participants of this event will be college students from Moscow and Washington D.C Metro Area. We have chosen GMU as our first venue for this project on 02/11/08. The first discussion panel "US and Russia Economies : Reactions to the Recession of the Global Markets" will start next Monday at 11 am (ET), 7 pm Moscow time. The working language is English. We understand that this time may not be convenient for you and your students, however, we also consider this video conference to be a great intercultural experience for the both parties. We would greatly appreciate your participation, and any assistance in organization of this event.

For further Questions Please contact:
Evgeny Agoshkov, the Director of Russian Cultural Center,
agoshkov@mail.ru

Sergei Samoilenko
Communication Professor
GMU/GWU
ssamoyle@gmu.edu

Efrata Yitbarek: eyitbare@gmu.edu
GMU Russian club

Thanks to the GMU Russian Club for the invitation.

Rally against Sweatshops?

The advertisements are all across the Fairfax campus at George Mason University. The Students for a Democratic Society,SDS, on campus are hosting an anti-sweatshop rally. Now I am not trying to create an Economics Society / Students for a Democratic Society feud here. In fact, I do support the end to the Iraq war (I won't speak for the Economics Society) which is a main cause the SDS oppose.
I am simply stating that sweatshops are good, and that the only problem is there are not enough of them. I know no member within the SDS would agree me (heck, if they did then why are they supporting a group hosting an event?), but give me a chance to let you know why they are good by linking you to this site. He does an excellent job of discussing why sweatshops are good.
Remember as a member of a society we want others to have the ability to find work. The discussion of wage is a discussion between the employer and the employee as it is an individual choice. As the Spanish Scholastics had pointed out

On the issue of the “just wage,” which has been the source of so much contention in Catholic circles over the past century, the Late Scholastics contended that a wage rate mutually agreed upon had to be just. According to Luis de Molina (1535–1600), an employer was “only obliged to pay [the laborer] the just wage for his services considering all the attendant circumstances, not what is sufficient for his sustenance and much less for the maintenance of his children and family.” Domingo de Soto (1494–1570) argued that “if they freely accepted this salary for their job, it must be just,” and held that “no injury is done to those who gave their consent.” His advice to unhappy employees was simple: “[I]f you do not want to serve for that salary, leave!”

Gratitude for the Mises Institute for the Review of the Chafuen's work on the Spanish Scholastics.

The questions to ponder within Masonomics

I know, I know. "When is the next event?" That, my friends, is coming, and I must say I am looking forward to it. Expect to find further notices on this blog. Until then...

I am a fool. I had believed that most of the undergraduate students if not all at George Mason University understood the glory of the market and individualism, yet I have found that many have doubts. So lets have at it, what doubts does anyone hold against the market and individualism?

You don't have to leave your question as a comment if you rather have it be more personable you can always email one of the bloggers or to gmueconsociety.gmail.com. This is not for any study merely for the Economics Society to know the views against masonomics.
Also, the views against Austrian economics would be greatly appreciated. According to our poll held last semester Austrian economics is the most popular field, yet it appears many have arguments against it.

Leave us your comments. We are interested with a curiosity unto the ideas of all those reading this blog.

Students for Liberty Conference

I had been sending out emails and information via the facebook group but I realize today that I did not post any information on our blog.

On Feb 22-24, the campus of Columbia University will be hosting the first ever Students for Liberty conference.
It is $40 to register. I apologize for not getting hold of this information sooner as it was a $20 registration fee before Dec 31.
Food will be taken care of by the Conference but housing will not.
The conference does give information for places to stay.
The cause of liberty is often underappreciated on college campuses today. Those students who enter college with a belief in liberty often lose sight of that belief because of the overwhelming presence of alternative ideologies. Many students give up because they believe they are alone. When students with a common belief in liberty do manage to come
together, they are left with few resources or networks of support to develop their organization. The problem is significant, but the solution is simple. There is a need for students from around the country to come
together to meet others interested in liberty and learn how to promote
liberty, taking that experience and knowledge back to each one’s college to
challenge the mainstream today...
For more information read this newsletter.

Also for those looking to travel together. You can post what you are looking for such as someone driving who has extra room in their car, or just someone to share a hotel with in the comments section. There is also a discussion board topic created in the facebook groups both global and gmu for this reason. The Econ Society can hold an event as well for those who wish to meet other students or nonstudents who intend on going to the conference in NY. Please leave comments if you would like the Econ Society to hold an event. It would be more of a gathering to allow people to get to know one another and acquire means to their desired ends. Hope you can make it.

So Good I had to Post It

A boy was crossing a road one day when a frog called out to him and said, "If you kiss me, I'll turn into a beautiful princess." He bent over, picked up the frog and put it in his pocket. The frog spoke up again and said, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will stay with you for one week." The boy took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it, and returned it to his pocket. The frog then cried out, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a princess, I'll stay with you and do ANYTHING you want." Again the boy took the frog out, smiled at it and put it back into his pocket. Finally, the frog asked, "What is the matter? I've told you I'm a beautiful princess, that I'll stay with you for a week and do anything you want. Why won't you kiss me?" The boy said, "Look, I'm an economist. I don't have time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog is cool."

Hat tip to JokEc