112. Who will build the roads? With Walter Block

<p><b>April 27th 2022.</b></p><p>Without government who would build the roads? Should prostitution, speculating and price gouging be outlawed? In this episode Saifedean discusses these questions with eminent Austrian School economist Dr Walter Block. They cover fundamental issues in economics such as whether there is such a thing as a “public good”, whether economics is an empirical science, and whether it is ethical to outlaw “victimless crimes”. Dr Block also shares the story of he became a libertarian and Austrian economist, including the roles played by Ayn Rand and Murray Rothbard in his intellectual journey.</p><p><b>Resources</b></p><ul><li><a href='https://book4you.org/book/1045340/0cc1d5'>Atlas Shrugged</a> by Ayn Rand</li><li><a href='https://b-ok.cc/book/2288889/584a10'>Economics in One Lesson</a> by Henry Hazlitt</li><li>Dr Block’s paper “<a href='https://libjournals.mtsu.edu/index.php/jfee/article/download/1408/987/3917'>The Minimum Wage Once Again</a>” debunking a well-known 1994 study by Card and Krueger.</li><li>Mises Institute article “<a href='https://mises.org/wire/phillips-curve-myth'>The Phillips Curve Myth</a>” on the relationship between inflation and unemployment</li><li>Dr Block’s book <a href='https://saifedean.lt.acemlna.com/Prod/link-tracker?redirectUrl=aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZjZG4ubWlzZXMub3JnJTJGVGhlJTI1MjBQcml2YXRpemF0aW9uJTI1MjBvZiUyNTIwUm9hZHMlMjUyMGFuZCUyNTIwSGlnaHdheXNfMi5wZGY=&amp;sig=CQpT9MhvizNRzZ1NjVFzWTxUkbV9jWSFosbdZ9QHqsGj&amp;iat=1650639271&amp;a=%7C%7C90478824%7C%7C&amp;account=saifedean%2Eactivehosted%2Ecom&amp;email=XoIJsz6kdSEneaNAbz0gZS%2FZD%2BmsUFpJrc5fHf6IoVE%3D&amp;s=e1e83c84373364948727b05efe69bbc0&amp;i=234A397A1A1733'>The Privatization of Roads and Highways</a></li><li>Dr Block’s book <a href='https://saifedean.lt.acemlna.com/Prod/link-tracker?redirectUrl=aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZtaXNlcy5vcmclMkZsaWJyYXJ5JTJGZGVmZW5kaW5nLXVuZGVmZW5kYWJsZQ==&amp;sig=6bQJkNPyMo5x9VoMoiE2JYjBgKABGJoroPFYDTFHrFxZ&amp;iat=1650639271&amp;a=%7C%7C90478824%7C%7C&amp;account=saifedean%2Eactivehos