Ron Paul/Mises and Austrian Economics

[Bocephus]

Mises and Austrian Economics: A Personal View | Mises Institute

I don’t get much time to read during the weak so I downloaded this on audio to my Iphone and listened to bits and pieces of it throughout the day as I was hauling cattle back and forth between our lots. One of the quotes caught my attention and I was wondering if someone could share the context with me here:

Interventionism generates economic nationalism, and economic
nationalism generates bellicosity. If men and commodities are
prevented from crossing the borderlines, why should not the
armies try to pave the way for them? . . . The root of the evil is not
the construction of new, or dreadful weapons. It is the spirit of
conquest.

Is Mises talking about foreign interventionism or economic?

Also, I spend a fair amount of time on the World News section of forums.catholic.com trying to convince others to support Ron Paul. If anyone’s interested, the discusssions can get pretty tense but I do think some here could run circles around some there, based on what I’ve seen so far.

[Wheylous]

“if goods don’t cross borders, armies will”

If we prevent peaceful trade, we will necessarily engage in war.

[Bocephus]

@Wheylous

“if goods don’t cross borders, armies will”

If we prevent peaceful trade, we will necessarily engage in war.

I run into many who argue that our interventionist foreign policies, regardless of whether or not they have anything to do with how those in the middle east look at us, are necessary to protect us. I think they assume that all terrorism is the result of fundamental muslims and no matter what we do, they will still attack us at any opportunity. While I think there is some truth to the fundamental muslims, I don’t think that all terrorists are fundamental muslims and are instead driven by our 60 years of our foreign policy and sanctions on their lands.

[nirgrahamUK]

It was Bastiat who observed the trade-off between trade and war. When goods don’t cross borders, he said, armies will. Without trade, there is less to lose from the mass destruction that war implies. Countries that trade have a mutual stake in the preservation of open, friendly relations. This is one reason that free commercial activities promote peace, and why protectionism and trade sanctions generate war tensions.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/bastiat.html