Join the Club

The ECB is raising rates, but it is also committed to buying more government bonds

The ECB is raising rates, but it is also committed to buying more government bonds

by |

Like the Fed, the ECB is just pretending to fight the high CPI. The fact that the ECB’s balance sheet has stopped increasing and that eurozone’s M2 is increasing at a slower pace than in 2020 and 2021 are factors that reduce the pressure on price increases, but this only means that, best case scenario, the ECB will be able to bring the CPI to lower levels. It is less likely that prices will return to pre-2021 levels. This would require a price deflation.

read more

Latest Podcasts Episode

Latest Articles

Philosophy

Cars in Free European Cities

by |

Liberty respecters throughout the world have a bit of a love affair with cars, indeed it appears rather similar to the love affair which liberty disrespecters have with centrally planned golem conveyors. But is it just as dumb?

The Vegan Extreme of the Non-Aggression Principle

by |

Vegans received more than a fair share of ridicule throughout the years. Not eating meat generated a ton of mediocre memes, meanspirited jokes, but also comedic genius with its peak on Jack Whitehall standup special. Though the British comedian pokes fun at the shortcomings of the plant positive dietary position, he ends his bit on a less hostile reflection that much of the hate vegans get is linked to the self-control they manifest. Successfully maintaining a stringent habit, is an achievement many might struggle with. I must confess to yielding quite a lot of enjoyment from vegan-related comedy, but nevertheless, I hold some respect for the vegan position. Firstly, it indeed requires a certain amount of self-control. Perhaps it is self-control misguided into unnecessarily sad life, but still admirable.

What is fascism?

by |

Fascism is a term that was banalized by the left, just like the terms Nazism and Nazi, that stand for National Socialism and National Socialist, respectively. Especially after the rise of far-left groups, such as the Antifa, amongst the youth, the words fascism and fascist are used over and over again to attack their enemies.

Economics

The ECB is raising rates, but it is also committed to buying more government bonds

by |

Like the Fed, the ECB is just pretending to fight the high CPI. The fact that the ECB’s balance sheet has stopped increasing and that eurozone’s M2 is increasing at a slower pace than in 2020 and 2021 are factors that reduce the pressure on price increases, but this only means that, best case scenario, the ECB will be able to bring the CPI to lower levels. It is less likely that prices will return to pre-2021 levels. This would require a price deflation.

The real meaning of inflation

by |

A distinctive feature of the economists of the so-called “Austrian School of Economics” is that they advocate a theory of money considerably different from that of their colleagues in other schools of economic thought.
The differences between the aforementioned approaches already begin in the very definition of the word inflation and this will be the main topic of this article.

Politics

French Elections: The Illusion of Democracy

by |

The French presidential election happened a few weeks ago and the results were no surprise to myself nor to many people. From the first round, it was clear that the left-wing Emmanuel Macron would once again win and be the president of France for a second term. Those who have been following the situation in France over the last five years know this result can only be tragic for France’s future in terms of freedom.

However, I thought it was important, in this context, to discuss the notion of democracy, that is always being praised in France, particularly by politicians, and what the figures of this French presidential election reveal about it. By the end of this article, it will be clear to you why France is not a democracy and why democracies are doomed to fail.

New Geopolitical Equilibrium

by |

All conflicts between two or more people could end in two ways. Either the people involved sit down and try to find a compromise in order to get back to normal relationships, or they completely ignore each other for the rest of their lives and the conflicts ends once they are all dead. For nations, the second alternative is almost impossible, because nations live for centuries or even ages. In consequence, a compromise will follow sooner or later. If all nations involved are satisfied with the compromises they have made, we enter a new phase of equilibrium, in case of states, a geopolitical equilibrium.

Who is responsible for the energy prices surge?

by |

Gas prices have risen to record levels in October this year and are back to similar levels as we speak. The main reasons that the mainstream media are giving you are the Ukraine-Russia tensions, or the delay regarding the approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. But what if at the core of the surging prices in Europe was the European Union itself?

They want the end of detached houses

by |

The government of Emmanuel Macron wants to put an end to the detached houses, according to Minister Delegate for Housing, Emmanuelle Wargon. France is not alone when it comes to those absurd ideas regarding housing and we should be concerned.

Is it wrong to use the Star of David to protest Discrimination?

by |

The Yellow Star of David, which the National Socialists would make the Jews wear in order to stigmatise them, started to be used again, recently, with the wording ‘Not vaccinated’, by protestors against the mandatory Covid-19 vaccination and vaccine passport schemes. The mainstream media, outraged by this, labelled the action as radical and antisemitic. Is it really? Or is it just a way to make a political statement proportionate to the current government policies? I will answer this question through an analysis of facts.

Science & Technology

Get a Clear Picture of Science News

by |

Pop-science is currently no topic to overlook on social media. Websites or social media groups sharing factoids or infographics amass millions of likes and receive a high number of content re-shares. In parallel, pop-science magazines also attract many readers and have a strong online presence.

What You Need to Know to Join the Alt-Tech Exodus

by |

So, you’ve heard that big tech companies have transcended the niggling free market and reached the lofty heights of partisan politics — and act accordingly. Unlike prominent political figures you might not make the top of the purge list, but it’s no secret that censorship is surging. Both to protect your freedom, and to stop providing resources to those who would undermine it, it makes sense to jump ship. Now, when everybody else is also doing it. But how?

History

City air makes you free: How cities freed medieval people

by |

‘Stadtluft macht frei’ (‘City air makes you free’) is a popular German saying, referring to a principle of law in place in Europe during the Middle Ages. This one would enable a serf living unfree under feudalism to become free from their lord, in a city, after a period of one year and one day. This increased the migration of medieval people seeking freedom from the feudal territories to the cities from the 11th century onwards.

Because of that freedom, cities became a centre of trade, gathering merchants, entertainers and much more, and offering a large variety of products and services. This made the cities vibrant and prosperous, with its inhabitants enjoying better life conditions than on the feudal territories.

Britain’s Free Radio Revolution

by |

In the beginning of the 1960s, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had the monopoly of radio in the United Kingdom. In fact, apart from one commercial TV network, the airwaves were owned by the BBC. As it happens with any monopoly, because of the lack of competition, the broadcaster was not particularly interested in providing better quality services, and ones that would fit the demand of the British. Because of that, some people started their own radio stations broadcasting their programmes from boats located outside the British territorial waters. These were known as free (or pirate) radios.

The Window Tax: Daylight Robbery

by |

The Window Tax was a property tax based on the number of windows in a house, first introduced in Britain in 1696 and later on, in France. It resulted in a new form of tax avoidance, as people started to brick up their windows in order to avoid paying the tax. Those old houses with windows having been bricked up or plastered can still be seen in England and France today.

Reblochon: the French Cheese born from Tax Evasion

by |

Reblochon is a soft French cheese made in the Alpine region of Savoie from raw cow’s milk. It is, without a doubt, one of the most famous French cheeses. It is commonly used for cooking in France and is a key ingredient to several dishes such as the popular Tartiflette; a Savoyard gratin made from potatoes, bacon and onions. However, few people know the story behind the origin of this cheese. In fact, Reblochon was born as a result of an early form of tax evasion in the Middle Ages.

The anarchist Republic of Cospaia

by |

People often think that the lack of a government and the lack of laws would create some kind of Mad Max Society, where people would savagely kill each other. Hollywood certainly helped to shape our thinking about how the abstention of some authority would lead us to total chaos, after all, they have been making a lot of movies with themes such as the wild west since the beginning of the twentieth century. I am sorry to disappoint you, but the wild west was not that wild. Perhaps in another article I will talk about the Wild West not being Wild. In this article I will talk about something older and in the old continent.

Français

The ECB is raising rates, but it is also committed to buying more government bonds

La BCE augmente les taux, mais s’engage également à acheter plus d’obligations d’état

by |

Comme la Fed, la BCE n’a pas beaucoup de marge pour augmenter les taux et réduire son bilan (à moins que ces gouvernements ne réduisent considérablement leurs dettes). La BCE est un peu moins expansionniste d’une part (en faisant de légères hausses de taux d’intérêt par rapport à l’IPC élevé) et peut être expansionniste d’autre part (en créant le PTI). Comme la Fed, la BCE fait semblant de lutter contre l’IPC élevé. Le fait que le bilan de la BCE ait cessé d’augmenter et que le M2 de la zone euro augmente à un rythme moins soutenu qu’en 2020 et 2021 sont des facteurs qui réduisent la pression sur les hausses de prix, mais cela signifie seulement que, dans le meilleur des cas, la BCE pourra ramener l’IPC à des niveaux inférieurs. Il est moins probable que les prix reviennent aux niveaux d’avant 2021. Cela nécessiterait une déflation des prix.

read more

Derniers Articles

Le vrai sens de l’inflation

by |

Voyons d'abord quelle est la définition courante de l'inflation. Selon Mankiw (2016) l'inflation est :L’augmentation du niveau général des prix de l’économie (MANKIW, 2016, p. 40).D'autres...

Português

O verdadeiro significado de inflação

O verdadeiro significado de inflação

by |

Uma característica distintiva dos economistas da chamada “Escola Austríaca de Economia” é que eles defendem uma teoria monetária consideravelmente diferente da dos seus colegas das outras escolas de pensamento econômico. As diferenças entre as referidas abordagens já começam na própria definição da palavra inflação e esse será o tema principal do presente artigo.

read more

Últimos Artigos

O que é fascismo?

by |

Mas afinal, o que é o fascismo? Essa é uma pergunta que a maioria das pessoas não sabe responder. É normal que a maioria das pessoas não saiba o que realmente é o fascismo, porque a maior...

Español

O verdadeiro significado de inflação

El verdadero significado de la inflación

by |

Una característica distintiva de los economistas de la llamada “Escuela Austriaca de Economía” es que defienden una teoría del dinero considerablemente diferente a la de sus colegas de otras escuelas de pensamiento económico. Las diferencias entre los enfoques antes mencionados ya comienzan en la definición misma de la palabra inflación y este será el tema principal de este artículo.

read more

Últimos Artículos

Italiano

Cos’è il fascismo?

Cos’è il fascismo?

by |

“Fascismo” è un termine che è stato banalizzato dalla sinistra, così come i termini “Nazismo” e “Nazi”, che si riferiscono rispettivamente a Nazional-socialismo e Nazional-socialisti Specialmente dopo l’ascesa di gruppi di estrema sinistra, come gli Antifa, tra i giovani, le parole fascismo e fascisti sono usate di continuo per attaccare i propri nemici.

read more

I nostri ultimi articoli

Cos’è il fascismo?

by |

Ma dopotutto, cos'è il fascismo? Questa è una domanda alla quale la maggior parte delle persone non sa rispondere. E' normale che la maggior parte della gente non sappia cosa sia realmente...

Our YouTube Channel

Join the Team

Become a Writer

If you have knowledge and expertise and want to share it with the world apply to become an official Libertarian Europe Redactor. 

Become a Writer

Become a Partner

Together, we are stronger. Partner with Libertarian Europe if you or your organization believes and promotes intellectual honesty, the free market and voluntarism.

Become a Partner

Donate

Libertarian Europe is an independent project, we are not under any corporation or organization. If you enjoy our work and content, please consider making a donation.

Donate