4. Intervention | Ryan McMaken

The lecture outlines von Mises' understanding of state intervention, arguing that any kind of intervention will necessarily decrease overall welfare, since it restricts the possibility of available voluntary economic transactions thus making people worse off. A taxonomy of different types of interventions, including interventions such as prohibitions, regulations and taxations is developed. Additionally, it is argued that due to the inefficiency and information failure that interventions bring along, unwanted consequences will happen. This in terms leads into a vicious cycle, where the failures of previous intervention must be addressed by new interventions, resulting in economic system that each time becomes closer to a planned economy.

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