About this episode

Mark Thornton discusses political deception and economic theories related to monetary inflation and market dynamics.

On this episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton opens with a review of John Mearsheimer’s Why Do Politicians Lie?, focusing on strategic deception in international affairs, especially in the Middle East, Israel, Vietnam, Iraq, and America’s own constitutional history. Mark argues that political lies are not merely moral failures; they are tools for empire, war, and state expansion. On Side B, Thornton joins What The Finance to explain how runaway spending, Fed liquidity, and Austrian business cycle theory reveal the deeper mechanics behind today’s markets. He discusses the AI and data-center bubble, the Fed’s role in sustaining malinvestment, the pressure on working families, and why gold, silver, and commodities are benefiting from a long era of monetary inflation and political dysfunction. 2026 is the Year of Rothbard—Murray's 100th birthday—and we're celebrating by giving away free copies of Keynes the Man through June 30. Grab yours today at https://mises.org/issuesfree Register for our upcoming Mises Circle, Why Is the Healthcare System Broken?, June 27 in Windham, New Hampshire: https://mises.org/events/why-healthcare-system-broken-mises-circle-new-hampshire 20% off listener…

People in this episode

Host: Mark Thornton

Guest: What The Finance

Topics covered

• political deception
• economic theory
• monetary inflation
• market analysis
• Austrian economics
• state expansion

Keywords

• politicians
• lies
• easy money
• Austrian business cycle
• malinvestment
• gold
• silver
• commodities
• political dysfunction

Sponsors

Mises

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Mises, Austrian

Books & works: Keynes the Man

Places: Middle East, Israel, Vietnam, Iraq, America

More episodes of Minor Issues

• Major Party Realignment · July 18, 2026
• The Dupes of War: Mises on Statism, Propaganda, and Foreign Conflict · July 11, 2026
• The Vine That Ate the South: Government Solutions vs. Market Solutions · July 4, 2026
• Politics as Power: Elites, Inflation, and the Austrian Answer · June 27, 2026
• The Fed’s New Face, Same Old Game · June 20, 2026
• Taxpayers vs. Tax-Consumers: Rothbard’s Real Theory of Taxes and Spending · June 6, 2026

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