The Bloodless Political Class and Its Lack of Empathy

– July 27, 2020

“Power is dangerous even when not used, but deploying it brutally and pointlessly rots the soul. This is a good description of almost the entire ruling class around the world today, save a few civilized countries that never locked down.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

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melting pot new york

“Systemic Racism” Theory is the New Political Tribalism

– July 21, 2020

“A freedom not based on race, nationality, language, or religion, but on an idea of the unique and valued individual who is at liberty to live his own life, peacefully in voluntary mutual association with others. A society that, more than any other, has done more to do away with the tribe and liberate the person, and bring peace and prosperity along with it.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

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malficent

Fear, Tyranny, and the Fairy Tale of Our Times

– July 21, 2020

“Reflecting the national divisions that have only escalated since its release, it illustrates how false stories spread to infect hearts and minds as fatally as a virus. The solution is to reject these fictions and judge for ourselves. As Conall tells Maleficent, ‘I’ve made my choice. Now make yours.'” ~ Caroline Breashears

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leftover food

Who Owns Leftover and Abandoned Bar Food?

– July 17, 2020

“Figuring out the exact property rights isn’t worth the hassle: it’s too little and too rare to care about enforcing whatever legal right might be applicable in various jurisdictions. In practice, the ownership of leftover food is up to the social norms in the country you’re in, or even the attitude of the staff at the particular establishment you’re visiting – an informal institution, guided by vague and constantly negotiated social interactions.” ~ Joakim Book

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movie theater

Do We Really Need More Movie Sequels? If the Market Says So, Then Yes We Do

– July 16, 2020

“Studios make sequels because they expect them to be profitable. This is a good thing, though, because they are working to make Mickey and Minnie Moviegoer better off as Mickey and Minnie choose to define it according to their own preferences, values, goals, and opportunities.” ~ Art Carden

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The Lockdowns Are Killing the Arts

The Lockdowns Are Killing the Arts

– July 14, 2020

“Governments declared arts to be nonessential, dispensable, abolishable. It’s the biggest attack on art and beauty possibly since the iconoclasm of the 16th century, when mobs sacked churches, tore out paintings, and melted candlesticks in bonfires. Back then the motivation was to purify the world of sin. Now we think we are purifying the world of disease.” ~ Jeffrey A. Tucker

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Robert Gould Shaw 54th memorial

What the Data Say About Civil War Monuments

– June 23, 2020

“The course in public memorialization of anti-slavery figures and events is at long last moving in a positive direction. It can and should be sustained, provided that the mob, now haphazardly targeting almost any form of public statuary, does not make those same monuments into additional casualties of iconoclasm.” ~ Phillip W. Magness

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historical impromptus mccloskey

The Inestimable Wisdom of Deirdre McCloskey

– June 23, 2020

“Breaking down barriers not only institutionally but socially, allowing more and more people to strive for their potential is what started the engine of comprehensive economic growth. Economic and social freedom that rests not only in regulatory codes but in the hearts of men.” ~ Ethan Yang

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americans, walking, new york

The Meaning and the Mind of an American

– June 22, 2020

“America’s hope has been for the color-blind society, and in spite of everything has been moving closer to it, in numerous facets of everyday life. Its path is being blocked not by anything inherent wrong in its founding principles. Its way is threatened by those whose view of man is based on collectivist identifiers,.” ~ Richard Ebeling

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It’s Not Regulation that Keeps Your Food Safe

– June 22, 2020

“Enjoy — in moderation. The strangers are looking out for you, and they are all too happy to do so. Why? Because by looking out for you, they are better equipped to look out for the non-strangers in their lives.” ~ Art Carden

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ivory tower, India

A Graduate Student’s Review of Jason Brennan’s Good Work if You Can Get It: How to Succeed in Academia

– June 21, 2020

“This book is also a beneficial read for newly minted PhD candidates to aid in their productivity skills and advisors of graduate students to learn how to best mentor, guide, and be a valuable resource to their advisees. As a current doctoral student, I recommend this book wholeheartedly.” ~ Justin T. Callais

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chess board

Managing the Chessboard of Human Society: Lessons from the Online Chessboard

– June 19, 2020

” It seems reasonable that we will never actually master every possible detail of chess, Monopoly, and other games. If games that happen within very well-defined spaces according to very well-defined rules present such insurmountable difficulties, I’m definitely skeptical of the notion that we can design and control a great society.” ~ Art Carden

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