Woke Financial Crisis Part Deux
“Ideologues can claim that mathematics is merely a human construct but there really is a real world out there. It has bitten us in the keister before and appears poised to do so again, just for ignoring it. Maybe we should all wake up.” ~ Robert E. Wright
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The Formula for a Richer World? Equality, Liberty, Justice.
“Ideas are not all sweet, of course. Fascism, racism, eugenics, and nationalism are ideas with alarming recent popularity. But sweet practical ideas for profitable technologies and institutions, and the liberal idea that allowed ordinary people for the first time to have a go, caused the Great Enrichment. We need to inspirit masses of people, not the elite, who are plenty inspirited already. Equality before the law and equality of social dignity are still the root of economic, as well as spiritual, flourishing—whatever tyrants may think to the contrary.” ~ Deirdre McCloskey
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Milton Friedman and the New Attack on Freedom to Choose
“If the paternalistic policies and the ideological arrogance and intolerance behind these counterrevolutionaries against freedom and the free market fully prevail, the liberty that we still possess will be even more greatly curtailed than at present, as those who call for the ‘social responsibility’ of business restrict our remaining freedom to choose.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling
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Should Scott Atlas Sue His Detractors?
” Scott Atlas has a strong case that his old colleagues played fast and loose with his professional reputation for purely political reasons. If the courts get involved and decide against the signers of this document, I won’t shed too many tears for their free speech rights: after all, the upshot of their letter is to lend their professional reputations to violating everyone’s right in the name of disease mitigation, and cover up their political motivations with the veneer of science.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker
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A Comment on the New History of Capitalism
“Much of the current debate revolves around an emergent historiographical school. Usually referred to as the ‘New History of Capitalism’ (NHC), this school has produced a sizable body of research contending that the institution of slavery was a central building block of American capitalism. At the same time however, the NHC literature has come under intense criticism from economic historians who have long studied the same subject, and who question both its use of evidence and its conclusions.” ~ Phillip W. Magness
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Celebrate Entrepreneurs, Don’t Guillotine Them
“The key to getting wealthy in a capitalistic society is to produce something so valuable that millions of people want to trade for it.” ~ Raymond C. Niles
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Profit and Loss and Mr. Biden
“Sound bites may be good for political harangues but they are never enough for true understanding. Dissing profits is misleading if no distinction is made between consumer-driven competitive profits and crony-capitalist ones, or if losses are overlooked.” ~ Warren C. Gibson
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Happy Birthday to Libertarian Firebrand Walter Block
“His positions can be very, very off-putting. He strips pretty much everything down to a simple question: ‘Is it voluntary?’ If the answer is ‘yes,’ then he argues that we have no right to interfere no matter how much we might disapprove.” ~ Art Carden
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Modern Monetary Theory is Playing With Fire
“Stephanie Kelton’s book is well-written and serves as an accessible insight into the world of Modern Monetary Theory. There are parts of the book that are essential pieces of economic knowledge that define the modern state, some that are questionable premises, and some that are blatant political talking points.” ~ Ethan Yang
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On “You Didn’t Build That”
“Unethical redistribution occurs to the extent that the taxes an individual pays are paid without his or her consent, for such ‘payment’ implies that the value of the benefits gotten from government by this taxpayer are less than the cost this taxpayer is forced to pay. Yet these complexities do nothing to justify the claim that provision by government of some goods and services creates among citizens indebtedness to the state.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
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The Latest Investment Fad Is Unsustainable
“Just as Greens can destroy the environment, corporate social responsibility can wreck society while tricking ESG investors to feel good about themselves in the process.” ~ Robert E. Wright
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The Epistemic Value of Putting One’s Money Where One’s Mouth Is
“Assertions such as that women as a group are underpaid – should be dismissed out of hand if (as is almost always the case) those who do the asserting refuse to risk their own time and resources on undertaking private-sector activities that would make these individuals rich as they simultaneously correct the alleged failures. If these individuals aren’t getting rich by acting with their own money on what they assert to be true, then they ain’t so smart after all.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
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