Topic: Crisis

Government’s Credibility Crisis

– July 23, 2020

“The readiness with which Americans accepted one of the most distilled forms of authoritarianism in a lifetime should shake us from our slumber, prompting an energetic return to Spencer’s liberalism, the humbler liberalism of granting a presumption in favor of individual people and their dignity.” ~ David S. D’Amato

Crisis, Free Markets, History

Welcome to the Frankfurtian World

– July 22, 2020

“Wherever one turns, the political discourse seems entirely uninterested in the Enlightenment project – the values of 17th and 18th century philosophers imploring us to use reason to approach scientific truth and an intelligent and civil society.” ~ Joakim Book

Art and Culture, Crisis, Free Markets

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

Crisis, Regulation

Did the US Lockdown Too Late and Open Too Soon?

– July 20, 2020

“The U.S. imposed lockdowns at the same time as Europe, did so with comparable levels of stringency, and actually reopened at a later date and slower pace than most European nations.” ~ Phil Magness

Crisis, Economic Education, Policy

Free to Choose: Human Challenge Trials for Vaccines

– July 20, 2020

“Libertarians believe that adults should be free to choose large risks in the pursuit of adventures like free diving, extreme skiing, and space exploration. The case is all the stronger that adults should be free to choose smaller risks in the pursuit of stopping COVID-19.” ~ Arthur M. Diamond Jr.

Crisis, Economic Education, History

The Epistemic Burden of Politics

– July 20, 2020

“In the pursuit of a more perfect union and better decision-making, we should begin to contemplate the epistemic limits of government. To inquire into the limits of knowledge acquisition and understanding. To what extent can those at the individual, local, state, and federal level act with an adequate understanding of the consequences of their actions and the needs of those they govern?” ~ Ethan Yang

Crisis, Education, Policy

This Pandemic Is Not Homeschooling’s Moment

– July 20, 2020

“Proponents of alternative education would be wise to reflect on their praise of America’s forced experiment in ‘homeschooling.’ Because while this experience may compel some parents to keep their kids at home, there will be millions of students who return to physical schools with nothing but disenchantment with a system that may have held all their answers.” ~ Fiona Harrigan

Crisis, Free Markets, Healthcare, History

Individualism and Public Health: Tensions and Challenges

– July 19, 2020

“The aim should be to strictly fence off and limit the scope of coercive public health as both an ideal and a practice. We should think of it as something like a nuclear reactor core – useful, even essential but something that needs to be tightly contained. This is the kind of project and activity that individualists and classical liberals should be engaged in.” ~ Stephen Davies

Crisis, Healthcare, Policy

Month Four of the Panic: Where Is the Evidence?

– July 19, 2020

“If there is no extraordinary evidence, why are there such extraordinary claims and responses? Why has the world medical, social, and economic order been torn apart for a pandemic that looks much like a normal influenza pandemic? These are the questions for which we will be seeking answers for years to come.” ~ Roger W. Koops

Central Banking, Crisis, Currency, Monetary Policy

The Coin Shortage: A Big Deal about Small Change

– July 19, 2020

“Our smaller denomination coins cost more to produce than they are worth, and burden our transactions with tedious calculations. Temporarily, due to the virus, some of our businesses are suspending dealing in these coins. Perhaps soon we will replace our coinage with one that makes sense.” ~ Clifford F. Thies

Crisis, Healthcare, History

Technocrats Should Observe the Hippocratic Oath

– July 18, 2020

“Whether by today’s standards or a medieval one, at a certain level of influence, unqualified prognostication is either ignorant, irresponsible, or deceptive. Pithy epigrams alongside basic skepticism, knowledge of personal hygiene, and a propensity to self-isolate in the face of illness have superintended the human relationship with microorganisms more than massive agent-based models ever will.” ~ Peter C. Earle

Crisis, Economic Education, Healthcare

Adding Detail to Paul Romer’s Simplistic Plan for Reopening America

– July 17, 2020

“Romer has in fact not thought this plan through very deeply, and his response to critiques seems to be that they shouldn’t do so either. His is a superficial plan that relies on magical thinking.” ~ James E. Hanley