Topic: Crisis

Bill Gates: From Entrepreneur to Supervillain

– July 8, 2020

“Supervillains coerce and harm. Successful entrepreneurs serve and enrich humanity. Gates should return to his entrepreneurial roots.” ~ Barry Brownstein

Books, Crisis, Healthcare

HG Wells on the Partnership Between Viruses and Humans

– July 8, 2020

“Let not the billions before us, who battled nature not only with their hands and minds but their immune systems, genetic variations, and other evolutionary adaptations, have lived in vain.” ~ Peter C. Earle

Books, Crisis, History, Policy

The Metaphysics of Lockdown, According to Albert Camus

– July 7, 2020

“This drastic, clean-cut deprivation and our complete ignorance of what the future held in store had taken us unawares; we were unable to react against the mute appeal of presences, still so near and already so far, which haunted us daylong. In fact, our suffering was twofold; our own to start with, and then the imagined suffering of the absent one, son, mother, wife, or mistress.” ~ Albert Camus

Classical Liberalism, Crisis, Free Markets, Free Trade

Liberty Is the Theme of the American Spirit

– July 6, 2020

“However you may have enjoyed and celebrated the 4th of July in these unusual times, be sure to keep in mind that what that day is really all about is the hope and reality of free human beings in a free world based on the moving and profoundly moral ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence: that individual liberty is natural, moral, and necessary if people are to find personal happiness and fulfillment, along with prosperity.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

Crisis, Free Markets, Media

What Good Comes from this Tragedy?

– July 6, 2020

“I suspect that many intelligent people have lost faith in the news, re-discovered frugality, and found a new way to commit themselves to the defense of liberty and human rights. In the coming days, we are going to need stronger and smarter minds to fight the battles of the future. These terrible months might have been the preparation we need to make sure that truth and freedom eventually prevail.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Healthcare, Policy, Public Choice and Public Policy

Safety First is a Bad Ideology

– July 5, 2020

“With the birth of capitalism, we tolerated social mobility: both downward and more heroically, upward. The churning of the social space is consistent with a greater toleration of risk. Maybe we haven’t convinced you with regard to public health issues during a pandemic, but at least consider the weight placed on safety the next time you use a satellite connected device, visit a beach, or take an antibiotic.” ~ Diana & Michael Thomas

Crisis, History

The American Revolution Occurred in the Middle of a Pandemic

– July 4, 2020

“For soldiers in the Revolutionary War, COVID-19 would have been hardly noticed. Instead they dealt with a disease far more ghastly. And yet they fought. For freedom.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

Crisis, Podcast

The Dubious Origins of the Lockdown Idea (podcast)

– July 4, 2020

Peter R. Quinones interviewed me on his podcast on the topic: the origin of the lockdown idea. This was the basis of my speech at Porcfest which was not recorded at my request. This is more-or-less a 50 minute version done in an interview format. Liste …

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Free Markets, Policy

Smash the COVID Orthodoxy

– July 4, 2020

“In a time of industrial levels of draconian lockdown measures, of fear-mongering and politicization, a failure to speak out against the orthodoxy will only lead to more pain and suffering. Perhaps the status quo is the best way forward, but we will never know unless we have more voices in the conversation. When this is all over, history will remember those who were brave enough to speak out, insightful enough to weigh all the options, wise enough to consider the future, and most importantly those who stood for principle.” ~ Ethan Yang

Crisis, Healthcare, Policy, Public Choice and Public Policy, Regulation

Two Pandemics: One Serious, One Mild

– July 3, 2020

“Simply put, we adopted the wrong measures and used them to ineffectually target the milder of the two pandemics, all the while neglecting or even exacerbating the much more severe outbreak that continues to run its course through our vulnerable nursing home population.” ~ Phillip W. Magness

Crisis, Healthcare, Policy

Don’t Let Hospitalization Trends Blind You to the Numbers Themselves

– July 3, 2020

“What we can see clearly from the trends around the world is that the virus’s impact has been very uneven, and massive outbreaks like those experienced in Italy and New York are not inevitable, and seem to have little to do with how local government addressed the pandemic.” ~ Stephen C. Miller

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Policy

Rand Paul Is Right About Experts

– July 3, 2020

“An expert is very well-positioned to say “if you do these things, then you can expect the following effects with the following probabilities.” Only in the most extraordinary of circumstances—and even then, I’m still extremely skeptical—should they presume to tell others exactly which choices they should make.” ~ Art Carden