Topic: Economic History

Books, Economic History, Education, Philosophy

Adam Smith’s Great Power Politics in One Paragraph

– October 1, 2023

“It is said that an armed society is a polite society. Smith, by analogy, suggests that an international cosmos of armed nations will be a polite international cosmos.” ~Daniel B. Klein

Economic History, History, Immigration, Policy

Is America Today Less Able Than In the Past to Economically “Absorb” Immigrants?

– September 29, 2023

“The contempt with which some native-born Americans today hold the people whom they fear would immigrate to the US under a more liberal regime differs not one iota from the contempt with which these same Americans’ immigrant ancestors were held by earlier generations.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux

Books, Economic History, Education, Policy

Academic Lies about Free-Market Economists

– September 23, 2023

“They treat history as ‘an armoury from which to ransack politically expedient weapons.’ In the process of that ransacking, they cross the line into willful misrepresentations of their source material, all in the service of a modern-day political cause. ” ~Phillip W. Magness

Books, Economic History, History, Philosophy

Nothing Was “Normal” on the Other Side of the Wall

– September 19, 2023

“Nothing was ‘normal’ about the totalitarian life in socialist GDR, if by ‘normal’ we mean pursuit of human happiness and fulfilment.” ~Robertas Bakula and Luis Carlos Araujo Quintero

Authoritarianism, Economic History, Government, History

Corporatism and Convict Leasing in the American South

– September 17, 2023

“This was not a product of capitalism, it was the direct consequence of government’s colluding with business to prevent a market for labor.” ~Marcus M. Witcher and Patrick Schmucker

Central Banking, Currency, Economic History, Free Banking

Entrepreneurs Thrived During America’s Free Banking Era

– September 8, 2023

“Entrepreneurs thrived during the era of free banking in the United States, even with restrictive banking laws, which handicapped private banks from being more efficient.” ~ Michael N. Peterson

Books, Economic History, Policy, Property Rights, Regulation

Locked Down: What Do We Really Need Collective Action For?

– August 30, 2023

“Locke’s view, reflected in our Founding documents, is that preserving our freedoms requires one type of collective action: the preservation of our rights. No more. Actions beyond that benefit some at the expense of others.” ~ Gary M. Galles

Books, Economic History, History, Policy

What Is the New Deal with the New Deal?

– August 29, 2023

“The tide of historiographical battle may finally turn and with it many old canards about the culpability of the gold standard, stock shorting, greed, and so forth in the downturn.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Economic History, Government, Regulation

In the Land of the Free, Americans are Still Fighting for the Freedom to Pump Gas

– August 21, 2023

“The claim that pumping fuel is some kind of safety hazard is of course even sillier today than it was in 1949.” ~ Jon Miltimore

Books, Economic History, Policy

Adam Smith Provided a Moral Foundation for Workers’ Freedoms

– August 20, 2023

“The moral proposition is that it is good for individuals to be free to work and contract as they choose. The economic proposition is that such freedom generates spectacular wealth.” ~ David McGarry

Economic History, History, International, War and Peace

Where Did Early 20th Century Japan Go Wrong?

– August 15, 2023

“Japan embraced economic liberalization for some time, but lacked the necessary liberal political institutions that could sustain an open economy and temper overseas aggression.” ~ Jedediah Pida-Reese

Art and Culture, Economic History, Podcast, Socialism, Video

Critical Theory and The Frankfurt School: The Neo-Marxist Roots of WOKE

– August 7, 2023

Kate Wand invites Phil Magness to discuss the origins of critical theory, which is a neo-Marxist school of thought born in the Frankfurt School in 1923.