Topic: Economic History

Slavery and the 1619 Project: Phil Magness on Words & Numbers

– March 4, 2023

“This week AIER’s Phil Magness joins AIER Senior Editor James Harrigan and Antony Davies on the Words & Numbers podcast to discuss how the 1619 Project gets the history and the relationship between slavery and capitalism wrong.” ~ AIER

Books, Economic History, Free Markets

Forging Modernity or Freedom?

– February 26, 2023

“Forging Modernity is an excellent example of old-school economic history, rich in detail and fine reading on a cold winter night, huddled together with loved ones for warmth, thanks to war, inflation, and plummeting economic freedom.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Economic History, Free Trade, Government

NatCons, the American System, and the Founders

– February 22, 2023

“Madison and Jefferson were both still alive when Henry Clay outlined his American System platform in 1824. Contrary to the NatCon claims, neither founding father approved of Clay’s proposals. In fact, both condemned it as a constitutional overreach by the federal government.” ~ Phillip W. Magness

Economic History, Government, Socialism

FDR’s Raw Deal for African Americans

– February 21, 2023

“The indictment of the New Deal’s treatment of blacks could go on for many more pages. Suffice it to say here that the New Deal was a raw deal for Americans, especially African Americans.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Art and Culture, Economic History, Free Markets

The 1619 Project’s Confusion on Capitalism

– February 21, 2023

“A pervasive sense of confusion characterizes Hulu’s new 1619 Project episode on ‘capitalism,’ beginning with the basic definition of its titular term.” ~ Phillip W. Magness

Economic History, Free Markets, Government

Recessions and Economic Freedom

– February 19, 2023

“This global retreat in economic freedom is worrisome. It means that economic crises are going to be longer and more painful. Thus, they are more likely to result in political backlash. Defenders of economic freedom should bear this in mind when they emphasize how important that freedom is.” ~ Vincent Geloso

Economic History, Government, Monetary Policy

The Federal Reserve Accountability Act in Light of 333 Years of American Experiments

– February 17, 2023

“By making the Fed so much more controlled by Washington, and removing even the appearance of private-sector influence, the proposed amendment could fatally weaken the Fed’s political legitimacy.” ~ Dror Goldberg

Books, Classical Liberalism, Economic History, Government

Freedom’s Future Requires Understanding the Past

– December 29, 2022

“When confronted with issues regarding the necessary extent of the state, liberty-lovers need not rely solely on economic theory, nor hypotheticals, because the historical record often can light the proper path towards smaller, more-efficient government.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Books, Economic History, Financial Markets, Government

Risky Business: A Review

– December 22, 2022

“Risky Business will appeal to readers more interested in selection markets than in real-world insurance products, and to people with a high tolerance for ahistorical assumptions about the need for detailed insurance regulation and other government market interventions.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Economic History, Free Markets, Government, Regulation

Henry Clay’s “American System” Is Bad News for the American Economy

– December 8, 2022

“The American System’s modern rehabilitators conveniently leave out the fact that every time it was tried in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Clay’s program unleashed a torrent of preventable policy disasters.” ~ Phillip W. Magness & James R. Harrigan

Classical Liberalism, Economic History, Government

The Governmentalization of Social Affairs

– December 6, 2022

“More liberty means less government, and less government means less miserableness, servility, fickleness, hypocrisy, denial, mendacity, baseness, and degeneracy. Liberal backbone checks the evil that is the governmentalization of social affairs.” ~ Daniel B. Klein

Authoritarianism, Economic History, Government, Socialism

When Lenin Read a Book on Marx

– November 29, 2022

“It is no small irony that Hobsbawm’s qualitative investigation of Marx’s dissemination and spread now finds empirical validation in the unlikeliest of sources: our econometric analysis of the Soviet revolution’s effects on Marx’s citation patterns after 1917.” ~ Phillip W. Magness