Topic: Free Markets

Contra Emotional Alarmism, ‘Global Warming’ Doesn’t Threaten Las Vegas

– May 30, 2021

“It’s seemingly lost on the Times columnist that smart as he may be, his knowledge is nano of trillions of nanos relative to the marketplace. In other words, what has Egan in the fetal position is, if an actual threat, already priced. Investors and people have moved on, and are moving their wealth and talents to what Egan claims is doomed. The joke is on Egan, and his ‘theories.'” ~ John Tamny

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‘Big Tech’ Risks Going Down a Path of Decline Paved by ‘Big Rail’

– May 25, 2021

“Here’s hoping a desire for near-term comfort from competition, criticism, and the markets doesn’t do to Big Tech what was done to Big Rail. Time will tell. But for now, it seems Big Tech is intent on traveling a path toward average that was first paved by the 19th century’s most innovative minds.” ~ John Tamny

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Some Problems with the ‘Repatriating Critical Supply Chains’ Argument

– May 25, 2021

“Even if political pressures were miraculously to disappear, government officials would remain ignorant of most of the detailed bits of knowledge about how resources are, and potentially can be, used. And so any errors these officials make in distinguishing ‘critical’ from not-critical goods and services will result in resources being used more wastefully than otherwise.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

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The Extent of the Market is Limited By the Imagination of the Regulators

– May 21, 2021

“The regulatory state substitutes the knowledge and beliefs of regulators for the knowledge and beliefs of entrepreneurs and innovators. This means entrepreneurs and innovators have to divide their time between actually developing their product and convincing regulators to say ‘yes.’ Regulators are understandably overcautious because of their incentives.” ~ Art Carden

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Are You “Wasting” Paper?

– May 19, 2021

“Do we really want already-stressed out people adding to their cognitive load by thinking they might be sinning against Gaia or Greta Thunberg by printing or discarding a sheet of paper? As Bryan Caplan has pointed out, ‘Recycling is the philosophy that everything is worth saving except your time.'”~ Art Carden

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A Conversation on the Importance of Entrepreneurship

– May 17, 2021

“AIER Authors Corner, Ethan Yang interviews Dr. Eammon Butler, joining us from Cambridge, UK. Dr. Butler co-founded the Adam Smith Institute, which was credited with advising the Thatcher government in its radical market-oriented reforms of British society.” ~ AIER

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The Economic Revelations of Buddhism

– May 12, 2021

“Matthew D. Milligan, visiting fellow at AIER and Ph.D specialist in epigraphy and material culture joins Aleksandra Przegalinska for an inside look at the intersection of religious cultures and market entrepreneurialism in the sphere of Buddhism and beyond.” ~ AIER

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Climate, CO2 Optimism

– May 1, 2021

“Climate alarmism, never proven, is speculative—and increasingly so. Climate models are overpredicting real-world warming by half. For climate economists, lower-range anthropogenic warming flips the alleged externality from negative to positive. In any case, as leading scientist Roy Spencer concludes, ‘There is no Climate Crisis. There is no Climate Emergency.'” ~ Robert L. Bradley

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Markets Help People Care For You Without Caring About You

– April 29, 2021

“To those of you who are working to reduce transaction costs and find easier ways for strangers to cooperate, this absent-minded professor offers a heartfelt ‘thank you.’ Yes, I will try to be more careful next time–but as someone who routinely misplaces keys, coffee cups, sunglasses, and so on, I appreciate the efforts of those working to make these unfortunate incidents a little less disastrous.” ~ Art Carden

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Tocqueville’s Gumptious American

– April 28, 2021

“Some Americans still resemble Tocqueville’s description. And the description can inspire people to regain the ‘I can’ spirit. I mean people everywhere. Perhaps it is elsewhere, today, that one is more likely to see hungry souls—active, dedicated, but upholding the spirit of fair play and the rules of plain justice. May we everywhere grow the ‘I can’ spirit!” ~ Daniel B. Klein

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Moritz J. Bonn: A Classical Liberal Voice in a Collectivist World

– April 28, 2021

“Moritz J. Bonn was one of those classical-liberal voices of the twentieth century who understood how and why the world had turned away from its earlier roots in a philosophy, a politics, and an economics of freedom. He, like others from those middle decades of the last century, still has something of value to say and share with us. We should not allow them to be completely forgotten.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

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Consumers Who Want Privacy Are Finally Getting Their Way

– April 28, 2021

“The Internet and the app economy might someday live up to their promise. Rather than invading our personal autonomy, collecting data, and monetizing every aspect of our lives, they might start showing some respect for people. In contrast, if there is one thing that we should have discovered about governments in the last year, it is their lack of responsiveness to evidence, public opinion, science, or anything but their own power over people and their pride in always being right.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

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