Topic: Free Markets

An Age of Patronage

– March 31, 2021

“If we widen our scope, large companies have long donated funds to support causes they think are important or channel the values they wish to portray, often entirely detached from their business. A twenty-first century age of patronage is here. Perhaps it will support the foundation for a twenty-first century Enlightenment too.” ~ Joakim Book

Capitalism, Free Markets, History

The Best Part of Life in the 21st Century? Not Being Dead

– March 31, 2021

“Is the modern world perfect for everyone? Of course it isn’t, but it’s trending in the right direction. The Covid pandemic has been a setback, but it has only delayed the day when everyone has first-world problems like a closet full of clothes with nothing to wear. That day is coming, though, and in our world of incremental progress, more of us will be there to see it.” ~ Art Carden

Art and Culture, Free Markets, Science

Twitter Censors Famed Epidemiologist Martin Kulldorff

– March 29, 2021

“If there ever was a troubling sign of the power and arrogance of big tech, of which I’ve long been a defender, this new action is it. Dr. Kulldorff has been a brave proponent of traditional public health in the midst of an unprecedented and very obviously failed policy of lockdowns. He has been a voice of clarity, reason, calm, and science. That Twitter would choose to use its power over public debate to silence his insights should be of profound concern to everyone concerned about the use of science in the public interest.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

Crisis, Free Markets, Science

Markets Are More Knowledgeable Than Intellectuals

– March 29, 2021

“Nothing is easier than for intellectuals to express displeasure with the observed manner in which individuals make trade-offs, and then to assert that this manner of making trade-offs implies a market failure. But assertions are not analyses. When analyzed carefully through the lens of economics, the need for producers to adjust to changes in consumer tastes and opportunities is seen to be, not evidence of markets failing, but of markets successfully taking into account as fully as possible the costs and benefits of alternative uses of scarce resources, including labor.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Economic Education, Free Markets

The Dramatic Brilliance Of March Madness

– March 25, 2021

“There’s a reason vasectomies spike during March Madness: David going toe-to-toe with Goliath makes for great TV, and improbable runs like George Mason’s Final Four appearance in 2006, Loyola Chicago’s Final Four run in 2018, and Villanova’s ascent from #8 seed to tournament champions in 1985 are called ‘Cinderella stories’ for a reason. People love compelling stories. March Madness offers them in spades.” ~ Art Carden

Books, Economic Education, Free Markets

Entrepreneurship: A Fading Virtue

– March 25, 2021

“It is entrepreneurs who form the foundation and operational unit of Austrian economics but sadly, their importance is slowly fading from mainstream economic analysis. Such a view of economics not only fails to acknowledge a basic tenet of the economy, but opens the door to a perception of society that merely views individuals as numbers and equations to be manipulated at will.” ~ Ethan Yang

Economic Education, Free Markets

Hard Work Isn’t Enough. You Have to Work Hard on the Right Things.

– March 23, 2021

“Markets make the costs and benefits very explicit, and while we see through a glass darkly by participating in the market process, it is better than seeing nothing at all. The market might be Plato’s cave, but the nonmarket alternative is not perfect light but perfect darkness.” ~ Art Carden

Economic Education, Free Markets, Government

The Right of Exit Is What Keeps Society Prosperous and Peaceful

– March 21, 2021

“If we’re willing to trust something as supremely important as our language to cooperation, how much more should we be willing to trust to cooperation our education, health care, wages, and the many other things we think are so important as to require coercion?” ~ Antony Davies

Energy, Environmentalism, Free Markets

Climate Alarmism Reconsidered

– March 16, 2021

“Whatever the attraction, today’s climate alarm, now in its 33rd year, shows little sign of abatement within the green establishment or in government. The real threat is climate policy, not physical climate change itself. Affordable, reliable energy, free international trade, and lifestyle norms hang in the balance.” ~ Robert L. Bradley Jr.

Crisis, Economic Education, Free Markets

Vaccine Passports are Cronyism

– March 16, 2021

“Win-win outcomes arise from the capitalist mindset that others are peers whose freedom to opt-in or opt-out of any transaction we respect. Such a mindset orients us towards service and away from coercion. The crony mindset rationalizes exploiting the power of the state to profit by coercion and is anything but lovely.” ~ Barry Brownstein

Economic Education, Free Markets, Government

What Trash Can Teach Us About Economics

– March 16, 2021

“So, what does my trash teach us about economics? What is true of garbage, which should be a relatively straightforward service for a government to provide, is even more true of important and complex services, such as health care and education. Competition to serve customers is the best way to encourage human well-being.” ~ Daniel J. Smith

Economic Education, Environmentalism, Free Markets

Julian Simon and Paul Ehrlich’s Second Bet

– March 11, 2021

“It is easy to remember Simon as a cheerful optimist whose view can be summarized as ‘more people, more innovations, more value created, more abilities to deal with environmental problems.’ But, in reality, Simon was a much deeper thinker who connected markets and economic growth to solving environmental problems through institutions. It is worth remembering how rich his outlook was.” ~ Vincent Geloso