Topic: Free Markets

A Guide for Free Thinkers: They’re Both Wrong

– October 29, 2020

“Tamny’s book is essential not just because it provides insightful commentary on important political issues but because it provides a timeless lesson. This is that a country, a government, and a society cannot sustain itself on a foundation of weak narratives. Independent thought and rigorous conversations are what form the backbone of a vibrant democracy.” ~ Ethan Yang

Environmentalism, Free Markets

The Tide-Theory of Climate Change

– October 28, 2020

“Adaptation matters. Economic growth matters. Feats of engineering most certainly matter, as do flexibility and ingenuity of unregulated markets. Everyone from serious climate researchers to less-serious climate activists seem to forget that.” ~ Joakim Book

Capitalism, Economic Education, Free Markets

Walmart’s “Buy American” Commitment Won’t Make America Great Again

– October 26, 2020

“In its almost sixty years of existence, Walmart has revolutionized American retail and raised American standards of living by innovating in shipping, selling, and shopping. They certainly have the potential to continue doing so–but paying extra for stuff just because it was produced in the United States won’t help them or their customers in the long run.” ~ Art Carden

Economic Education, Free Markets, Regulation

Google is Not a Monopoly

– October 23, 2020

“Google is a lot of things. Maybe they have become evil, as the left would tell us when alleging that YouTube’s algorithms are unwittingly supporting, galvanizing, and expanding the alt-right or as the right would tell us when alleging that Google’s search results are rigged to advance a progressive agenda. The charge of “monopoly” doesn’t stick, though, because it’s pretty easy for people who don’t want what Google has to offer to take their business elsewhere.” ~ Art Carden

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Free Markets

The Death and Life of the Great Third Place

– October 21, 2020

“We might also emerge from this bizarre Orwellian dystopia with a renewed appreciation for Main Street, community, and the third spaces. These places define normal and make us who we are. We support them because they support us in more ways than we realize. Perhaps we took these places for granted. Never again.” ~ Brad DeVos

Economic Education, Free Markets, Government

The Economic Way of Thinking Brings Clarity

– October 20, 2020

“Nancy Pelosi presides over a chamber of politicians who vote on taxing and spending bills that transfer money from some Americans to other Americans – a fact that (inexplicably!) propels Ms. Pelosi to boast that she and her colleagues, not taxpayers such as Mr. Blitzer, feed poor Americans. On top of this appalling pretension, Ms. Pelosi expects CNN’s audience to believe that she and her Congressional colleagues ‘know’ poor Americans in a way that non-politicians don’t.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Economic Education, Free Markets, History

Keukentafel Economics and the History of British Imperialism

– October 4, 2020

“Let’s get on with it, then: honest courts, good schooling, non-extractive governments, property rights for squatters, free international and internal trade, employment laws that do not protect only the presently employed.” ~ Deirdre McCloskey

Economic Education, Free Markets

Is America in Decline?

– October 2, 2020

“America cannot be the literal Top Nation forever, nor should it be, nor does it matter. Being smart and hardworking and fulfilled are what matter, not tiny percentage differences of income between rich countries, 10 percent plus or minus. America is not declining. In the modern world, no income per head actually declines in absolute terms, unless through war or socialism.” ~ Deirdre McCloskey

Books, Free Markets, History

James M. Buchanan’s Normative Vision Fifteen Years Later

– September 30, 2020

“Why I, Too, Am Not a Conservative lays out a subtle, complex, and principled vision for a functioning society of equals. Autonomy and reciprocity, he argues, are necessary for peace, order, and prosperity, but at the same time he doesn’t see it as his role to deconstruct society and rebuild it along these lines. Buchanan is critical of radicals who would force others to be free, or who would seek liberal ends by illiberal means.” ~ Art Carden

Crisis, Economic Education, Free Markets

The Swedish Bumblebee

– September 30, 2020

“On economic well-being, it’s clear that a country with an invasively large government sector and extraordinarily high taxes can still perform well. In the corona debates, the simplified story that lockdowns prevent spread and open societies kill people should be relegated to the dustbin of impressive theories at odds with reality.” ~ Joakim Book

Books, Economic Education, Free Markets, Government

A Warning from Two Hedge Fund Managers: Rigged to Fail

– September 25, 2020

“At the end of the day, we should all learn from history. We have seen which monetary policies work and which ones fail. We know what a drunk looks like and we know an unsustainable market when we see one. Eventually there are consequences for risky behavior. Relying on proven principles may not be as glorious or exciting but it will guarantee we actually come out in one piece.” ~ Ethan Yang

Free Markets, Government, Regulation

Abolishing California Passenger Cars Could Reduce Global Greenhouse Gases – by 0.26%

– September 25, 2020

“Governor Newsom claims the right to dictate what sort of new cars Californians can buy, but not until 2035. When 2035 arrives, a different California Governor and legislature will surely ignore Newsom’s political time bomb. For one state to switch to electric cars would be demonstrably irrelevant to global warming, but not to the right of that state’s consumers to spend their earnings as they wish.” ~ Alan Reynolds