Topic: Free Markets

malficent

Fear, Tyranny, and the Fairy Tale of Our Times

– July 21, 2020

“Reflecting the national divisions that have only escalated since its release, it illustrates how false stories spread to infect hearts and minds as fatally as a virus. The solution is to reject these fictions and judge for ourselves. As Conall tells Maleficent, ‘I’ve made my choice. Now make yours.'” ~ Caroline Breashears

READ MORE
modern city

Is ‘Capitalism’ Modern?

– July 20, 2020

“Capitalism in this account is not truly modern, inasmuch as something we can describe with that word has existed repeatedly in history. It has usually come to a bad end, because of the way private wealth and fear of losing it has interacted with predatory power, but in the modern world we have avoided that. Only so far however, which is why we must be constantly in campaign mode to keep the show on the road.” ~ Stephen Davies

READ MORE

Individualism and Public Health: Tensions and Challenges

– July 19, 2020

“The aim should be to strictly fence off and limit the scope of coercive public health as both an ideal and a practice. We should think of it as something like a nuclear reactor core – useful, even essential but something that needs to be tightly contained. This is the kind of project and activity that individualists and classical liberals should be engaged in.” ~ Stephen Davies

READ MORE
leftover food

Who Owns Leftover and Abandoned Bar Food?

– July 17, 2020

“Figuring out the exact property rights isn’t worth the hassle: it’s too little and too rare to care about enforcing whatever legal right might be applicable in various jurisdictions. In practice, the ownership of leftover food is up to the social norms in the country you’re in, or even the attitude of the staff at the particular establishment you’re visiting – an informal institution, guided by vague and constantly negotiated social interactions.” ~ Joakim Book

READ MORE
movie theater

Do We Really Need More Movie Sequels? If the Market Says So, Then Yes We Do

– July 16, 2020

“Studios make sequels because they expect them to be profitable. This is a good thing, though, because they are working to make Mickey and Minnie Moviegoer better off as Mickey and Minnie choose to define it according to their own preferences, values, goals, and opportunities.” ~ Art Carden

READ MORE
path, mountains

A Keynesian Path Would Be the Wrong Path for the U.S. Economy

– July 15, 2020

“Following a crisis, countries with higher levels of economic freedom–that is, with institutions closer to those proposed by Hayek than Keynes–suffered smaller economic contractions and faster recoveries. Keynesian ideas have dominated the political worldview for decades. But we would be better off following Hayek.” ~ Nicolás Cachanosky

READ MORE
tickets

How Much Should You Sell Your Vote For This November?

– July 15, 2020

“All that can be said for certain is that in most states it is now quite possible to do so and that the masked stranger does not even have to work for a political party or candidate. In fact, vote buying solves problems for donors by ensuring maximum effect for each dollar spent and by sidestepping campaign finance laws.” ~ Robert E. Wright

READ MORE
hands, tree

On Externalities and Noise

– July 15, 2020

“There is no world where trade-offs don’t apply, where we can have all the nice things we want without anybody, anywhere, getting upset. Externalities are everywhere, but if we want to live prosperous lives, some part of those lives will be impacted by others. Get over it.” ~ Joakim Book

READ MORE
planners

Who Is Making Decisions about Our Lives

– July 13, 2020

“What reason is there to trust that These People who never look past the next election – and who always ignore consequences that are difficult to see if these consequences are spread over large numbers of individuals – are making a prudently considered trade-off between the lockdown’s costs and its benefits?” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

READ MORE
amazon delivery packages

Extend the Market, As Far as Possible

– July 11, 2020

“Private enterprise and private governance pushed along by people seeking little more than their own advantages work remarkably well. If you want more evidence, look no further than the package on your doorstep.” ~ Art Carden

READ MORE
female farmer

A Green Minimum Wage

– July 10, 2020

“Farmers who want to retain good, experienced farm hands should be free to pay a dollar a week, day, hour, or minute to those same people, as they mutually agree. And when the world not only does not end but improves due to the policy, let’s extend it to other types of employers as well.” ~ Robert E. Wright

READ MORE
Entrepreneurship and the Human Experience

Entrepreneurship and the Human Experience

– July 9, 2020

“Economics should not be viewed as a clean and sterile science that seeks to chart the world with equations. Rather it should seek to understand the oftentimes chaotic and messy nature of the market driven by the grit and wit of entrepreneurs.” ~ Ethan Yang

READ MORE