Topic: History

Economic Education, Free Markets, History

2020-2030 Could Be the Decade of Economic Malaise

– November 3, 2020

“If history shows us anything, this experience may very well spark a renaissance for the ideas of limited government and markets. If only we could learn this the easy way rather than the hard way.” ~ Ethan Yang

Crisis, History

Lockdowns Recreated a Pre-Modern Caste System

– October 31, 2020

“The poor and the working class are the new unclean, while the professional class enjoys the luxury of waiting the pandemic out, interacting only with disease-free laptops. The Zoom call is the 21st century equivalent of the manor estate on the hill, a way to interact with others while avoiding the virus to which the people who keep the goods and services flowing must necessarily be exposed. These attitudes and behaviors are elitist and ultimately selfish, even vicious.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

Crisis, History, Media

Covid As a Source of Election Interference

– October 31, 2020

“There are so many other ways to interfere in an election than to tamper with voting machines – manipulating perceptions of Covid is just one of them.” ~ Micha Gartz

Art and Culture, Books, History

White Supremacy No, Enlightenment Superiority Yes

– October 29, 2020

“Progress isn’t automatic, and worse, regress can happen. We must understand and promote Enlightenment ideas and practices: Reason, Science, Humanism and Progress.” ~ Warren C. Gibson

Crisis, History

The New Feudalism

– October 25, 2020

“It’s not surprising at all that a “medieval approach” to disease would also result in the deletion of so many modern advances in social/political understanding and consensus. It was reckless to the point of being evil. It has created a new feudalism of haves and have nots, essentials and unessentials, us and them, the served and the servers, the rulers and the ruled – all defined in the edicts passed by panicked dictators at all levels acting on the advice of bloodless intellectuals who couldn’t resist a chance to rule the world by force.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

Authoritarianism, History

The Return of the Flagellants

– October 21, 2020

“In England in the 14th century, when the marauding Flagellants came to town, good members of the community found these people amusing and rather ridiculous, and otherwise they went about their lives, having fun and building a better and more prosperous society. Let those who desire to suffer to be free to do so. As for the rest of us, let us get back to having good lives, including partaking in actual fun.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

Crisis, Government, History

Through the Pinhole, Clearly

– October 20, 2020

“The problem isn’t that healthcare professionals and sundry medical scientists see the entire world unclearly, or that they sense only part of the proverbial elephant in the room, it is that they see the world very clearly indeed, but only through their own little pinhole view of it.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Government, History

Stop Bringing Politics Into the Supreme Court

– October 19, 2020

“The confirmation hearings of the last three nominees have been the subject of national scrutiny and excitement. This fundamentally misses the mark on what the Court is supposed to be and suggests an ominous politicization of the Court that could wreck the country.” ~ Ethan Yang

Economic History, History, Video

A New Film on the Life and Work of Ludwig von Mises

– October 13, 2020

A new film about Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) is a major achievement in getting the word out by this mighty intellectual of the 20th century. It tells the story of his life and work through interviews with top scholars and writers. Featured in this film are the following associates of AIER: Peter Boettke, Edward Stringham, Peter C. Earle, Jeffrey Tucker, and Gregory van Kipnis, along with many others. Many parts were filmed at the campus of AIER.

Classical Liberalism, Government, History

What Would Lincoln Do?

– October 9, 2020

“Salmon P. Chase, the greatest civil rights lawyer of that day, in particular, campaigned for Lincoln’s re-election. Then, on the day the Senate reconvened, Lincoln sent over a one-sentence message nominating Chase, who was then confirmed without debate, on a voice vote.” ~ Clifford F. Thies

Economic Education, Government, History

Voters’ Incentives and Terrible Public Policy

– October 6, 2020

“In about a month, Americans will elect a new President and a new Congress. In our ideal world, they would do so by very carefully weighing the costs and benefits of different policies and choosing the combinations that they reasonably believe to be in everyone’s best interests. In the world we inhabit, though, they will go to the polls and vote enthusiastically for policies that create more common harm than common good.” ~ Art Carden

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