Topic: 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

Government, History, Regulation

The Aristocracy of Pull

– September 23, 2020

“The reader of Political Capitalism will be pulled away from blackboard models of perfect worlds we can imagine, but they will come away with a better understanding of the world we actually inhabit.” ~ Art Carden

Crisis, Economic Education, History

Coase and Covid: The Spectrum

– September 22, 2020

“When we take account of the full costs of lockdowns and related mandates, including the pernicious precedents these inevitably set, it’s clear that the lowest-cost – the best – source of protection against disease such as Covid-19 is personal responsibility.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux & Lyle D. Albaugh

Economic Education, Free Markets, History

Free to Choose After Forty Years

– September 21, 2020

“Free to Choose holds up very well even after forty years. Friedman’s analysis still holds, and it’s interesting to see (for example) how the rhetoric of the opposition to educational choice hasn’t really changed. Free to Choose does more than show that freedom works. It explains why, and it does so memorably.” ~ Art Carden

Crisis, Economic Education, History

Why Principles Still Matter in a Pandemic

– September 19, 2020

“A healthy and prosperous society is not guaranteed by the size of its wealth, the capabilities of its technology, or the perceived intelligence of its experts. Rather it is upheld by the promulgation of ideas. Ideas rooted in free enterprise, limited government, individual dignity, and the rule of law. America, the most powerful polity in human history, brought itself to its knees by turning on these proven principles in the midst of a pandemic that freer countries handled far better.” ~ Ethan Yang

Education, Free Markets, History

The Academy’s Monopoly on the Truth Is Crumbling

– September 18, 2020

“Just like in markets, truly revolutionary technologies never destroy the old order–they usually accomplish more through adoption, changing established players from within. Goodacre’s efforts, especially as a hub where traditional academic insiders and outsiders met, teaches us much about how new technology changes old institutions. More academics should learn the lesson.” ~ Max Gulker

Education, Government, History

So You Want to Overthrow the State: Ten Questions for Aspiring Revolutionaries

– September 15, 2020

“A course that asks students to put themselves in the positions of aspiring revolutionaries and to prepare their own revolutionary manifestoes is extremely creative. I think it’s the kind of course from which students can benefit mightily–if, of course, they ask the right questions.” ~ Art Carden

Economic Education, Free Markets, History

Disaggregating Keynes Demonstrates Macro Delusions

– September 15, 2020

“Which view of man prevails – man seen as a reasonable but imperfect person who can guide and direct his own life, or man seen as an irrational being constantly needing someone else to direct and dictate how and what he does – will determine the future for mankind, not only out of the current economic crisis, but also for the many years and decades to come.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

Economic History, Education, Government, History

Should K-12 classrooms teach from the 1619 Project?

– September 12, 2020

“We need not indulge the bombastic posturing of Trump, or unlikely legislative efforts to strip funding from schools, to conclude that the 1619 Project is still ill-suited for K-12 education. That is a judgement we may make on its scholarly shortcomings alone.” ~ Phillip W. Magness

Authoritarianism, Government, History

What Would We Do without Experts?

– September 10, 2020

“Experts have been responsible for eugenic policies in the past and forced sterilizations in the United States until relatively recently. It is hard to imagine a more intrusive and life-altering event than forced sterilization. All in all, while politicians are the bane of any democracy, there are lots of reasons to think it better to give political power to elected representatives than to unelected experts who may mean well and so often do enormous harm.” ~ Gerald P. Dwyer

Economic Education, Free Markets, History

Assar Lindbeck – Sweden’s Greatest Economist Died 90 Years Old

– September 8, 2020

“Lindbeck was a great economist and public voice of economic sanity. He will be sorely missed.” ~ Joakim Book

Classical Liberalism, Government, History

Quartering and its Importance to the American Revolution

– August 29, 2020

“Quartering imposed a serious burden on local populations, especially laborers and poorer households. Its incidence is harder to measure than that of stamp, sugar and tea taxes. However, it is probably one of the most underappreciated major causal factors of the American Revolution.” ~ Vincent Geloso