Art Carden
Yes, Twelve Dollars Is a Good Price for Two Batteries–Under the Right Conditions
“Economists are wary of the word ‘need;’ whether you need something or not is context-dependent, and I’m always amazed at how much my kids’ ‘needs’ change when they’re paying with their money rather than mine.” ~ Art Carden
Who is “Accountable” to Whom?
“When people talk about ‘holding corporations accountable,’ they usually mean ‘accountable to observers with no serious stake in what they are doing and who bear no meaningful personal cost if their calls for accountability are misplaced.'” ~ Art Carden
Embrace Dynamism: The Future and Its Enemies at 25
“The Future and Its Enemies is a well-written, lucid argument for decentralized progress and the intellectual, political, and commercial liberty that makes it possible.” ~ Art Carden
Where Do The Savings Go?
“As Henry Hazlitt reminds us, the art of economics consists not merely in looking at the effects on the most visible groups, but in tracing the effects on everyone.” ~ Art Carden
What if New Coke Had Been a Government Program?
“Would our lives be better were land, labor, and capital still tied up making New Coke and Crystal Pepsi? People have voted pretty overwhelmingly and answered ‘no.'” ~ Art Carden
Progressives Love Suppressing Votes–But Not the Way You Think
“Suppressing people’s votes in the marketplace for the benefit of those who think themselves entitled to a comfortable life at another’s expense, or for those who really know what is good for other people, does not help the suppressed voters.” ~ Art Carden
I, Travel: In Wonder at the Achievements of a Free Society
“At the beginning of his classic essay “I, Pencil,” Leonard E. Read quoted G.K. Chesterton as saying, ‘we perish for want of wonder, not for want of wonders.’ Commercial society is a wonder that produces other wonders, and we should wonder at it.” ~ Art Carden
2022: The Year the “Lodger Evil” Came to Kansas and Made Housing Less Affordable
“If we’re serious about more affordable housing, we will cut the red tape by doing away with building restrictions and parking requirements. Until then, chatter about ‘affordable housing’ is just a lot of words.” ~ Art Carden
Economics Is a Walk in the Park
“It’s a bit of a stretch to suggest that there isn’t a ‘human nature’ that responds to incentives, makes choices in the face of scarcity, and so on. If even the ducks and pigeons respond to incentives, people may do so too.” ~ Art Carden
Let Them Compete: Labor Markets Are Workers’ Friends, Not Their Enemies
“Workers compete with one another for jobs, but firms compete with one another for workers. When people are allowed to compete, one’s folly becomes another’s opportunity.” ~ Art Carden
