Donald J. Boudreaux
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HL Mencken Knew Politicians: ‘Merchants of Delusion’
Rare is the day that passes during which I don’t, at least once (and usually more than once), say to myself, “Omigosh, I do wish that HL Mencken were still […]
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Why Consumption—Not Production—Is the True Goal of Economic Activity
Just as an all-powerful monarch dictates what his subjects may and may not do — and just as no subject has any power to direct or constrain the monarch’s actions — consumers in a competitive market economy ‘command’ producers to do this and that, as well as to avoid doing countless other things.
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Protectionist Angst Is ‘Made in America’ — So Are Lots of Other Things
Over the years, I — like all defenders of free trade — have had countless conversations with protectionists who are tenacious in searching for weaknesses in the case for free […]
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Rethinking Trade Deficits: Foreign Dollar Holdings Are Really US Exports
Donald Trump believes that US trade deficits are evidence that Americans are being “ripped off” by foreign countries. He’s not alone. Fear and loathing of US trade deficits are bipartisan […]
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What, Exactly, Are Negative Externalities?
Economics textbooks feature a coherent theory of how markets can allocate scarce resources in ways that achieve what is plausibly described as maximum possible human satisfaction.
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‘You Can Trust Me’: Catfishers, Nigerian Princes, and Political Hucksters
“Individuals who we don’t know and who don’t know us seek to gain our trust so that they can then gain open-ended access to our wealth.” ~Don Boudreaux
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Arguments Against Markets
“Those of us who want to keep government small and strictly limited — and, hence, who want individuals to make whatever peaceful choices they wish — are far outnumbered by individuals who distrust markets to deliver enough of the goods to enough of the people.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
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Bastiat: Storyteller and Theorist
I submit that Bastiat ranks, at the very least, among the greatest of all applied economic theorists. His work should be more widely known; it deserves much greater professional respect.
