Art and Culture

  • The Economics of Dracula

    Vlad the Impaler and his literary incarnation — Count Dracula — have real historical roots in a dark period of economic nationalism.

    The Economics of Dracula
  • Three Solid Movies on the 2008 Crisis

    The most well-known of the movies on the 2008 financial crisis is also the weakest. On the other hand, there are two wonderful films about it that deal with both the difficult times for traders and the underlying causes.

    Three Solid Movies on the 2008 Crisis
  • Taylor Swift: Heroine for Property Rights

    Swift has used her celebrity and art to stand up to bullies, whether they be corporations or colleagues in the music industry. She’s also singing her way to the bank.

    Taylor Swift: Heroine for Property Rights
  • A Hilarious Comedy about Ghastly Evil

    The film brilliantly shows the wild jockeying for power that follows Stalin’s death, with fantastic portrayals of all the important figures from this period: Nikita Khrushchev, Lavrently Beria, Vyacheslav Molotov, Andrey Andreyev, Georgy Zhukov. It also serves as an excellent guide to what actually happened in those strange months that led to Beria’s execution and…

    A Hilarious Comedy about Ghastly Evil
  • I, Tonya, and the Malleability of Class

    It is a rare film for dealing directly with a topic that Americans talk about often but think about hardly any at all: class distinctions and the barriers they create to social and economic mobility.

    I, Tonya, and the Malleability of Class
  • This Is How David Hume Would Interpret Peter Rabbit

    The classic story of Peter Rabbit is ultimately a tale about property rights: where they come from, how they are enforced, and the consequences of their violation. Here is the core of what makes the film remake of this story so wonderful. It challenges us to think carefully about the topic, and, as a bonus,…

    This Is How David Hume Would Interpret Peter Rabbit
  • Economics Gave Unified Culture a Mercy Killing

    The fall of the Oscars is only one sign of a larger trend. Technology fueled by economic considerations has given people more options than ever. We are curating culture according not to some mythical “national” sense of things but rather in accord with our individual preferences. This is happening now simply because we can. The…

    Economics Gave Unified Culture a Mercy Killing
  • The Real Meaning of Thanksgiving: The Triumph of Capitalism over Collectivism

    This time of the year is when we gather with our family and friends and enjoy a Thanksgiving meal together. What is less appreciated is that Thanksgiving also is a celebration of the birth of free enterprise in America.

    The Real Meaning of Thanksgiving: The Triumph of Capitalism over Collectivism