Free Markets
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The Make-‘Em-Miserable Hypothesis
“If a careful formulation of the make-em-miserable hypothesis contains an element of truth, correction must come from those whose conduct manifests the phenomenon. They must look carefully, they must look bravely, into what Ronald Coase called ‘the total effect’ of their conduct and beliefs.” ~ Daniel B. Klein
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The Latest Investment Fad Is Unsustainable
“Just as Greens can destroy the environment, corporate social responsibility can wreck society while tricking ESG investors to feel good about themselves in the process.” ~ Robert E. Wright
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Masks, Seatbelts, and Peltzman Effects
“A dose of humility on the part of policy-makers and pundits regarding their abilities would be welcomed. This dose of humility might push them to consider what potentially superior ways of dealing with the outbreak exist.” ~ Vincent Geloso
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Welcome to the Frankfurtian World
“Wherever one turns, the political discourse seems entirely uninterested in the Enlightenment project – the values of 17th and 18th century philosophers imploring us to use reason to approach scientific truth and an intelligent and civil society.” ~ Joakim Book
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The Epistemic Value of Putting One’s Money Where One’s Mouth Is
“Assertions such as that women as a group are underpaid – should be dismissed out of hand if (as is almost always the case) those who do the asserting refuse to risk their own time and resources on undertaking private-sector activities that would make these individuals rich as they simultaneously correct the alleged failures. If…
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Fear, Tyranny, and the Fairy Tale of Our Times
“Reflecting the national divisions that have only escalated since its release, it illustrates how false stories spread to infect hearts and minds as fatally as a virus. The solution is to reject these fictions and judge for ourselves. As Conall tells Maleficent, ‘I’ve made my choice. Now make yours.'” ~ Caroline Breashears
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Is ‘Capitalism’ Modern?
“Capitalism in this account is not truly modern, inasmuch as something we can describe with that word has existed repeatedly in history. It has usually come to a bad end, because of the way private wealth and fear of losing it has interacted with predatory power, but in the modern world we have avoided that.…
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Individualism and Public Health: Tensions and Challenges
“The aim should be to strictly fence off and limit the scope of coercive public health as both an ideal and a practice. We should think of it as something like a nuclear reactor core – useful, even essential but something that needs to be tightly contained. This is the kind of project and activity…
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Who Owns Leftover and Abandoned Bar Food?
“Figuring out the exact property rights isn’t worth the hassle: it’s too little and too rare to care about enforcing whatever legal right might be applicable in various jurisdictions. In practice, the ownership of leftover food is up to the social norms in the country you’re in, or even the attitude of the staff at…
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Do We Really Need More Movie Sequels? If the Market Says So, Then Yes We Do
“Studios make sequels because they expect them to be profitable. This is a good thing, though, because they are working to make Mickey and Minnie Moviegoer better off as Mickey and Minnie choose to define it according to their own preferences, values, goals, and opportunities.” ~ Art Carden
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A Keynesian Path Would Be the Wrong Path for the U.S. Economy
“Following a crisis, countries with higher levels of economic freedom–that is, with institutions closer to those proposed by Hayek than Keynes–suffered smaller economic contractions and faster recoveries. Keynesian ideas have dominated the political worldview for decades. But we would be better off following Hayek.” ~ Nicolás Cachanosky
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How Much Should You Sell Your Vote For This November?
“All that can be said for certain is that in most states it is now quite possible to do so and that the masked stranger does not even have to work for a political party or candidate. In fact, vote buying solves problems for donors by ensuring maximum effect for each dollar spent and by…
