Art Carden
Senior Fellow
Art Carden is a Senior Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. He is also an Associate Professor of Economics at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama and a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute.
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Mandatory Shortages And Concentrated Pain: What “Price Gouging” Laws Do
“Disasters and emergencies are bad enough without policies that make things worse. That’s exactly what price gouging laws are: rules that actually make these worse for the least of these among us by snuffing out the signals that would tell the rest of us precisely what is needed where.” ~ Art Carden
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The Power of “No”
“Once we abandon a false and failed zero-sum worldview and realize just how much abundance is available for everyone, we will embrace winning friends, influencing people, and recognizing others’ right to say ‘no’ to any offer.” ~ Art Carden
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Yes, It Was “Real Socialism.” No, We Shouldn’t Try Again.
“Feelings can be deceptive, however, and good intentions do not readily translate into good outcomes. Socialism, as Niemietz explains, has failed repeatedly. It never dies—but it should.” ~ Art Carden
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Happy Birthday to Libertarian Firebrand Walter Block
“His positions can be very, very off-putting. He strips pretty much everything down to a simple question: ‘Is it voluntary?’ If the answer is ‘yes,’ then he argues that we have no right to interfere no matter how much we might disapprove.” ~ Art Carden
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A Three-Item Post-Pandemic Regulatory Wishlist
“It is easy to say ‘this is what the government should do;’ however, it is a lot harder to actually make the government do it. Progress toward a permissive, innovation-embracing political and cultural constitution would be just that: progress.” ~ Art Carden
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Review of Steven Horwitz, Austrian Economics: An Introduction
“Austrian Economics: An Introduction is a very useful and accessible summary of what we know about this simple but powerful paradigm. Teachers and students alike would benefit from consulting it.” ~ Art Carden
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William Harold Hutt: A Birthday Appreciation
“Hutt was a complex thinker in a difficult time who worked to split the difference between the best world we can imagine and the best world that is feasible subject to the constraints we face in the world we actually inhabit. As Ludwig von Mises put it, “Professor Hutt’s rank among the outstanding economists of…
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Peter T. Leeson: A Birthday Appreciation
“Peter T. Leeson is well-positioned to continue making important and creative contributions to our beloved dismal science. His message–that free and creative people have a good track record of solving problems without anyone forcing anyone else to do anything–is as timely now as it was when he was just getting started–but I can’t really imagine…
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The Washington Football Team Should Be Called The Candlemakers
“Bastiat laid bare the absurdity of so many arguments for protection, subsidy (for the stadium the Candlemakers would call home, for example), and regulation. The name would be a perfect homage to the never-ending stream of privilege-seeking supplicants filling the lobbies of Washington and looking for new ways to pick the pockets of their competitors,…
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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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•
Mandatory Shortages And Concentrated Pain: What “Price Gouging” Laws Do
“Disasters and emergencies are bad enough without policies that make things worse. That’s exactly what price gouging laws are: rules that actually make these worse for the least of these among us by snuffing out the signals that would tell the rest of us precisely what is needed where.” ~ Art Carden
-
•
The Power of “No”
“Once we abandon a false and failed zero-sum worldview and realize just how much abundance is available for everyone, we will embrace winning friends, influencing people, and recognizing others’ right to say ‘no’ to any offer.” ~ Art Carden
-
•
Yes, It Was “Real Socialism.” No, We Shouldn’t Try Again.
“Feelings can be deceptive, however, and good intentions do not readily translate into good outcomes. Socialism, as Niemietz explains, has failed repeatedly. It never dies—but it should.” ~ Art Carden
-
•
Happy Birthday to Libertarian Firebrand Walter Block
“His positions can be very, very off-putting. He strips pretty much everything down to a simple question: ‘Is it voluntary?’ If the answer is ‘yes,’ then he argues that we have no right to interfere no matter how much we might disapprove.” ~ Art Carden
-
•
A Three-Item Post-Pandemic Regulatory Wishlist
“It is easy to say ‘this is what the government should do;’ however, it is a lot harder to actually make the government do it. Progress toward a permissive, innovation-embracing political and cultural constitution would be just that: progress.” ~ Art Carden
-
•
Review of Steven Horwitz, Austrian Economics: An Introduction
“Austrian Economics: An Introduction is a very useful and accessible summary of what we know about this simple but powerful paradigm. Teachers and students alike would benefit from consulting it.” ~ Art Carden
-
•
William Harold Hutt: A Birthday Appreciation
“Hutt was a complex thinker in a difficult time who worked to split the difference between the best world we can imagine and the best world that is feasible subject to the constraints we face in the world we actually inhabit. As Ludwig von Mises put it, “Professor Hutt’s rank among the outstanding economists of…
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•
Peter T. Leeson: A Birthday Appreciation
“Peter T. Leeson is well-positioned to continue making important and creative contributions to our beloved dismal science. His message–that free and creative people have a good track record of solving problems without anyone forcing anyone else to do anything–is as timely now as it was when he was just getting started–but I can’t really imagine…
-
•
The Washington Football Team Should Be Called The Candlemakers
“Bastiat laid bare the absurdity of so many arguments for protection, subsidy (for the stadium the Candlemakers would call home, for example), and regulation. The name would be a perfect homage to the never-ending stream of privilege-seeking supplicants filling the lobbies of Washington and looking for new ways to pick the pockets of their competitors,…
-
•
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