Economic History
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‘The Wealth of Nations’ and 250 Years of Economists Missing the Point
From trade policy to public debt, today’s economic debates echo those of 1776. The problem isn’t a lack of knowledge — it’s a failure to teach and apply enduring principles.
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Hayek’s Dilemma: How Much State Can Liberty Survive?
Even among “sincere friends of freedom,” disagreement over government’s role runs deep. Can a state be big enough to defend liberty without also violating it?
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Early Supercomputing Helped Reduce Cold War Risks
The same technologies that once fueled fears of nuclear conflict later helped reduce them and would go on to reshape both strategy and everyday life.
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Internal Combustion Engines: The Great Economic Equalizer
Internal combustion engines empowered millions to participate in the modern economy. Restrictions on their use hit the poor hardest.
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Why Keynes Would Have Feared AI — and Why We Shouldn’t
The economist who predicted abundance also worried about displacement. He was only half right.
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Ten Enduring Lessons from Adam Smith
From technocrats to central planners, the temptation to engineer society persists. Adam Smith saw the dangers clearly.
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Mega-Events, Minimal Returns: The High Cost of Hosting Global Spectacles
Olympics and World Cups are sold as drivers of jobs and tourism, but data show they often produce financial losses and crowd out better investments.
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You Can’t Plan the Next Play-Doh: Unexpected Discovery Drives Tomorrow’s Jobs
A failed wallpaper cleaner became a global toy — and a case study in job creation. Consumer tastes, not policy prescriptions, continually reinvent our economy.
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Earth Hour Misses Civilization’s True Triumph: Human Innovation
Turning off the lights is easy. Creating them—and the progress they bring—was humanity’s true achievement.
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Dancing on the Tomb of Ehrlich’s Ideas
Paul Ehrlich’s dire predictions never came to pass, but they did plenty of damage. Fortunately, even his intellectual allies have abandoned his core premise of humans as planetary parasites.
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•
‘The Wealth of Nations’ and 250 Years of Economists Missing the Point
From trade policy to public debt, today’s economic debates echo those of 1776. The problem isn’t a lack of knowledge — it’s a failure to teach and apply enduring principles.
-
•
Hayek’s Dilemma: How Much State Can Liberty Survive?
Even among “sincere friends of freedom,” disagreement over government’s role runs deep. Can a state be big enough to defend liberty without also violating it?
-
•
Early Supercomputing Helped Reduce Cold War Risks
The same technologies that once fueled fears of nuclear conflict later helped reduce them and would go on to reshape both strategy and everyday life.
-
•
Internal Combustion Engines: The Great Economic Equalizer
Internal combustion engines empowered millions to participate in the modern economy. Restrictions on their use hit the poor hardest.
-
•
Why Keynes Would Have Feared AI — and Why We Shouldn’t
The economist who predicted abundance also worried about displacement. He was only half right.
-
•
Ten Enduring Lessons from Adam Smith
From technocrats to central planners, the temptation to engineer society persists. Adam Smith saw the dangers clearly.
-
•
Mega-Events, Minimal Returns: The High Cost of Hosting Global Spectacles
Olympics and World Cups are sold as drivers of jobs and tourism, but data show they often produce financial losses and crowd out better investments.
-
•
You Can’t Plan the Next Play-Doh: Unexpected Discovery Drives Tomorrow’s Jobs
A failed wallpaper cleaner became a global toy — and a case study in job creation. Consumer tastes, not policy prescriptions, continually reinvent our economy.
-
•
Earth Hour Misses Civilization’s True Triumph: Human Innovation
Turning off the lights is easy. Creating them—and the progress they bring—was humanity’s true achievement.
-
•
Dancing on the Tomb of Ehrlich’s Ideas
Paul Ehrlich’s dire predictions never came to pass, but they did plenty of damage. Fortunately, even his intellectual allies have abandoned his core premise of humans as planetary parasites.