Free Markets
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Vegan Butter and the History of Regulatory Capture
“At any point in time, say at present, the cost of this instrumentalization of regulatory agencies for private purposes appears minimal. After all, only an infinitesimal fraction of the economy is affected. Yet, try picturing a counterfactual America where the regulatory waltz that began in the late 19th century never actually started. How much richer…
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Profit and Loss and Mr. Biden
“Sound bites may be good for political harangues but they are never enough for true understanding. Dissing profits is misleading if no distinction is made between consumer-driven competitive profits and crony-capitalist ones, or if losses are overlooked.” ~ Warren C. Gibson
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Plato v. Mises: Mises Wins
“The Noble Lie is not noble; if we all repeat it and we are taught it in state schools, before long it’s not even a lie. Because worshippers of the state actually persuade themselves that the whole thing is true. Yes, we are all born equal, but some of us are more equal than others.…
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Material Benefits Are Not Merely Material
“Had this material wealth been produced in less abundance, the range of higher goals that ordinary Americans would today be able to pursue would be narrower. And this material wealth would indeed have been produced in less abundance had Americans been saddled with more of the tariffs, subsidies, and other government interventions for which Oren…
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Trump’s “American Greatness” Also Political Paternalism
“Regardless of each citizen’s decision on how they may or may not vote in the coming November election, the real battle for the future of America is in this longer-term conflict of ideas, and the courage and willingness to not be despondent but, instead, shoulder some part of the effort to make that liberal Utopia…
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Entrepreneurship May Die Too
“America’s saving grace may be that most of the rest of the world, even Anglosphere countries like Australia and New Zealand, screwed up even worse. But the biggest threat was never a mass exodus of entrepreneurs, it was the loss of entrepreneurship itself.” ~ Robert E. Wright
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The Danger of Our Left-Right Political Divide
“A free and open society requires the round rejection of both left and right flavors of failed twentieth-century authoritarianism, the restoration of the classical liberal ideas that transformed the world and yet were never given their due.” ~ David S. D’Amato
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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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Employment Options, Not Labor Unions, are the Real Source of Bargaining Power for Workers
“If America really is filled with underpaid workers, before letting politicians and pundits who express this belief put other people’s money where their mouths are, let them put their money where their mouths are by launching new businesses that can profitably employ today’s underpaid workers. If these politicians and pundits are correct, they have nothing…
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Terrible Policies Possess Both Virulence and Prevalence
“We have civilization and prosperity not because we are smart but because we permit the freedom to cooperate toward building smart social and economic institutions.” ~ Robert E. Wright
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•
Vegan Butter and the History of Regulatory Capture
“At any point in time, say at present, the cost of this instrumentalization of regulatory agencies for private purposes appears minimal. After all, only an infinitesimal fraction of the economy is affected. Yet, try picturing a counterfactual America where the regulatory waltz that began in the late 19th century never actually started. How much richer…
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•
Profit and Loss and Mr. Biden
“Sound bites may be good for political harangues but they are never enough for true understanding. Dissing profits is misleading if no distinction is made between consumer-driven competitive profits and crony-capitalist ones, or if losses are overlooked.” ~ Warren C. Gibson
-
•
Plato v. Mises: Mises Wins
“The Noble Lie is not noble; if we all repeat it and we are taught it in state schools, before long it’s not even a lie. Because worshippers of the state actually persuade themselves that the whole thing is true. Yes, we are all born equal, but some of us are more equal than others.…
-
•
Material Benefits Are Not Merely Material
“Had this material wealth been produced in less abundance, the range of higher goals that ordinary Americans would today be able to pursue would be narrower. And this material wealth would indeed have been produced in less abundance had Americans been saddled with more of the tariffs, subsidies, and other government interventions for which Oren…
-
•
Trump’s “American Greatness” Also Political Paternalism
“Regardless of each citizen’s decision on how they may or may not vote in the coming November election, the real battle for the future of America is in this longer-term conflict of ideas, and the courage and willingness to not be despondent but, instead, shoulder some part of the effort to make that liberal Utopia…
-
•
Entrepreneurship May Die Too
“America’s saving grace may be that most of the rest of the world, even Anglosphere countries like Australia and New Zealand, screwed up even worse. But the biggest threat was never a mass exodus of entrepreneurs, it was the loss of entrepreneurship itself.” ~ Robert E. Wright
-
•
The Danger of Our Left-Right Political Divide
“A free and open society requires the round rejection of both left and right flavors of failed twentieth-century authoritarianism, the restoration of the classical liberal ideas that transformed the world and yet were never given their due.” ~ David S. D’Amato
-
•
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
-
•
Employment Options, Not Labor Unions, are the Real Source of Bargaining Power for Workers
“If America really is filled with underpaid workers, before letting politicians and pundits who express this belief put other people’s money where their mouths are, let them put their money where their mouths are by launching new businesses that can profitably employ today’s underpaid workers. If these politicians and pundits are correct, they have nothing…
-
•
Terrible Policies Possess Both Virulence and Prevalence
“We have civilization and prosperity not because we are smart but because we permit the freedom to cooperate toward building smart social and economic institutions.” ~ Robert E. Wright