Books & History
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The Lesson of 1971 Was Never About Gold
President Nixon abandoned the gold standard. The deeper problem was a monetary system dependent on political judgment.
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The McNamara Fallacy Returns: How Inequality Metrics Distract From the Real Causes of Poverty
When policymakers obsess over inequality statistics, they often overlook the institutions and policies that actually keep people poor.
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Adam Smith’s Forgotten Theory of Artistic Independence
The great economist saw markets not as a threat to culture, but as the institution that allowed artists to achieve unprecedented freedom.
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The Post-Liberals Can’t Have Tocqueville
Tocqueville believed liberty depended on virtue — but he trusted free institutions, not the state, to cultivate it.
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The Case for Talking to Strangers
Nicholas Epley’s new book argues that small acts of connection build the trust and goodwill on which a free society depends.
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The Myth of the Free-Riding Billionaire: Ray Madoff’s ‘The Second Estate’
In her new book, Ray Madoff argues that America’s wealthiest exploit the tax code at the public’s expense. But her critique understates both what the rich pay and what they produce.
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Rereading the Declaration in an Age of Polarization
A new collection from Civitas explores old arguments about what the Declaration means — and who gets to define the nation’s founding ideals.
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Keeping Cool: The Air Conditioner That Changed America
The time price of air conditioning has fallen 98.6 percent since 1952. That ordinary luxury saves lives every summer.
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‘Guns Versus Butter’: Tracing the Dark Origins of a Classic Economic Model
The phrase’s apparent origins in Nazi Germany — and its grim use during the 1930s and 1940s — highlight a basic truth: prioritizing guns over butter ultimately imposes the cost of lower living standards on ordinary citizens.
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Rolling Stone and the Making of a Counterculture Capitalist Success Story
In ‘The Rise of Hip Capitalism,’ author Charles L. Ponce de Leon traces how Rolling Stone fused countercultural rebellion with entrepreneurial ambition, turning cultural dissent into a media empire.
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•
The Lesson of 1971 Was Never About Gold
President Nixon abandoned the gold standard. The deeper problem was a monetary system dependent on political judgment.
-
•
The McNamara Fallacy Returns: How Inequality Metrics Distract From the Real Causes of Poverty
When policymakers obsess over inequality statistics, they often overlook the institutions and policies that actually keep people poor.
-
•
Adam Smith’s Forgotten Theory of Artistic Independence
The great economist saw markets not as a threat to culture, but as the institution that allowed artists to achieve unprecedented freedom.
-
•
The Post-Liberals Can’t Have Tocqueville
Tocqueville believed liberty depended on virtue — but he trusted free institutions, not the state, to cultivate it.
-
•
The Case for Talking to Strangers
Nicholas Epley’s new book argues that small acts of connection build the trust and goodwill on which a free society depends.
-
•
The Myth of the Free-Riding Billionaire: Ray Madoff’s ‘The Second Estate’
In her new book, Ray Madoff argues that America’s wealthiest exploit the tax code at the public’s expense. But her critique understates both what the rich pay and what they produce.
-
•
Rereading the Declaration in an Age of Polarization
A new collection from Civitas explores old arguments about what the Declaration means — and who gets to define the nation’s founding ideals.
-
•
Keeping Cool: The Air Conditioner That Changed America
The time price of air conditioning has fallen 98.6 percent since 1952. That ordinary luxury saves lives every summer.
-
•
‘Guns Versus Butter’: Tracing the Dark Origins of a Classic Economic Model
The phrase’s apparent origins in Nazi Germany — and its grim use during the 1930s and 1940s — highlight a basic truth: prioritizing guns over butter ultimately imposes the cost of lower living standards on ordinary citizens.
-
•
Rolling Stone and the Making of a Counterculture Capitalist Success Story
In ‘The Rise of Hip Capitalism,’ author Charles L. Ponce de Leon traces how Rolling Stone fused countercultural rebellion with entrepreneurial ambition, turning cultural dissent into a media empire.