Books & History
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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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Hamilton’s Economic Vision Had One Crucial Blind Spot
Hamilton recognized the importance of manufacturing but overlooked the market processes that create lasting prosperity.
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Revolutions Worlds Apart: Why America Chose Liberty and France Chose Terror
Both the American and French Revolutions promised “power to the people.” One delivered it; the other descended into bloodshed and chaos. Why?
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A Republic That Cannot Budget
In ‘Fiscal Democracy in America,’ Kurt Couchman contends that Congress’s broken budget process requires constitutional and procedural reform to reestablish accountability and control over federal spending.
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Why Much of Manhattan Would Be Illegal to Build Today
Zoning laws drive up housing costs and freeze cities in the past. New York City is a clear example.
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When Congress Waged War on Cheap Groceries
Long before Amazon and Walmart, politicians targeted A&P for lowering prices with scale and efficiency. The resulting law protected competitors at the expense of grocery buyers.
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The Founders’ Reading List: The Curriculum Behind the Constitution
Lawrence Reed’s latest book reframes the American founding not as a burst of political genius, but as the culmination of generations of reading, debate, and intellectual inheritance.
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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.
-
•
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.
-
•
Hamilton’s Economic Vision Had One Crucial Blind Spot
Hamilton recognized the importance of manufacturing but overlooked the market processes that create lasting prosperity.
-
•
Revolutions Worlds Apart: Why America Chose Liberty and France Chose Terror
Both the American and French Revolutions promised “power to the people.” One delivered it; the other descended into bloodshed and chaos. Why?
-
•
A Republic That Cannot Budget
In ‘Fiscal Democracy in America,’ Kurt Couchman contends that Congress’s broken budget process requires constitutional and procedural reform to reestablish accountability and control over federal spending.
-
•
Why Much of Manhattan Would Be Illegal to Build Today
Zoning laws drive up housing costs and freeze cities in the past. New York City is a clear example.
-
•
When Congress Waged War on Cheap Groceries
Long before Amazon and Walmart, politicians targeted A&P for lowering prices with scale and efficiency. The resulting law protected competitors at the expense of grocery buyers.
-
•
The Founders’ Reading List: The Curriculum Behind the Constitution
Lawrence Reed’s latest book reframes the American founding not as a burst of political genius, but as the culmination of generations of reading, debate, and intellectual inheritance.