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Using Reason to Understand the Abuse and Decline of Reason - Econlib
A Liberty Classics Book Review of Studies on the Abuse and Decline of Reason: Text and Documents, by F.A. Hayek (edited by Bruce Caldwell). 1 According to F.A. Hayek, what are the theoretical and historical reasons for the tragedies of socialism that emerged in the 20th century? Hayek attempted to answer this question in what […]
Mir McLuhanism - Econlib
… digital media not only enhance information exchange and render offline life obsolete—they also reverse literacy and retrieve orality. … This book is about orality, which once was obsolesced by writing, and about literacy, which is now becoming obsolesced by digital media. —Andrey Mir, Digital Future in the Rearview Mirror: Jaspers’ Axial Age and Logan’s […]
Living with the Constitution (with A.J. Jacobs) - Econlib
What does it mean to live Constitutionally in the year 2024? For a start, it means getting off social media. It also means swapping a quill pen for your keyboard, and candlelight for electricity. And don’t forget the tricorn hat and musket–though maybe skip the boiled mutton. Join author A.J. Jacobs as he deep-dives with […]
California Dreaming: The Effects of California's "Fast Food" Minimum Wage - Econlib
On April 1 of this year, California fast-food restaurant chains with sixty or more national locations (for example, McDonalds and Chipotle, but not Bill’s Burgers or Dick Church’s Diner or other off-brand restaurants in the state without national locations) were required to raise their minimum wage for all workers from $16 to $20 per hour, […]
Is China Winning? Rethinking Perceptions of Success in Central Planning - Econlib
The contrast often presented between America and China is one where Beijing is a highly competent, well-oiled autocracy while the United States is a political circus held back by partisan drama. On the surface, and especially with recent news headlines, this may seem true. One might recall Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell staring blankly into […]
Was high inflation inevitable? - Econlib
During the period following the 2020 Covid pandemic, many countries experienced relatively high inflation. This reflects two factors: 1. All countries were hit by shocks such as Covid-related supply chain disruptions and the Ukraine war. 2. Most countries enacted very extensive stimulus programs, which had similar effects in each case. It was appropriate to allow […]
Imagine there's no zoning - Econlib
For many people, a world without zoning sounds like a dystopia. Uninformed people often assume that zoning laws protect homeowners from the risk of ugly industrial plants being built right next door. In fact, there were rules against that sort of “public nuisance” even before the first zoning laws were enacted. The actual purpose of […]
My Weekly Reading and Viewing for May 5, 2024 - Econlib
First, Happy Cinco de Mayo. Now to the content. Backpage: A Blueprint for Squelching Speech by Elizabeth Nolan Brown, Reason, April 29, 2024. Excerpt: From the beginning, this prosecution has been premised on a bogus rationale (authorities yammer on about sex trafficking though none of the defendants are charged with sex trafficking), overreaching in its scope (attempting […]
Keeping a Safe Distance From Policymakers - Econlib
American “lawmakers” and “policymakers” are responsible for the one million references to what people must do or may not do that are found in the Code of Federal Regulations. This does not include state and local regulations. The situation is not much different in other Western countries. How could economists be more useful to policymakers, […]
The Regulator as an Industry…Ally? - Econlib
Now before you get your torches and pitchforks, hear me out. In many industries, but aviation in particular, a stellar safety record is a competitive advantage. In High Reliability Organizations (HRO), such as airlines, safety is paramount to the success of the organization. After all, a single accident, regardless of how rare an occurrence it […]
Political Power in Dune - Econlib
Warning: This post, like my previous post on the subject, will involve a discussion of plot points and spoilers for the Dune series. If you haven’t seen the movies or read the books and wish to avoid spoilers, feel free to skip this one. I recently discussed what I take from the character arc of […]
Where's the best place to live? - Econlib
In recent years, there has been a large outflow of residents from California and New York to places such as Texas and Florida. The concept of “revealed preference” suggests that these fast growing states might be the best places to live. But there are actually two ways of thinking about the “best place”: 1. The […]
Robert Hessen on the Industrial Revolution - Econlib
Last month, I posted on some of the intellectual contributions of economic and business historian Robert Hessen, who died on April 15. At the time, I didn’t have access to his contribution to Ayn Rand’s book Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. But I got a copy from the library and found his essay. It’s titled, “The […]
Blurring Posse Comitatus: The Increased Militarization of Police - Econlib
This is the second in my series of posts on the social costs of drug prohibition. You can read the first post here. In 1878, Congress passed Title 18 U.S.C. §1385, commonly known as the Posse Comitatus Act, to address the question of using the military for the purposes of civilian law enforcement. Previous uses […]
Armed Men on Campus! - Econlib
A student group called Columbia University Apartheid Divest issued a statement quoted by the Wall Street Journal (“New York Mayor Says Conflict at Columbia Must End as Police Amass Nearby,” April 30, 2024): “Do not incite another Kent or Jackson State by bringing soldiers and police officers with weapons to our campus,” the group said, […]
Frank Herbert's Dune - A Cautionary Tale - Econlib
Warning: There will be spoilers in this post for the plot of Dune, including plot points from the second book that will serve as the basis for the as-yet unmade third movie. The recently released Dune: Part 2 has been a big box-office success, as was the first movie. These two movies were based on […]
Let Them In and Let Them Work - Econlib
In mid-October 2023, I wrote a draft of a blog post that I didn’t end up posting. I’m running it below, word for word as I wrote it in October. In October, I ran it by a friend who is very pro-immigration and, even though he largely agreed with it, he thought my proposal wouldn’t […]
“Unelected Officials” Are Convenient Scapegoats - Econlib
Perhaps as a sequel of mankind’s long tribal history, people apparently need scapegoats to shed the weight of sins and responsibilities from their shoulders. In democratic countries, “unelected officials” figure among the favorite scapegoats. It is an easy path to follow under the sun of simple beliefs, and I confess I once found it tempting. […]
America, but with fewer immigrants - Econlib
America is an outlier. Its GDP per capita is far higher than any other country with at least 10 million people. The US GDP per capita (PPP adjusted) is $85,373, while the next nine range from Taiwan at $77,858 to the UK at $58,880. (All of these are IMF estimates for 2024.) If you prefer […]
At What Cost: The Social Costs of Drug Prohibition - Econlib
Every public policy comes with its own set of externalities and unintended consequences. Moreover, because politics exists at the nexus between competing interests, outcomes can often approach zero-sum, whether or not this was the initial aim of policymakers. Simply put, someone gains while someone loses; there is always a cost. In my previous post, we […]
Tariffs are Sanctions Against Consumers - Econlib
Who do tariffs punish? Many people think they punish unscrupulous, shifty foreign manufacturers who aren’t playing fair and “dumping” their shoddy wares on American markets at prices below American producers’ costs, but that’s not true. Tariffs are sanctions and penalties imposed on American consumers for not paying enough. Governments regularly impose sanctions on other governments […]
The Top EconTalk Conversations of 2023 (with Russ Roberts) - Econlib
Russ Roberts, EconTalk Host The favorite EconTalk episodes for host Russ Roberts are when he and his guest have an unusually powerful connection such as his recent episode with Charles Duhigg, and the ones where he learns something mind-blowing, like Adam Mastroianni’s insight that you can’t reach the brain through the ears. Listen as Russ […]
The Economist's Irrational Fear - Econlib
I mentioned in a previous post that The Economist appears to lose all rationality when one specific topic is broached. The writer of the magazine’s April 20 newsletter “The World in Brief” gave another illustration in the section “The Day Ahead”: he could not mention the 25th anniversary of the horrible Columbine school massacre without doing […]
Robert MacNeil's Axiom - Econlib
Pierre Lemieux’s excellent post on The Economist‘s dismissal of an argument against gun control reminded me of a line from, I think, one of Robert MacNeil’s books. He said, “It has always been axiomatic to me that easy access to firearms would lead to more crime, in particular, homicide.” See the problem? It’s not axiomatic. […]
My Weekly Reading for April 28, 2024 - Econlib
Yet Another Drug War Failure by Ted Galen Carpenter, antiwar.com, April 23, 2024. Excerpt: Despite such spectacular policy failures, drug warriors in the United States and other countries cling to hard-line strategies and refuse to face an inconvenient economic truth. Governments are not able to dictate whether people use mind-altering substances. Such vices have been […]
How should we make housing more "affordable"? - Econlib
The OC Register reports that a California judge has struck down a new law allowing as many as four units on a single lot: “The Legislature finds and declares that ensuring access to affordable housing is a matter of statewide concern and not a municipal affair,” SB 9 states. “Therefore, … (this law applies) to […]
The centralization of power - Econlib
Hardly a day goes by without further evidence that the world is moving toward Viktor Orban-style authoritarian nationalism. Here’s the latest piece of evidence, from the WSJ: A small group of the former president’s allies—whose work is so secretive that even some prominent former Trump economic aides weren’t aware of it—has produced a roughly 10-page […]
Follow the Money - Econlib
“Follow the money” is a phrase used in many detective shows and political thrillers. Look for how the villain spent money on or received money from, and there is your culprit. The same is true when examining economic and political decision-making. In today’s world, it is common to talk about rent seeking behavior on the […]
How to Hobble the Fast-Food Industry and Fast-Food Jobs - Econlib
One of the ideas that economists are most sure of is that when the price of something rises, other than due to something that shifts the whole demand curve, the quantity demanded falls. Conversely, when the price of something falls, the quantity demanded increases. This is not controversial in economics. Moreover, it’s so clear that […]
Is nationalism bad for your health? - Econlib
In recent years, there has been increasing pressure to isolate the US from any sort of contact with the Chinese economy. The latest sector to be affected is healthcare, where there is a proposal to ban US drugmakers from contracting out various tasks to Chinese firms. Here’s The Economist: The knock-on effects for the Chinese […]
In Defense of Seeking the Truth - Econlib
There have been some interesting developments with NPR recently. A long time veteran of the organization, Uri Berliner, wrote an essay lamenting that the organization has gone from and admittingly left-leaning but still rigorous and fair journalistic enterprise to a politically driven monoculture that lets ideology drive its reporting. NPR, he says, no longer facilitates […]
Great Moments in Denying Reality - Econlib
California has some of the strictest insurance regulations in the country. It is the only state where insurers are not allowed to base their rate hikes on catastrophe models — forward-looking calculations of risk — or the rising cost of reinsurance premiums, according to both Zimmerman and the Department of Insurance. Under current regulations, insurers are only […]
Factoid and Ideas: King's Horses Amok in London - Econlib
Serious arguments, economic and moral, exist to justify the state (the central and sovereign apparatus of government). Serious objections to these arguments also exist. It is interesting to note that most people, including most economists, ignore both kinds. I thought about this when I read the funny factoid reported by the Wall Street Journal about […]
It’s Not “Midwest Nice” to Break the Rules - Econlib
Wisconsin comedian Charlie Berens has a great routine about 4-way stops in the Midwest. Midwest drivers are so nice and obsequious that they’ll endlessly wave the other guy on at the stop sign, even when they were there first and have the right-of-way. Like all good comedy, it’s funny because it’s at least a little […]
Is Politics Immoral? Meet Princess Mathilde - Econlib
Political and moral philosophy are related to economics, and even less stealthily to the older political economy. The economist cannot recommend a government policy without making or accepting a value judgment consistent with who is going to be helped and who will be harmed. At least, he must believe that the policy falls within the […]
Would you automate your conscience if you could? - Econlib
It seems obvious that moral artificial intelligence would be better than the alternative. Can we make AI’s values align with ours, and would we want to? This is the question underlying this conversation between EconTalk host Russ Roberts and psychologist Paul Bloom. Setting aside (at least for now) the question of whether AI will become smarter, […]
Externalities should be handled with care - Econlib
The Financial Times has an interesting interview with Esther Duflo, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2019. She argues that developed nations have a moral duty to compensate poor countries for the damage done by carbon emissions: If you combine these three numbers, you get basically the money value of the cost […]
Ideas and Implications - Econlib
Thomas Sowell frequently emphasizes the importance of thinking beyond the immediate and obvious impact of some economic policy and thinking through the larger implications. He actually wrote an entire book dedicated to this idea – Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One. A similar and useful exercise to evaluate an idea is to really try to […]
Is Our Way of Electing a President Really that Unusual? - Econlib
A commenter on a recent Pierre Lemieux post wrote: The only shot Trump has (and had) at the Presidency is due to the arcane system used in America to elect Presidents (why not use direct presidential elections like the rest of the world? … it is so much clearer and easy to understand! … […]
Neoconservatism, nationalism and liberalism - Econlib
In recent years, the Republican Party has been drifting toward authoritarian nationalism. The globalists within the party are moving toward retirement, and younger people who are deeply skeptical of the previously dominant neoconservative wing of the party are replacing them. I am also skeptical of neoconservativism, but do not believe that authoritarian nationalism is the […]