New Zealand’s Free Market Farming
After a difficult period of adjustment in the 1980s, New Zealand agricultural productivity quadrupled.
New Zealand’s Free Market Farming Read More »
After a difficult period of adjustment in the 1980s, New Zealand agricultural productivity quadrupled.
New Zealand’s Free Market Farming Read More »
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to look through a transcription of a set of note cards that F. A. Hayek kept through the latter years of his life. It was fascinating to see how he wrote for himself and to get glimpses of ideas that would later be more fully fleshed out. One theme that emerges in those cards, and that has been pervasive over Hayek’s career, is his understanding of freedom. It is a nuanced and sophisticated conception of human freedom that differentiates itself from the ways the term is used by the left and the right. Classical liberals should understand Hayek’s view of freedom, and its connection to tradition and the coordinating role of institutions, to avoid the problems that confront other conceptions of freedom.
There is no such thing as a panacea; few things are actual cure‐alls in themselves, especially when it pertains to social issues. However, the closest thing to a panacea for contemporary social injustice—both actual and perceived—is the concept of individualism. It is the closest foil to what is, arguably, the most dangerous aspect of critical social justice activism: race fatalism, i.e., the idea that especially minoritized groups have no locus of control and are at the mercy of their hegemonic oppressors.
The Promise of Individualism Read More »
In a few years, the populists of the Sao Paulo Forum used well-wrought tales to resurrect the greatest failure of a power system, communism, in a triumphant march to take over Latin America. Now he is using his "narrative" powers to help Putin, a classic fascist, to re-integrate fascism with the extreme left and right in the region. And he, convicted of corruption, free on procedural grounds, takes great pride in his ability to put together narratives that hide reality.
Lula, Rousseff and narratives Read More »
Each year, the U.S. Congress allocates over $400 million for food assistance to support more than 250,000 residents of Puerto Rico who are able-bodied adults without dependents, and are between the ages of 18 and 54. Notably, this financial assistance does not come with a work obligation. Congress does not apply this approach to any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, or even to Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Beneficiaries of nutritional assistance in these jurisdictions are under the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), which includes a work requirement. It's time to bring Puerto Rico into the same program.
Congress Can Help Puerto Rico Escape the Food Stamp Poverty Trap Read More »
As I wrote in the summer of 2018 on CD, I’ve probably created and posted more than 3,000 graphics on CD, Twitter, and Facebook including charts, graphs, tables, figures, maps, and Venn diagrams over the last 15 years. Of all of those graphics, I don’t think any has gotten more attention, links, re-Tweets, re-posts, and mentions than previous versions of the chart above, which was once referred to as “the Chart of the Century.”
Chart of the Day . . . or Century? Read More »
The theory that union "struggles" are necessary and behind improvements in workers' incomes and conditions is magical thinking.
Fighting on the picket lines Read More »
From books to series, from movies to political speeches, the mantra goes: capitalism is to blame for all our ills and defending it is heroic.
Anti-capitalism: why it is the new religion Read More »
Until the 1960s, public employees were organized like lawyers, doctors and other voluntary professional associations. They had no legal right to compel government to enter into contracts. Many already enjoyed civil service protections, and government work was generally sleepy, not ruthless. But public employees had become a huge voting bloc, and leaders of public employee associations wanted power over how government was run.
Why Government Unions—Unlike Trade Unions—Corrupt Democracy Read More »
Today more Americans than ever are working in occupations that require an occupational license. The increase in occupational regulations has called into question whether this practice is in the best interest of the U.S. workforce.
Reasons to reform the occupational licensing system Read More »