The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design. – F.A. Hayek
Posted in Constitution, Education on Jun 28th, 2007
In the recent 5-4 Supreme Court decision banning speech “promoting illegal drug use” at American public schools, Justice Clarence Thomas, in his concurring opinion, outlines the sad decline and fall of American public education. Read it here. Would this even be a question if schools were not publicly controlled? Principals, via the power granted to them [...]
Posted in Economists on Jun 28th, 2007
The middle part of this podcast with Nassim Taleb (author of Fooled by Randomness and the Black Swan) has an interesting discussion on the distinction between what most economists are actually doing, and those of us who have respect for the Hayekian view of the world. It all mainly boils down to the traditional economists [...]
Posted in Environment, Public Choice, Regulation, Standards of Living on Jun 25th, 2007
… and hits one to the warning track. Writing in Foreign Affairs, the typically excellent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Surowiecki has a nice review of Indur Goklany’s new book on the Improving State of the World. However, he slips into all too easy dogmatic territory with this critique: The environmental transition hypothesis is the most striking example of this view, [...]
Posted in Economics Problems, Macroeconomics, Resources on Jun 21st, 2007
This is the first entry in a continuing series. Less than two weeks ago, a wonderful couple that I have befriended from work gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. I have been around many sets of new parents, but have yet to come across a couple who were as joyful, proud, and excited at [...]
Posted in Socialism, Standards of Living on Jun 20th, 2007
There is a reason this has been relegated to pop-culture status. If that is not enough to appreciate just how far our living standards have advanced, much less the devastation that socialism lays on societies, try living like people did in 1883 Montana. Many of us romanticize the simplicity of that kind of a life from [...]
Posted in Classical Liberalism on Jun 13th, 2007
Viewed by many to be the Gold Standard of Classical Liberalism. The Virginia Declaration of Rights Written by George Mason (1725-1792), who Thomas Jefferson regarded as the “the wisest man of his generation,” the Virginia Declaration of Rights was adopted by the Virginia Constitutional Convention on June 12, 1776. Widely copied by the other colonies [...]
Posted in Socialism on Jun 13th, 2007
Was dedicated today in Washington, DC. Tens of millions were allowed to suffer and die in the name of equality and the elimination of class warfare. Sadly, the rhetoric of many in America today forget this sordid history. Hayek always believed that Socialism crept up on people … it would be hard to identify precisely [...]
Posted in Environment on Jun 12th, 2007
Rick Stroup points out that when it comes to the environment, even sound economic reasoning does not matter … ”To criticize recycling on the grounds that it may do more harm than good is akin to criticizing Holy Communion for its lack of nutritional content.”
Posted in Environment on Jun 6th, 2007
Scientists estimate that it would cost in excess of one trillion dollars per year to reduce atmospheric carbon concentrations to levels which would avoid “dangerous climate change” by the year 2050. If the goal of climate change policy is to reduce the earth’s average temperature, then this might be money well spent. Alas, climate mitigation [...]
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