Homines libenter quod volunt credunt
Posted in Classical Liberalism, Economics Problems on Feb 17th, 2014
A couple of related thoughts and questions. 1) I grew up, to put it one way, not at all rich. Can you articulate at which point in my life I became the purveyor of oppression and deserving not only of scorn but of aggressive redistributive efforts? 2) If folks wish to distinguish wealth that is […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism, Voluntary Society on Feb 3rd, 2014
If you are inclined to want to put people into groups like “Classical Liberal” so be it … I find it increasingly not useful. But you may put that particular label in your head for now, or perhaps the “libertarian” label. My sense is that if you asked a particular group member what they thought […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism, Entrepreneurs, Environment on Jan 30th, 2014
Do this. The folks out in Bozeman are terrific. The scenery is not half bad either. Same for the beer.
Posted in Central Planning, Classical Liberalism, Economics Problems, Extended Order, Politics, Standards of Living, Voluntary Society on Dec 19th, 2013
The federal government collected $350 billion from corporations in corporate income taxes last year. Economists have long understood and explain that the US federal (and state) corporate income tax rates are at the same time both too high and too low. Why do we say this? Well, the tax rate is, at the margin, very […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism, Competition, Corporatism, Economic Illiteracy, Economics Problems, ethical foundations, Government Thuggery, If I Really Hated the Poor ..., Market Failures, Methodology, Politics, Religion, Voluntary Society, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Dec 10th, 2013
The “left” sees the last 34 years as a revival (was there ever a VIVAL?) of laissez-faire dogmatism. Some folks like myself see it as almost the diametric opposite. Of course, some of this could be “settled” by empirical evidence. The number of pages of regulations? The dollars spent complying with regulations? The number of […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism, Education on Nov 12th, 2013
Here on our lovely campus I receive as a front-page feature story in my intranet page: STUDENT was President of STUDENT GROUP last year the dining rep since her freshman year. STUDENT aims to “convert people through food.” Let’s rewrite that. Wintercow was Director of the Classical Liberal Foundation and the Property Rights advocate since […]
Posted in Central Planning, Classical Liberalism, ethical foundations, If I Really Hated the Poor ... on Nov 12th, 2013
And so it has absolutely no chance of seeing the light of day. Tyler Cowen links to this Reihan Salam post summarizing a good argument from Avik Roy’s new book: offer a coverage option that better meets the needs of the poor while also reducing public expenditures: Start by paying a primary-care physician $80 a […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism, Economics Problems, Economists, Education, Uncategorized on Nov 9th, 2013
My friend John linked me up to this somewhat unnerving article. Without responding to the claims too harshly, let’s keep in mind some things: Students in almost any discipline learn very little of value while in class. And of what valuable stuff remains, almost none is retained for any considerable point in time. So, even […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism, Economic Illiteracy on Oct 6th, 2013
Indeed, I wonder if ANY one can define it. True or False: You can define capitalism. You’ll get close to unanimity. A glorious HT to my friend Chris. I hope “Capitalism” works for him better than it works for me.
Posted in Classical Liberalism, Government Gone Wild, Government Thuggery, Politics on Sep 4th, 2013
Well here we are again. Nothing seems to bring Team Reebok and Team Nike together like a little death inflicted on some foreigners. Now, this is beyond my credentials, but help me understand this. The Syrian regime can kill as many of its people as it wishes by all kinds of means – like shooting […]
