The course of scholarship
One of Google’s new apps, the Ngram Viewer, promises hours of study, play, and debate. It basically provides a graphical representation of the commonality of words throughout the history of…
- 2007-08 Crisis
- Autarchy
- Budget Deficit
- Closed System
- Competition
- Complexity
- Culture Divide
- Current Events
- Economic Policy
- Economic Theory
- Federal Budget
- Inflation
- Interdependency
- Keynesianism
- Marxism
- Motivation
- National Debt
- Perpetuity
- Political Theory
- Poverty
- Resources
- Self-Reliance
- Self-Sufficiency
- Sociology
- Systems Theory
- Wealth
- Welfare Statism
- Zero-sum
I could be wrong, but I’m not
Part of the 99%: Part of the 53%:
The Juggernaut in a nutshell
Before talking about economics, I want to say something about democracy. In July, I was in Spain, talking to the “indignados” there, the protesters. There, I could use a bullhorn….
Propaganda: repetition and fear
A propaganda film about propaganda. Learn how the powers that be use argumentum ad metum (the appeal to fear) and constant repetition to subtly manipulate your emotions. Be sure to…
- Closed System
- Competition
- Complexity
- Culture Divide
- Current Events
- Debt Ceiling
- Economic Policy
- Economic Theory
- Federal Budget
- Game Theory
- Inflation
- Interdependency
- Keynesianism
- Legal Theory
- Marxism
- Motivation
- National Debt
- Notable Quotables
- Perpetuity
- Political Theory
- Poverty
- Systems Theory
- Wealth
- Zero-sum
Occupy Wall Street demands are vaguely familiar
The protestors on Wall Street known as ‘Occupy Wall Street’ have recently been identified by a list of demands evidently posted by one of their followers. Though there are no…
The social contract question
Granted we are social animals and engaged in a social contract, why does Warren assume that the factory owner isn’t putting forth his part of the bargain? Is it assumed…
Farms cropping up in the Bronx
(WSJ) The slice of land in the Bronx at first appears no different than many of the borough’s derelict empty lots, where any glimpse of green often resolves into a…
Local currencies could reshape Brazilian economy
The Wall Street Journal recently featured a story on a currency called the capivari, a local currency emblazoned with the face of a giant rodent. The capivari is one of…
Do the poor get poorer?
People often say that “the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer.” Economics professor Steve Horwitz explains why in the United States, this characterization is largely a…
Is Social Security a Ponzi Scheme?
In the last couple of Republican presidential debates, a comment made by candidate Rick Perry on whether Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme has been the center of much discussion….
Desktop manufacturing gaining steam
In the fourth section of Juggernaut, I proposed something called a ‘Materializer’ or what is called a ‘Replicator’ in science fiction as a tool that can provide independent individuals with…
A call for more civil discourse
In his article on FEE, Steven Horowitz argues that a key to civil discourse is attempting to view the debate from the other side. It is all too easy to…
Kon-Tiki–a reminder of possible
(Janson Media) Kon-Tiki is the Academy Award-winning film of an astonishing adventure, a journey spanning 4,300 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean by raft. Intrigued by Polynesian folklore, Norwegian biologist…
21st century Chinatown?
Those who remember the 1974 classic film Chinatown will find this story eerily familiar. (ReasonTV) The Antelope Valley is a vast patch of desert on the outskirts of Los Angeles…
The virtues of competition
Orson Welles as Harry Lime in the film adaptation of Graham Greene’s Third Man. Don’t be so gloomy. After all it’s not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy…
A theory about the poor’s aversion to welfare
(The Economist) Instead of opposing redistribution because people expect to make it to the top of the economic ladder, the authors of the new paper argue that people don’t like…
Are sovereign islands the new frontier?
(Details) [Peter] Thiel spends a lot of time thinking about frontiers. “Way more than is healthy,” he admits. Not just financial frontiers, though that’s his day job: He cofounded PayPal,…
Juggernaut
This is a blog dedicated to economics, politics, and modern living. It is anchored by the theory in a recently published book titled Juggernaut: Why the System Crushes the Only…
Police and thieves in the street
by Junior Murvin Police and thieves in the street (oh yeah) Fighting the nation with their guns and ammunition Police and thieves in the street (oh yeah) Scaring the nation…