The striking connection between contraception and sovereign debt
Mark Steyn has an uncanny knack for pointing out obscure and yet compelling aspects of our political economy. In his latest column, he shows how the latest controversy over Obama’s…
14 Ways an Economist Says I Love You
Clever: (Fosslien.com) Give your loved one a nerdy Valentine and they’ll be yours forever! Why? Because if you give them diamonds/cufflinks this year, anything you get them next year will fall…
The parasite economy
From a recent Heritage release: This annual study by The Heritage Foundation analyzes federal assistance programs for everything from housing, health care, and food stamps to college tuition and retirement…
I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that you support him no longer; then you will behold him, like a great Colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away, fall of his own weight and break in pieces.
Étienne de La Boétie. Reminds one of the solutions put forth in the book.
- 2007-08 Crisis
- Autarchy
- Budget Deficit
- Bureaucracy
- Capitalism
- Closed System
- Competition
- Current Events
- Debt Ceiling
- Distributism
- Division of Labor
- Ecology
- Economic Theory
- Federal Budget
- Free Land
- Free Market
- Frontier Thesis
- Game Theory
- Inspiration
- Interdependency
- Legal Theory
- National Debt
- Political Theory
- Polycentrism
- Poverty
- Rational Choice Theory
- Self-Government
- Self-Reliance
- Self-Rule
- Self-Sufficiency
- Simplicity
- Solutions
- Specialism
- Systems Theory
- Trade
- Wealth
- Zero-sum
Signs of a new de-urbanization?
After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, a great de-urbanization took place when city dwellers realized that the centralized system was unreliable and even dangerous. Smaller,…
- Closed System
- Competition
- Complexity
- Current Events
- Distributism
- Ecology
- Economic Theory
- Free Land
- Frontier Thesis
- Game Theory
- Indiana School
- Influences
- Interdependency
- Motivation
- Perpetuity
- Political Theory
- Polycentrism
- Public Choice Theory
- Self-Government
- Self-Rule
- Solutions
- Systems Theory
- Zero-sum
Sustainable development and the tragedy of commons
Stockholm whiteboard seminars: Nobel Prize-winner Elinor Ostrom explains how people can use natural resources in a sustainable way based on the diversity that exists in the world. Succinct brilliance.
- 2007-08 Crisis
- Austrian School
- Closed System
- Competition
- Complexity
- Current Events
- Debt Ceiling
- Economic Policy
- Economic Theory
- Federal Budget
- Foreign Aid
- George Mason School
- Inflation
- Interdependency
- Keynesianism
- Marxism
- Motivation
- National Debt
- Perpetuity
- Political Theory
- Systems Theory
- Wealth
- Welfare Statism
- Zero-sum
The end of the euro?–Tyler Cowen on the European crisis
(EconTalk) Tyler Cowen of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the European crisis. Cowen argues that Greece is likely to default either in fact or in…
Good reads–Pricing Beauty by Ashley Mears
This book is a thorough, academic treatment of the modeling industry. The author ably covers a number of fascinating sociological aspects of one of the more extraordinary industries in modern…
Good reads–Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
By many accounts, Daniel Kahneman is the father of his field, Behavioral Economics, which is a mix between behavioral psychology and traditional economics and has provided perhaps the most fascinating…
- Chicago School
- Closed System
- Competition
- Complexity
- Distributism
- Division of Labor
- Ecology
- Economic Policy
- Economic Theory
- Free Market
- Frontier Thesis
- Interdependency
- Keynesianism
- Motivation
- Perpetuity
- Polycentrism
- Self-Reliance
- Self-Sufficiency
- Simplicity
- Solutions
- Specialism
- Systems Theory
- Trade
- Wealth
- Welfare Statism
- Zero-sum
The inefficiency of home-grown food
Recently, two members of congress have introduced legislation which is aimed at lowering carbon output by encouraging local food production and distribution. There are a number of things wrong with…
- Austrian School
- Capitalism
- Chicago School
- Closed System
- Competition
- Complexity
- Culture Divide
- Distributism
- Division of Labor
- Economic Policy
- Economic Theory
- Free Land
- Free Market
- Game Theory
- Interdependency
- Keynesianism
- Marxism
- Political Theory
- Poverty
- Self-Government
- Self-Reliance
- Self-Rule
- Self-Sufficiency
- Sociology
- Systems Theory
- Trade
- Wealth
- Welfare Statism
- Zero-sum
Zero-sum economics: the core issue of the great debate
Is the economy a zero-sum game? John Mackey, co-founder and co-CEO of Whole Foods Market says that it isn’t a zero-sum game. (WSJ.com) Business is not a zero-sum game struggling…
An insoluble problem
Excedrin’s funny and insightful campaign reveals a lot about the unnecessary complexity of modern trade.
Population 7 Billion
There will soon be seven billion people on the planet. By 2045 global population is projected to reach nine billion. Can the planet take the strain? via Population 7 Billion…
- 2007-08 Crisis
- Austrian School
- Autarchy
- Closed System
- Competition
- Complexity
- Culture Divide
- Current Events
- Economic Theory
- Frontier Thesis
- Game Theory
- Inflation
- Inspiration
- Interdependency
- Motivation
- Polycentrism
- Resources
- Self-Government
- Self-Reliance
- Self-Rule
- Self-Sufficiency
- Simplicity
- Solutions
- Specialism
- Systems Theory
- Trade
- Wealth
Bank Transfer Day is November 5
A group on Facebook has announced that Nov. 5th is Bank Transfer Day. The idea is simple: take your money out of the sprawling, corporate monstrosities called banks and move…
Films of note in theaters
Margin Call: A thriller that revolves around the key people at a investment bank over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the financial crisis. Ides of March: A…
- 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%:
- 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…
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…
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…