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…
Free Market Forum via Hillsdale College
All those interested in all things free will be delighted by a series of events this week hosted by Hillsdale College. The information is as follows: Free Market Forum “Markets,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
In our age there is no such thing as “keeping out of politics.” All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.
George Orwell, ‘Politics and the English Language’.
Economist soundtracks–Friedman
In this latest edition of Economist Soundtracks, we look at a man who The Economist magazine described as “the most influential economist of the second half of the 20th century…possibly…
Economist soundtracks–Marx
In this, the fourth installment of economist soundtracks, we look at the fascinating life and work of Karl Marx, who obviously faced no shortage of facial hair. Karl Heinrich Marx…
How to choose a winner
Thanks to another week of volatility in the markets, we are again face-to-face with the fact that there is absolutely no sensible reason for the movement of stock and derivatives…
Economist soundtracks–Hayek
This is the second installment of “economist soundtracks”, dedicated to Keynes’ nemesis and challenger to statists everywhere, Friedrich A. Hayek. Friedrich August Hayek CH (8 May 1899 – 23 March 1992),…
Economist soundtracks–Keynes
In this and subsequent “economist soundtracks”, we will feature a playlist of songs that highlight each economist’s life and work. To kick things off, I have chosen the economist that…