The Character of American Individualism
Individualism, and its economic corollary, laissez-faire liberalism, has not always taken on a conservative hue, has not always functioned, as it often does today, as an apologist for the status quo. On the contrary, the revolution of modern times was
Love, Fear, and the Law of Good Intentions
Max Weber, citing Leon Trotsky at Brest-Litovsk, bluntly stated that “every state is founded on violence.” The imaginative theories that have been at times employed to justify the state violence do not fall under the scope of this article. What is
Warburton on Theories of Monetary Control and the Fed
In December 1946, Clark Warburton published an article in the Political Science Quarterly titled, “Monetary Control under the Federal Reserve Act,” which was reprinted in chapter 14 of his landmark book, Depression, Inflation, and Monetary Policy (1966). He argues that
A Brief History of Pundits Encouraging Nuclear War
There is an active, influential, and well-paid minority of pundits and politicians in America who apparently believe that escalating conflict between nuclear powers—and even nuclear war itself—is not really that big a deal. These, of course, are the sorts of people
A Manufactured World Crisis
Few people today ask the most important question about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Many people want America to stay out of the fight, but even they don’t ask the vital question. Why does the world face a crisis
The West’s Russia Sanctions Could Lead to Many Unpredictable and Unpleasant Outcomes
Imposing sanctions will advance the reach of surveillance capitalism while strengthening the power of states to control the financial system overall. The end result will be a lower standard of living and a less free economy. Original Article: "The West's Russia
The West’s Russia Sanctions Show Why States Want to Weaponize the Financial System
In the past month, Western nations have allied to wage an economic and technological war against the Russian government and key Russian institutions. These measures included economic sanctions on well-connected Russian oligarchs, Russian banks, and even a US ban of Russian energy imports. Despite Western skepticism of Russian
In the Age of Covid, We’re Reminded an Unjust Law Is No Law at All
It is one thing to follow the law for prudential reasons and another thing entirely to assume the law brings with it some sort of moral imperative. Laws rarely do. Original Article: "In the Age of Covid, We're Reminded an Unjust
End the Fed and Get More Doritos
The US government’s Consumer Price Index indicates prices have increased 7.9 percent in the last year. While this statistic shows the highest rate of increase in forty years, it still understates the amount prices have increased, in part because the
Canceling American Athletes to Punish Russia: The 1980 Moscow Olympics Boycott
Today, we see Russian athletes, artists, and musicians punished because of their government's invasion of Ukraine. The last time Russia invaded another country, President Jimmy Carter decided to punish American Olympic athletes. Original Article: "Canceling American Athletes to Punish Russia: The