Hedge funds are in the news again. (I wrote about the Melvin Capital hedge fund blow-up a couple of months ago.) A firm named Archegos Capital Management “blew up” (to use the common vivid metaphor), vaporizing tens of billions of … Continue reading
Editor’s note: A shorter version of this article first appeared at Newsweek. Dr. Gary Scott Smith is the author of the new book, “Duty and Destiny: The Life and Faith of Winston Churchill.” During his long life, Winston Churchill suffered … Continue reading
It is quite often the case that the simplest explanation is the correct explanation. The namesake for this principle comes from the English philosopher and theologian, Franciscan friar William of Ockham. It is called Occam’s razor. From various sources, Occam’s … Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. On February 14, 2021, the world quietly lost one of the most intriguing, enduring figures of the Cold War. He was Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa, the highest-ranking Soviet Bloc … Continue reading
Since the days of Adam Smith, economists have sought a set of social institutions which permit “neither dominion, nor discrimination,” to use Nobel Prize-winning economist James Buchanan’s phrase. In this, economists are joined by all people of goodwill—including those in … Continue reading
Join AIER’s Bastiat Society program in DC and Grove City College’s Institute for Faith & Freedom for a virtual event with Dr. Paul Kengor, professor of political science at Grove City College and Senior Director & Chief Academic Fellow at the college’s Institute … Continue reading
The investment world was convulsed last week when at least one hedge fund (Melvin Capital) lost billions of dollars. The sudden, massive losses happened when a tidal wave of independent individual investors, spearheaded by posts on reddit.com, triggered a short … Continue reading
Americans are known to have big hearts. When disaster strikes, Americans unselfishly and heroically extend a helping hand. That certainly has been the case in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nobody wants to see those who have lost income through … Continue reading
Walter E. Williams, prolific author, piercing cultural commentator, old-school economist (that’s a good thing), devoted husband, loving father, and long-time friend of Grove City College, has passed from this world. To the rest of America, Williams was known as a … Continue reading
With all the attention commanded by the presidential campaign, election, and aftermath, plus the ongoing COVID-19 story, many other issues have faded into the background. Though escaping the headlines, some of these other issues will be with us for a … Continue reading
In my previous column, I described the “paradox of prosperity”—the strange tendency of many people who have benefited from economic advances to denounce and vilify the source of their prosperity, a sort of “bite-the-hand-that-feeds-you” phenomenon. One example of this syndrome … Continue reading
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at National Catholic Register. “In 1949, some friends and I came upon a noteworthy news item in Nature, a magazine of the Academy of Sciences.” So opens Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s majestic The Gulag Archipelago, … Continue reading
In Friedrich Hayek’s 1954 book Capitalism and the Historians, the late French philosopher and political economist Bertrand de Jouvenel noted a baffling historical trend: “Strangely enough, the fall from favor of the money-maker coincides with an increase in his social … Continue reading
“If someone calls it socialism,” said the Rev. William Barber at an August 2019 conference of the Democratic National Committee, “then we must compel them to acknowledge that the Bible must then promote socialism, because Jesus offered free health care … Continue reading
A late summer, early morning dawn greeted me as I pulled into the faculty parking lot at Grove City College, a small, Christian liberal arts school in northwestern Pennsylvania. As I walked to my office, I marveled at the bright … Continue reading
Our Chief Academic Fellow, Dr. Paul Kengor, joined political commentator, podcaster, and author Michael Knowles to discuss Kengor’s new book “The Devil and Karl Marx.” We invite you to watch the entertaining discussion. Click Here to watch on YouTube
Hong Kong police arrested billionaire publisher Jimmy Lai on August 10, releasing him two days later. His “crime” was to express opposition to the mainland Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) aggression against Hong Kong – both in person and through the … Continue reading
A recent opinion piece in The New York Times, “Tax the Rich and Their Heirs … more fairly,” was both reassuring and refreshing. It was reassuring to know that policy debates about relatively prosaic public policy issues continue to be … Continue reading
When we think of the Fourth of July, we often think of backyard barbecues with friends, baseball, and maybe a beer or two. This year, with COVID-19, maybe we can at least have the beer. But Independence Day was originally … Continue reading
As I approached the county courthouse for jury duty, my unfocused mind was in many different places, including being sincerely burdened by the state of our nation. I had filled out the eligibility questionnaire, made arrangements with my employer, and … Continue reading
