Editor’s note: This article first appeared at the National Catholic Register. On Feb. 24, 2022, I was awakened by dinging text messages and phone calls from an old friend, an expert on Russia, the Cold War and communism. He doesn’t … Continue reading
Economics & Political Systems
The Tumultuous Life and Conversion of Eldridge Cleaver
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. One figure that liberals didn’t commemorate this Black History Month is Eldridge Cleaver, the Black Panther Party ringleader of the 1960s. The reason is no great mystery: Had Cleaver remained … Continue reading
Russian Dissident Alexei Navalny Dies in Brutal Arctic Gulag
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. In a breaking story that will have serious international implications, we’re just learning from the Russians that dissident and opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in Vladimir Putin’s gulag. Specifically, … Continue reading
The Last Hero of the Cold War … Lech Walesa Survives
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. There were seven. Seven figures above all, with varying influences, some more intentional than others, who brought down the Berlin Wall, freed Eastern Europe from communism, took down the Soviet … Continue reading
Bud Light’s Super Bowl Hail Mary
The Hail Mary pass. It’s a desperate, last-ditch attempt by a football team to score a touchdown in the waning seconds of the game. The pass usually comes from near midfield, well outside of the typical scoring zone, and, as … Continue reading
What Did Cause the Civil War?
Nikki Haley recently provoked a firestorm of controversy for failing to name slavery when asked by journalists what caused the Civil War. A chorus of critics, including President Joe Biden, censured her response. Biden declared, “Let me be clear for … Continue reading
Remembering the Boston Tea Party
In recent years, Americans have protested racism, police brutality, environmental devastation, gun control laws, abortion, and many other issues. Millions have fought to expand the rights of women, LGBTQIA individuals, blacks, and other minorities. Today many are remonstrating against antisemitism … Continue reading
The Supreme Court’s Principled Position on Carbon Dioxide Policy
Decisions rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court reverberate throughout our society and political system. In addition to actual decisions and the written opinions that accompany them, the Court sometimes has a major impact on public policy by choosing not to … Continue reading
Making Big Pharma an Offer It Can’t Refuse
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the The American Spectator. As part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) gained the authority to negotiate the price the government pays for prescription … Continue reading
The Bud Light Hangover
Anheuser-Busch InBev is the world’s largest beer company with over 400 global brands. Among these brands is one of America’s leading light beers, Bud Light, known for its sophomoric, fun, and outlandish advertising characters like Spuds McKenzie and the Dilly-Dilly … Continue reading
Russia’s Perpetual Culture of Death
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at The American Spectator. “I feel only sympathy for the Russians. No people have suffered as much death.” That was the response of a colleague of mine, Jan, a Polish professor … Continue reading
Moral Hazard as a Way of Life
Moral hazard occurs when an agreement people make to act in concert for their mutual benefit results in an incentive for one of them to act immorally. The classic case is insurance. When an insurance company contracts with a homeowner … Continue reading
Remittances: Private Sector Transfers Overcome World Poverty
Did you celebrate the “International Day of Family Remittances” this year? Probably not. If you’re like most Americans, the word “remittance” is foreign to you. However, to families in countries around the world, remittances are lifelines that help them overcome … Continue reading
Our Economic Illiteracy
“Economics,” wrote Henry Hazlitt, “is haunted by more fallacies than any other study known to man.” True. No epoch is immune to the scourge of economic illiteracy. Yet, we find ourselves in a moment of especially unprecedented economic ignorance. We’ve … Continue reading
Problems with Government-Run Health Care
Last week, I spoke with a lifelong friend. He has lived in western Canada for almost 50 years, and he was in Phoenix staying at the home of another lifelong friend. Rick flew to Phoenix to arrange for knee-replacement surgery. … Continue reading
Tragic Farce: The Origins and Destiny of Critical Theory
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. Karl Marx once famously commented that Hegel wrote that history repeats itself. Marx then supplemented this by noting that this happens the first time as tragedy, the second as farce. … Continue reading
Yuri Maltsev (1950-2023)
Last week, economist, professor, and adventurer Yuri Maltsev passed away. Yuri’s passing is a gigantic loss for the economics profession, for the conservative and libertarian movements, and for me personally. He was a courageous advocate for truth, justice, and liberty—a … Continue reading
Diamonds are Forever
An object of endless allure and fascination, what can the little diamond teach us about the ‘dismal science’—economics? In this extended essay, Grove City College associate professor of economics, Caleb S. Fuller, offers an economic meditation on this well-beloved precious … Continue reading
The Destructiveness of ESG
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. The Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) scoring system is undergoing intense scrutiny. It also has become quite a political football, with conservative governors, attorneys general, and other officials pushing … Continue reading
Averting Nuclear Armageddon—in October 1962 and Today
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at National Catholic Register. It is ironic and scary that 60 years after the Cuban Missile Crisis that brought the world’s two superpowers to the brink of nuclear Armageddon, President Joe … Continue reading