The thought mechanisms that lead some people to like (or, as economists say, have preference for) gambling are of no more economic interest than the reasons why some people like going to soccer games while others like to stay at home. Answering such questions may be a job for psychologists, but it is not one for economists.
"It turns out that there was nothing inevitable about cultural decline. All it takes is one person to make the change."
Although John Cassidy didn't realize it, his analysis underscored the role that government policies played in the recent financial disaster.
Democracy may be a self-limiting disease, as civilization itself seems to be. There are thumping paradoxes in its philosophy, and some of them have a suicidal smack.
"Bastiat knew what most educated people never learn, that the source of all injustice in society stems from violations of freedom."
"The Aquinas–John of Paris–Locke view is the 'labor theory' (defining 'labor' as the expenditure of human energy rather than working for a wage) of the origin of property, not a labor theory of value."
The unseen effect that is missing in his "Broken Window" analysis is the diversion of time and energy from a community-enhancing endeavor (the unseen) to one of restoration (the seen).
"Just as serious as the economic disruption are the social consequences of inflation."
"The object aimed at in the punishment of vices is to deprive every man of his natural right and liberty to pursue his own happiness under the guidance of his own judgment and by the use of his own property."
