[A Balance of Titans by Ivan Eland. (Independent Institute, 2025; 150pp.)]
Ivan Eland has long been a figure of respect among those who favor a less aggressive foreign policy, and he is also outstanding in his ability to come up with bold and original arguments, not only in defense studies but also in constitutional interpretation. These qualities are much in evidence in his new book A Balance of Titans, and in what follows I’ll comment on a few points of interest.
The belief that tourism “brings money into the country” and is therefore good for “the nation” is rooted in a persistent fallacy: mercantilism—the mistaken idea that money is wealth. From this confusion springs a host of destructive ideologies.
A subtle subset of the statist non sequitur is what we may now name the statist insinuation or statist implication. This commonly occurs in conversation or media. It involves the unquestioned assumption that the state is the natural or necessary agent of moral order, safety, or progress.
The US military has been drawing up plans to launch strikes on Venezuela and potentially capture strategic ports and airfields on the path to a full-blown war.
The new bailout is said to be a “public-private partnership”: a state-sponsored corporatist scheme to bail out investors and Milei.
That is where we are today. The Federal Reserve has used its tools to lock inflation into our lives for some time to come. For most citizens, our major challenge today is to fight the rise in prices for consumables that matter most to us: food, housing, clothing, and transportation.
Prospective homebuyers around the country are cheering the Federal Reserve’s rate cut. But unfortunately, the Fed may have just made buying a house even more difficult.
Although this year’s Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science winners are relatively favorable toward free markets, we should not forget that most of its winners have been technocrats that their wisdom alone can create the prosperous and “just” economy. Joseph Stiglitz is one of the most obnoxious examples.
