The “Rules-Based International Order” Is Dead. Washington Killed It.
The lack of self-awareness among the many American officials who are striking a moralistic pose in opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine is striking.
The lack of self-awareness among the many American officials who are striking a moralistic pose in opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine is striking.
Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton recently concluded their tour of the Caribbean to celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee. Commentators contend that the trip was orchestrated to highlight the relevance of the monarchy in a region where the demand for Republican status is escalating. Though the visit was slated to be a cordial event William and Kate were greeted with hostility by Jamaican politicians and protesters who denounced Britain’s involvement in the slave trade and colonialism.
In the debate on economic growth people usually confuse education with human capital - but there is a stark difference because the latter refers to know-how rather than mere theoretical knowledge. Mastering content suggests that one is educated, whereas human capital indicates the application of theory. A graduate with an engineering degree is educated, however he demonstrates human capital when he files for a patent or starts a business.
The German Political Scientist Jürgen W. Falter analyzed by far the largest and most comprehensive sample from the two central NSDAP membership card indexes. As Falter demonstrates, the proportion of blue-collar workers in the NSDAP was always far higher than has been assumed by earlier historical researchers. Similar to the party’s voters, roughly 40 percent of the NSDAP’s members were working class.
“Most citizens are not doing us any favor by voting. Asking everyone to vote is like asking everyone to litter.”
—Jason Brennan, Against Democracy
No, the title is not a typo: I mean the opposite of the quip many people use after elections: “If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain.”
Since Donald Trump was elected in 2016, populist currents have swept across the American Right. The failed nation-building enterprises launched by the Bush administration and continued by the succeeding Obama administration sowed the seeds for a non-interventionist reaction on the Right.
It seems strange, but not surprising, how many of the economic problems the nation is facing today have already been experienced in the not-too-distant past. High (price) inflation, rising interest rates, and a recession are all hallmarks of the early ‘80’s, with many of the economic woes being caused and purportedly solved by the Federal Reserve.
The Federal Reserve states that it “conducts the nation’s monetary policy to promote maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates in the U.S. economy.” However, let’s look at how well the Fed has done that job since its founding in 1913.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought all sorts of debates and revelations into the limelight, ranging from the laundry list of interventions enacted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as well as Russia, along with demands for the West to impose all sorts of sanctions. Within libertarian discourse, there has been great care to avoid siding with either party, out of sheer distaste for the cliché of choosing a lesser evil. What seems to have been left at the periphery since this invasion is the Russian affinity for pan-Slavism and autocracy.