Introduction
The Stoic philosophy was founded by Zeno, a Phoenician (c. 320-c. 250 B.C.), but nothing by him has come down to us except a few fragmentary quotations. He was followed by Cleanthes, then by Chrysippus, and still later by Panaetius and Posidonus. But though Chrysippus, for example, is said to have written 705 books, practically nothing is extant by any of these philosophers except in second-hand accounts. Only three of the ancient Stoics, Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius, survive in complete books.
The Wisdom of the Stoics: Selections from Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius
The release of the House Intelligence Committee’s memo on the FBI’s abuse of the FISA process set off a partisan firestorm. The Democrats warned us beforehand that declassifying the memo would be the end the world as we know it. It was reckless to allow Americans to see this classified material, they said. Agents in the field could be harmed, sources and methods would be compromised, they claimed.
The standard justification for patent protection is that without this government-granted monopoly, innovations will come to an abrupt halt. People only innovate with the expectation that they will make money, and this form of economic protectionism is therefore necessary in a capitalist economy.
So say the great expositors of crony capitalism, anyway.
Over at ThinkMarkets, Stefan Kolev provides an excellent summary of Friedrich von Wieser’s career and contributions to Austrian economics. Wieser and his brother-in-law Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk formed the second generation of the Austrian school, helping develop Carl Menger’s ideas into the rich, varied, and flourishing tradition we know today.
“Could Bill Belichick’s grasp of economics be the key to the Patriots’ success?” asks Paul Solman at PBS’s Making Sen$e. He gives examples of Belichick seemingly understanding the concepts of opportunity cost and diminishing returns (from the perspective of neoclassical economics).
Today on The Tom Woods Show, Chris Calton joined Tom to discuss one of the most fascinating characters in American history, Lysander Spooner.
Chris and Tom look at how Spooner evolved as a thinker, and in particular his view on the Constitution. They also talk about the podcast Historical Controversies and the war on drugs.
The long anticipated memo from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devn Nunes has finally been released, confirming some of the allegations that have been waged at the investigation into the Trump campaign for month. The document outlines how the Obama Justice Department used the controversial “Steele Dossier” as a vital component of the warrant they presented to the FISA courts justifying their surveillance of members of the Trump presidential campaign.
