True Grit and True Commerce
At least one reviewer was dismayed that everything had a price in the True Grit story. Indeed, Mattie Ross is constantly making economic calculations while trying to make the best deals she can.
Commodity Money in Colonial America
[This article is excerpted from A History of Money and Banking in the United States (2002). An MP3 audio file of this article, read by Matthew Mezinskis, is available for download.]
Public Service Is an Ignoble Calling
It’s difficult to say “Bush School of Government and Public Service” aloud without gagging.
Libertarianism and Science Fiction: What’s the Connection?
The widespread popularity of science fiction is one of the factors that has helped to keep individualism at the center of American culture.
A People’s Uprising Against the Empire
More than the anti-Soviet protests of the late 1980s, the Egyptian uprisings reveal what might eventually come home to the American empire itself, under the right conditions and at the right time.
Blinder Understates the Cost of a Carbon Tax
In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Alan Blinder listed numerous alleged benefits of a phased-in carbon tax.
Is Life without the State Always Chaos?
Removing the ability of a lone societal institution to arrogate to itself the right to pronounce law and to decide cases would result not in disorder but in a legal framework that more perfectly reflects the norms of society.
What Can the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility Teach Us?
This is your one-article guide to understanding a core idea of economics.The law of diminishing marginal utility plays a crucial role in showing that socialism is economically and ethically inferior to capitalism. It also has surprising implications for every area of policy, including money, interest rates, and property rights.
How Marshall Field Succeeded
This world-renowned merchant seeks no fame for his business achievements. Yet there is no story more full of encouragement and inspiration for youth.
Raw Capitalism in the Restaurant World
The beauty of the kitchen is that credentials or degrees don’t matter. If there is such a thing as dog-eat-dog capitalism, this must be it — with customers holding the leash.
