The 2021 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to David Card, Joshua Angrist, and Guido Imbens. David Card received the award for his paper (coauthored with Alan Krueger) “Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.” This was used by some as scientific proof that the minimum wage does not create unemployment and should be raised.
It’s a sure bet that as the economy worsens, unemployment surges, foreclosures rise, defaults climb, and economic misery ensues, we’ll be told it’s all capitalism’s fault. The question one must ask, however, is, “What capitalism?”
Myths are crucial for nations to develop a sense of identity and civic pride. In many countries, national myths are centered around the charisma of heroes. Heroes are depicted as phenomenal individuals who uplift society through their determination and self-sacrifice. An empirical survey conducted by Scott T. Allison and George R. Goethals demonstrated that participants associated heroism with eight adjectives: intelligent, strong, reliable, resilient, caring, charismatic, selfless, and inspiring.
The US federal government has a long history of intervening in voluntary human action, frequently tilting the scales to favor some over others. This is perhaps more apparent when vital resources, like water and marginally productive land, are involved. The US West, and in particular the southwestern US, provide great examples, some of which have been documented at mises.org over the years (see here and here).
I was born shortly after the end of World War II, in 1949, in the British occupied zone of West Germany. My parents were both refugees, endangered at or forcibly expelled from their original homes in Soviet-occupied East Germany. As countless others of my generation, then, I was raised by a generation of parents and teachers who had just experienced some horrific military defeat and were then subjected to harsh and often brutal treatment by hostile foreign occupiers.
