The true lesson from Japan is that central planners prefer to gradually nationalize the economy before even considering a moderate reduction in government size and control.
Trade agreements have thus become obsolete tokens of negotiation in larger geopolitical disputes, protectionist tools for managing and interfering with global trade flows.
Anti-market activists in Argentina try to blame the country's economic woes on markets, but the populist movement of Peronism is what has doomed the country to endless cycles of economic and monetary crises.
Thanks to huge amounts of fiscal and monetary stimulus, China is in the midst of a very large housing bubble, with predictable results for housing affordability.
The African continent is exceedingly rich in natural resources, yet the living standard of Africans is very low. The most plausible explanation for this discrepancy is the lack of a system that protects private property.
It's hard to see how burning subway cars and torching businesses will reduce inequality in Chile. But the protestors there claim their violence is justified by the fact some people are richer than others.
