I’m a fan of dystopian fiction, but I overlooked Henry Hazlitt’s The Great Idea (subsequently republished as Time Will Run Back) until last December. I feared a long-winded, clunky version of Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson, but I gave it a chance, and my gamble paid off. I read the whole thing (almost 400 pages) on a red-eye flight – feeling wide awake the whole way.
Tag: capitalism
Thanos, Renegades, Working, Anarcho-Capitalism, & Technology (32m) – Editor’s Break 128
Editor’s Break 128 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: what New Years means to him; why Thanos is a villain; the importance of cultural and economic renegades pushing boundaries toward the fight for liberty; the necessity of working to prevent starvation; how anarcho-capitalism explains reality; who the so-called “addictive” qualities of technology is a problem for; and more. Happy New Year 2019!
On Capitalism III
Noam Chomsky and other left anarchist types criticize capitalism and wage labor by arguing that workers can’t give valid consent because their alternative to working is starvation. Nevermind that employers are not the force creating the prospect of starvation (that’s Mother Nature’s doing), but doesn’t this criticism apply equally to every other arrangement?
The Siren of Democratic Fundamentalism
Every economics textbook explain how market outcomes can go wrong. Externalities. Monopoly. Asymmetric information. Irrationality. Democratic outcomes can easily go wrong for all the same reasons. Is it possible that Scandinavians simply underestimate the severity of the disincentives their policies generate?
Has Trump Been Good for Libertarianism?
I saw someone post that Trump is the most libertarian president and there was a long thread of people debating this. I think this idea is super wrong, and likely a hard stance to defend. I don’t think any of my friends would take the challenge to try to defend Trump as a libertarian president. That being said. I think I will make a post of why I believe Trump provides the presidency that libertarians should love the most since, at least Nixon, but probably since Grover Cleveland.
On Labor Day
Perhaps Labor Day would best be celebrated by recognizing the source of wage labor: capitalism. Economist George Reisman had it correct when he wrote that few people could survive by selling products. Many more people survive by selling their labor.
It’s Time to Free All Speech Again
No matter how you feel about Alex Jones and his Infowars media brand, this wasn’t good for free speech. It was the escalation of a war that has been building for some time, where voices running counter to the political biases of the dominant social media empires are being silenced.
Astute Socialists Opt for Participatory Fascism in Practice
By opting for participatory fascism, they can get the bulk of what they seek, by means of pervasive regulation, heavy taxation, and floods of government spending, while allowing the fettered capitalists enough room for maneuver that they keep the economy from going straight to hell.
Scarcity
It seems to me that there are 3 kinds of scarcity: 1) natural, 2) monopolistic, and 3) creative. The first and third are conducive to free markets. The second can produce horrors.
Economic Systems Transform Culture, Not Vice-Versa
I think capitalism is purely an accident, usually it doesn’t start. There have been several point in history where centralized control collapsed but markets still operated. In that period of time, no one was able to grab the reigns of power but peaceful transactions were highly profitable. Later, philosophers came in and acted like they were leading the parade. In short, I think the enlightenment explanation is wrong.