It's ridiculous to think you can divine people's politics merely from their views on the pandemic or any given policy response to it. Similarly, it's absurd to rebut a view by referring to the holder's politics.
Our Foolish Politicized Era
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How to Panic the Public
Disseminate worst-case scenarios, taking care to ignore the dubious assumptions that go into modeling while vilifying anyone, no matter how well-qualified, who refuses to ignore them. Emphasize the (alleged) benefits of a draconian government response, taking care to ignore the costs while vilifying anyone, no matter how well-qualified, who refuses to ignore them. Repeat as necessary, preferably often.
What the Love of Power Trumps
How interesting that the people most worried about Trump's authoritarian personality demand draconian government responses to the pandemic. Love of power must trump fear of Trump.
An Economy Cannot Be Crippled
Lockdown doesn't cripple "the economy." It cripples people who are trying to live. Strictly speaking, there's no economy. There are people interacting in particular ways regularly.
Don’t Worry about Election Interference
If you're worried that Russia and Iran are actually interfering in the U.S. election, relax: they cancel each other out.
The Roderick Long Interview, Part 2
TGIF: Is Socialism Good in Theory?
This is an expanded version of something I wrote for The Freeman, October 2003, during my tenure as the editor. Socialism has been mortally discredited on economic grounds, thanks to Ludwig von Mises, F. A. Hayek, and history. But for many people it has not been discredited on moral grounds. You can tell this by how often people say that while socialism doesn’t work in practice, it is good, even beautiful, in theory. (Even Thomas Sowell has said that.) Strange notion—that a theory which doesn’t work in the world can somehow still be good. Where else is it to be judged? William Graham Sumner,...
The Criminal War against Iraq
I haven't read the book yet, but I recommend this review of Robert Draper's How the Bush Administration Took America Into Iraq by James North at Mondoweiss. Indisputably, George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq in 2003, based on lies and cooked "intelligence," was the worst, most consequential foreign-policy move by an American president in recent history. The Middle East, the United States, and the rest of the world will suffer its effects for many years to come. This is not just a work of history, based on 300 interviews. North writes: The Iraq tragedy is relevant today. On September 14, Donald...
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