“It is not from the benevolence of the mask maker, glove maker, or hand-sanitizer maker that we expect our person protective equipment, but from their regard to their own self-interest. We address ourselves not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk...
free markets
Live Your Life
Could it be that we’re simply a victim of our own technology and the hubris acquired in response to its perceived capabilities?
An Approach to Collective Problems
Libertarian political philosophy, as a practical matter, does not offer a prefabricated set of solutions to collective problems. Rather, it's a liberty-based approach to ameliorating collective problems that begins by acknowledging (among other things) the dispersion,...
Panic Buying, Medical Rationing Underscore Importance of Free Markets
The recent coronavirus panic has provided a stark reminder about the scarcity of economic goods. From people hoarding and stockpiling common household items like toilet paper and hand sanitizer to the downright morbid reports of doctors in Italy and Spain having to...
TGIF: Libertarianism in Emergencies
Libertarians have always acknowledged that emergencies -- severe extraordinary conditions of limited duration -- can justify actions that would be unacceptable under normal circumstances. This doesn't mean that all the rights-based rules disappear, only that some...
Why We Need Free Markets To Fight Pandemics
The natural response in the face of a pandemic like the one we are experiencing today with COVID-19 is to take immediate and direct action to curb the crisis. We are told we need to have extensive quarantines, citywide lockdowns, and shelter-in-place orders. We...
TGIF: Despite Appearances, ‘Price Gouging’ Helps People in Distress
[This article originally appeared on the American Institute for Economic Research website on September 12, 2017.] Critics of the free economy often complain that the market fails to “behave” as economic theory predicts. Hence the voluminous literature on “market...
TGIF: Democracy Can’t Fix Socialism
However you feel about democracy, it can’t fix what’s wrong with socialism. In theory, modern representative democracy -- unlike ancient Greek direct democracy -- means that people vote for so-called representatives to fill various executive and legislative...
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