The paternalistic assumption is an important strand within socialist critiques of markets, though it is not the whole story, and it varies significantly across socialist traditions. A clear way to frame it is this: some socialist opposition to markets rests on a guardianship model of society, in which experts, planners, or the state are assumed to make better […]
Socialist paternalism vs free market choices
Socialist paternalism vs free market choices
11 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of education, liberalism, libertarianism, Marxist economics
Knowing When It Works: Artists vs Producers
09 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of education, movies, Music, television, TV shows
Great artists are often distinguished not merely by talent, but by judgement. They possess an internal compass—hard-won, intuitive, and sometimes infuriatingly resistant to external advice—that tells them when a work works. This judgement is not always aligned with commercial logic, institutional taste, or the anxieties of producers and executives. The history of twentieth-century culture provides striking […]
Knowing When It Works: Artists vs Producers
The journal Science positively reviews a book criticizing gender surgery
03 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: free speech, gender gap, media bias, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
Is it a sign of the times that this long book review, appearing in the “Science and Society” section of the prestigious journal Science, actually approves of a book questioning the ubiquity of gender surgeries? I haven’t read the book, but you can be that Nature wouldn’t give a positive review such prominence. Here’s the…
The journal Science positively reviews a book criticizing gender surgery
Claim: Anthropogenic Global Warming Could Lead to a New Ice Age
30 Dec 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of education, economics of natural disasters, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: ice ages
Never mind that Earth has endured far more warming than today’s world without revisiting the extremes of the ancient past.
Claim: Anthropogenic Global Warming Could Lead to a New Ice Age
Auckland Uni gets it right
29 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
The Auckland University Freedom of Expression Statement looks very good. It is clear with few weasel words. Key extracts: The University actively fosters and supports lawful and constructive debate by its staff and students on any topic, including with the participation of external speakers invited by a staff member, or a recognised student association or student…
Auckland Uni gets it right
New York Unheated EV School Bus Horror
29 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of education, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA, transport economics, urban economics Tags: electric cars
Children’s fingers, toes and noses are so overrated…
New York Unheated EV School Bus Horror
STEVE MILLOY: Trump Dismantles Climate-Industrial Complex
23 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of climate change, economics of education, economics of natural disasters, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: climate alarmism
The Trump administration took a major whack at the climate-industrial complex this week. It’s a fantastic move. But another event this week spotlights the need to do more.
STEVE MILLOY: Trump Dismantles Climate-Industrial Complex
Kathleen Stock on female genital mutilation, cultural relativism, and a recent (odious) paper in The Journal of Medical Ethics
21 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, economics of education, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: sex discrimination
Over at UnHerd, philosopher Kathleen Stock, formerly of the University of Sussex, critiques a paper in The Journal of Medical Ethics that I discussed recently, a paper you can read by clicking below. (You may remember that Stock, an OBE, was forced to resign from Sussex after she was demonized for her views on gender…
Kathleen Stock on female genital mutilation, cultural relativism, and a recent (odious) paper in The Journal of Medical Ethics
My first AI op-ed summary
21 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, economics of education, economics of information, entrepreneurship, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, politics - New Zealand Tags: gender wage gap
Astrophysicist Dr. Willie Soon Challenges The Climate Consensus … It’s The Sun, Not CO2
15 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of climate change, economics of education, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: climate alarmism
His advice for policymaking is simple: Prioritize realism and resilience. This means adapting infrastructure, strengthening flood protection, investing in technology, and most importantly, exercising humility before the complexity of nature.
Astrophysicist Dr. Willie Soon Challenges The Climate Consensus … It’s The Sun, Not CO2
JOHN RAINE: DRIVE CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY WITH EVIDENCE NOT ALARMISM
14 Dec 2025 1 Comment
in economic history, economics of climate change, economics of education, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: climate alarmism
The Challenge of Opening Closed Minds The media and many politicians worldwide continue to push a narrative of impending climate catastrophe. Whether or not you are a climate change pessimist, we live on a gradually warming planet and will need to adapt to this. As global temperature rise continues, alarmists will continue to ascribe much…
JOHN RAINE: DRIVE CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY WITH EVIDENCE NOT ALARMISM
The Rise and Fall of the American Bar Association
11 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, law and economics Tags: creative destruction
Below is my column in The Hill on the decline of the American Bar Association and the move in various…
The Rise and Fall of the American Bar Association
Three Royal Societies abandon their mission to promote global and universalist science
09 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: conjecture and refutation, philosophy of science
A Kiwi who wishes to remain anonymous (of course) sent me this link to an announcement of a meeting of three Royal (Scientific) Societies: those of New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. The screenshot below also links to two other short documents, a communiqué and a statement by the Presidents of all three Societies. The object…
Three Royal Societies abandon their mission to promote global and universalist science
Harvey vs Wilson on western culture
07 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: Age of Enlightenment
Simon Wilson, like many on the hard left, sees the West as basically malignant, and that its achievements were based on oppression. This is not an uncommon view from the left. David Harvey does an excellent lengthy response to Wilson’s assertions. Read it all, but here are some key aspects: The article argues that Hammurabi…
Harvey vs Wilson on western culture
Climate Doomsday Prophecy Peddled By Academia Retracted In Disgrace
07 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, climate change, econometerics, economics of climate change, economics of education, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA Tags: academic bias, climate activists
A widely-referenced 2024 study that predicted massive global economic damages due to climate change has now been retracted, The New York Times (NYT) reported on Wednesday.
Climate Doomsday Prophecy Peddled By Academia Retracted In Disgrace
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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