An argument against the use of personal definitions of words can be framed around the concepts of communication efficacy, shared meaning, and societal cohesion. 1. Undermines Effective Communication The primary purpose of language is to facilitate clear communication between individuals. Personal definitions of words undermine this goal by distorting the shared meaning that allows people […]
Against personal definitions
Against personal definitions
02 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of education, economics of information, economics of media and culture, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, property rights Tags: economics of languages, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Canada Is Part of the Anti-Convergence Club
01 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, budget deficits, comparative institutional analysis, economic growth, economic history, economics of regulation, environmental economics, fiscal policy, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, macroeconomics, property rights Tags: Canada
Economists widely agree with the theory of “convergence,” which is the (mostly true) idea that poor nations should grow faster than rich nations as they catch up (converge). But there are exceptions. Sometimes a richer country will grow faster than a poorer country over a significant period of time, and we can learn from these examples. This is […]
Canada Is Part of the Anti-Convergence Club
Phoebe Plummer of Just Stop Oil Sentenced to Two Years–JSO Sad
29 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of crime, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, law and economics Tags: British politics, climate activists, regressive left, useful idiots
hoebe and Anna have just been sentenced to 2 years and 20 months in prison respectively after throwing soup over the glass frame of Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’.
Phoebe Plummer of Just Stop Oil Sentenced to Two Years–JSO Sad
The BBC once again won’t use the word “terrorists” for Hamas
28 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, economics of information, law and economics, laws of war, war and peace Tags: British politics, Gaza Strip, media bias, Middle-East politics, political correctness, regressive left, war against terror
This article just appeared in Spiked (click headline below to read), but you can see a similar piece in the Times of Israel. The upshot is that the BBC, which has long bridled at using the word “terrorists” for Hamas, is now bridling again when the Beeb itself shows a documentary about the Nova Music […]
The BBC once again won’t use the word “terrorists” for Hamas
Bernie Sanders prepares resolutions to punish Israel
28 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in defence economics, International law, law and economics, laws of war, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, regressive left, useful idiots, war against terror
Forgive me if I put up two pieces on Israel’s wars today (i’m not sure what I’ll write about next), but it’s not only on my mind, it’s the main news besides the American election. (See the daily “Nooz” for this other stuff). I don’t like to use the words “self-hating Jew,” for I don’t […]
Bernie Sanders prepares resolutions to punish Israel
All the King’s Upgrades: There May Be Less Than Meets the Eye in the Adams Indictment
27 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA
Below is my column in the New York Post on the indictment of Mayor Eric Adams. The most serious charges may be the foreign campaign contributions. However, the indictment is not nearly as overwhelming as suggested by the government. That may be why they are openly threatening Adams associates to cooperate or face ruin. Here […]
All the King’s Upgrades: There May Be Less Than Meets the Eye in the Adams Indictment
Debunking Hate-and-Envy Tax Policy
27 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economic history, entrepreneurship, financial economics, fiscal policy, health and safety, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, macroeconomics, occupational choice, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, property rights, Public Choice, public economics Tags: envy, regressive left, taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment
On tax policy, our friends on the left are motivated by envy and hatred. As shown in this Stossel video, Robert Reich is a sad example of this mindset. John Stossel understates his argument. It’s not that Reich is wrong. He’s wildly wrong. There are four points in the video that deserve attention. It is […]
Debunking Hate-and-Envy Tax Policy
After 30 years, there is hope
27 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, environmental economics, environmentalism, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, transport economics, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
Chris Bishop and Simon Court announced: Two new laws will be developed to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA), with the enjoyment of property rights as their guiding principle, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Parliamentary Under-Secretary Simon Court say. “The RMA was passed with good intentions in 1991 but has proved a failure in […]
After 30 years, there is hope
The Supreme Crisis of Chief Justice John Roberts
23 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - USA
Below is my column in The Hill on growing crisis at the Supreme Court for Chief Justice John Roberts. A new breach of confidentiality shows cultural crisis at the Court. While the earlier leaking of the Dobbs decision could have come from a clerk, much of the recent information could only have originated with a […]
The Supreme Crisis of Chief Justice John Roberts
Facts about Britain
22 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, industrial organisation, labour economics, law and economics, macroeconomics, Public Choice, resource economics, transport economics, urban economics Tags: British politics
Between 2004 and 2021, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the industrial price of energy tripled in nominal terms, or doubled relative to consumer prices. With almost identical population sizes, the UK has under 30 million homes, while France has around 37 million. 800,000 British families have second homes compared to 3.4 million French families. Per capita electricity generation in the UK […]
Facts about Britain
The Affordable Rent Act
22 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, income redistribution, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: rent control
Bloomberg: Moraal is among the growing number of Dutch people struggling to find a rental property after a new law designed to make homes more affordable ended up aggravating a housing shortage. Aiming to protect low-income tenants, the government in July imposed rent controls on thousands of homes, introducing a system of rating properties based on […]
The Affordable Rent Act
Easter Island Ecological Collapse Debunked
21 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economic history, law and economics, liberalism, war and peace Tags: Easter Island, economics of colonialism, economics of slavery
Jared Diamond is a polymath (biochemistry, physiology, ornithology, ecology; MacArthur Genius Grant; etc.) perhaps best known for his Guns, Germs and Steel (1997). In that book (which I read) he proposed that shared learnings and practices across the vast Eurasian continent led to optimized food crops and agricultural practices for Eurasian peoples, which in turn […]
Easter Island Ecological Collapse Debunked
“A Symbol of Imperial Violence and Colonialism”: Activists at UPenn Deface Statue of Benjamin Franklin
19 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economic history, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: age of empires, economics of colonialism, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Benjamin Franklin once wrote “Love your Enemies, for they tell you your Faults.” Yet, Franklin might be a bit confused by his critics at the University of Pennsylvania. Anti-Israel activists vandalized his statue as a symbol of colonialism. The man who was instrumental in the Declaration of Independence against the British Empire is being denounced […]
“A Symbol of Imperial Violence and Colonialism”: Activists at UPenn Deface Statue of Benjamin Franklin
“A Better Deterrence”: Hillary Clinton Calls for the Arrest of Americans Spreading Disinformation
18 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, economics of information, economics of media and culture, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, television Tags: 2024 presidential election, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Hillary Clinton has long been one of the most anti-free speech figures in American politics, including calling upon European officials to force Elon Musk to censor American citizens under the infamous Digital Services Act (DSA). She is now suggesting the arrest of Americans who spread what she considers disinformation. It is a crushingly ironic moment…
“A Better Deterrence”: Hillary Clinton Calls for the Arrest of Americans Spreading Disinformation
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments