Political parties on the extreme left and right tend to splinter due to a combination of ideological rigidity, personal rivalries, and strategic disagreements. Here are some key reasons: 1. Ideological Purity and Sectarianism 2. Leadership Conflicts and Personality Clashes 3. Strategic Disagreements 4. External Pressure and State Repression 5. Reaction to Success or Failure 6. […]
The splintering of political extremists
The splintering of political extremists
21 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Labour Energy Price Lies In Australia
16 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - Australia Tags: solar power, wind power
By Paul Homewood h/t Dennis Ambler Sounds like Australia’s Labour have been telling the same porkies a Britain’s! Jo Nova has the story: As the Opposition point out the Labor government went to the last election telling us 97 times how they would make our electricity $275 cheaper, but with the […]
Labour Energy Price Lies In Australia
Share the “Deep Internal Conflict” of the Green Aussie Billionaire who Just Bought a Private Jet
15 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - Australia, transport economics Tags: climate activists
“… so I can run a global business from Australia, and still be a constantly present dad …”
Share the “Deep Internal Conflict” of the Green Aussie Billionaire who Just Bought a Private Jet
Spot on
14 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, political change, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Women’s rights vs men’s demands
09 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, property rights Tags: conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
It’s still International Women’s Day in some parts of the world. There are still people who believe their feelings about their gender can trump biological facts. There are still people who risk their jobs if they question gender ideology. But there are also people fighting back, among them is Sall Grover: The founder of a […]
Women’s rights vs men’s demands
Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism
05 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, budget deficits, economic growth, economics of bureaucracy, economics of natural disasters, economics of regulation, health economics, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, unemployment Tags: economics of pandemics
That’s the title of a 2024 book by a couple of Australian academic economists, Steven Hamilton (based in US) and Richard Holden (a professor at the University of New South Wales). The subtitle of the book is “How we crushed the curve but lost the race”. It is easy to get off on the wrong […]
Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism
Conspiracy theories and science denial
26 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of education, economics of information, economics of media and culture, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: conjecture and refutation, conspiracies theories, philosophy of science
Conspiracy theories and science denial are two phenomena that often intersect, influencing public discourse and societal trust in authoritative knowledge sources. This essay explores their connection, elucidates the psychological and social mechanisms underpinning them, and provides examples to demonstrate how these two manifestations of skepticism reinforce each other, often with deleterious consequences. The Connection At […]
Conspiracy theories and science denial
Must watch – Gigi Foster on lockdowns at PAEC
17 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, econometerics, economics of natural disasters, health economics, politics - Australia Tags: economics of pandemics
Future unemployment will be (mostly) voluntary unemployment
14 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - Australia, unemployment
A shortage of electricians means that those willing to endure long shifts and live on remote sites can potentially earn up to A$200,000 (US$124,000) a year — double the national average salary and not far off the average MP salary. “It’s a cup half full/half empty life. You do 12-hour shifts, there’s the heat, the […]
Future unemployment will be (mostly) voluntary unemployment
Stephen Fry on how the faults of the Left promoted the rise of the Right
31 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, environmentalism, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, property rights Tags: Age of Enlightenment, British politics, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Here! I’ve been dealing with trivial stuff all day involving billing and the post office (the Black Hole of government agencies) and have had no time to right. Enjoy Stephen Fry’s hourlong talk on Triggernometry on why the American Left promoted the rise of the American Right. I’ve been saying that for a long time, […]
Stephen Fry on how the faults of the Left promoted the rise of the Right
Reviewing Covid experiences and policies
30 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, fiscal policy, health and safety, health economics, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, macroeconomics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice Tags: economics of pandemics
I’ve spent the last week writing a fairly substantial review of a recent book (“Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism: How we crushed the curve but lost the race”) by a couple of Australian academic economists on Australia’s pandemic policies and experiences. For all its limitations, there isn’t anything similar in New Zealand. What we do have is […]
Reviewing Covid experiences and policies
Spot on
27 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
The Energy Storage Fiasco — How Soon Will It Be Abandoned?
27 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: batteries
It seems that the frequency of these spontaneous fires increases with the size of the battery. Can this problem be solved? I have no idea. But it certainly has not been solved yet.
The Energy Storage Fiasco — How Soon Will It Be Abandoned?
Milei Implements Peer Approval for Food
24 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economics of regulation, health economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: drug lags, food safety
Reason: In a sweeping move to overhaul Argentina’s food trade policies, Javier Milei’s administration officially deregulated food imports and exports on Monday. The reform, outlined in Decree 35/2025, seeks to boost foreign trade, cut bureaucratic red tape, and lower consumer prices. Federico Sturzenegger, head of the Ministry of Deregulation and State Transformation, explained in a post on […]
Milei Implements Peer Approval for Food
The global decline of the left
20 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA
An interesting chart from The Telegraph via Bryce Edwards. A definite trend since around 2012.
The global decline of the left
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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