Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
21 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, war and peace Tags: Cold War
The Thing, also known as The Great Seal Bug, was a passive covert listening device, developed in the Soviet Union and planted in the study of the US Ambassador in Moscow, hidden inside a wooden carving of the Great Seal of the United States. It is called a passive device as it does not have its own power source. […]
The Thing-not the movie.
21 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, economic history, entrepreneurship, F.A. Hayek, history of economic thought, Israel Kirzner, market efficiency
21 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, war and peace Tags: World War II
Churchill’s speech commonly known as “The Few” was delivered in the House of Commons on 20 August 1940, during the Battle of Britain. It is formally associated with his speech on “The First Year of the War.” The famous line about “the Few” referred principally to the RAF fighter pilots, although Churchill also deliberately paid […]
Never was so much owed by so many to so few
21 Aug 2026 1 Comment
in applied price theory, labour economics, labour supply, welfare reform
Eh, only in the short run: We study the causal impacts of income on a rich array of employment outcomes, leveraging an experiment in which 1,000 low-income individuals were randomized into receiving $1,000 per month unconditionally for three years, with a control group of 2,000 participants receiving $50/month. We gather detailed survey data, administrative records,…
Did UBI make people happier?
20 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand Tags: 2026 general election
TOP has proposed a 1.75% tax on the value of urban land (except Maori communal land) and 0.5% on rural land. It is worth noting that land values have been declining for the last five years, so TOP’s policy is to tax you on an asset that is declining in value! Urban Av land value…
How much land tax will you pay?
20 Aug 2026 1 Comment
Voter confusion caused by candidates with similar names – as in the current Alaska Senate race – is part of the much larger problem of political ignorance.
Voter Ignorance and the Problem of Confusion Caused by Candidates With Similar Names [Updated]
19 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history, politics, Public Choice Tags: Nazi Germany
The 1934 German head-of-state referendum, held on August 19, stands as a crucial moment in the Nazi regime’s consolidation of power. Following the death of President Paul von Hindenburg on August 2, 1934, Adolf Hitler sought to solidify his grip on Germany by merging the offices of President and Chancellor, thus assuming the title of […]
The 1934 German Head of State Referendum: A Pivotal Moment in Nazi Consolidation of Power
19 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, economic history, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, Public Choice, regulation, rentseeking Tags: competition law
19 Aug 2026 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, law and economics, property rights, regulation, resource economics
In many countries the Covid response mimicked the climate change playbook. The catastrophism of both agendas was based on models. Claims of scientific authority and existential crisis escalated the agendas into moral crusades and people were asked to bear sacrifices for the good of the collective humanity and the planet. The post The International Court…
The International Court of Justice Climate Liability Ruling Sets a Worrying Precedent for Pandemics and Public Health
18 Aug 2026 1 Comment
in health economics, income redistribution, Marxist economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, public economics
Plus: Democrats reckon with the rise of the DSA, Trump scales back America’s military presence abroad, and the case for letting kids play outside
Who Pays for Medicare for All?
18 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, economic history, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation Tags: space
Terzi & Nicoli have a fascinating new paper analyzing over 4,400 orbital launches since 1960 to estimate “Wright’s Law.” This law states that a new technology’s unit costs fall in proportion to cumulative experience. Essentially, it is an expression of learning-by-doing. They show:… that the average cost of sending a kilogram to orbit has dropped…
The Cost of Going to Space
17 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, economics of education, health economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: 2026 general election, crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
The Opportunity Party policy is or was that any criminal offender aged under 25 should be sent to the Youth Court for a family group conference, rather than go to an adult court. They say this is because 24 year old brains are not fully developed, so they should not be held fully accountable for…
Opportunity Party on when you’re a child
17 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, transport economics, urban economics Tags: gender wage gap, sex discrimination
A rise in work from home explains most of the postpandemic gain in full-time employment among people with physical disabilitiesBy Tyler Smith. “Employment among people with disabilities has remained well below that of the broader population, with an average disability employment gap of 27 percentage points across OECD countries. In the United States, this low disability…
The effects of remote work on the disability employment gap
17 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture Tags: space
It was quite a scare when first discovered in 2004, but thousands of observations later, we now know that the asteroid known as Apophis will miss Earth when it makes its closest approach in April 2029. However, in the grand scheme of things in our vast universe, this will be a close call, and it’ll…
A Close Call with Asteroid Apophis
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
A History of the Alt-Right
Econ Prof at George Mason University, Economic Historian, Québécois
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Scholarly commentary on law, economics, and more
Beatrice Cherrier's blog
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
A rural perspective with a blue tint by Ele Ludemann
DPF's Kiwiblog - Fomenting Happy Mischief since 2003
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
The world's most viewed site on global warming and climate change
Tim Harding's writings on rationality, informal logic and skepticism
A window into Doc Freiberger's library
Let's examine hard decisions!
Commentary on monetary policy in the spirit of R. G. Hawtrey
Thoughts on public policy and the media
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Politics and the economy
A blog (primarily) on Canadian and Commonwealth political history and institutions
Reading between the lines, and underneath the hype.
Economics, and such stuff as dreams are made on
"The British constitution has always been puzzling, and always will be." --Queen Elizabeth II
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
WORLD WAR II, MUSIC, HISTORY, HOLOCAUST
Undisciplined scholar, recovering academic
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Res ipsa loquitur - The thing itself speaks
In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an ambassador from my world of economics, and help in “finding topics of conversation fit for the entertainment of rational creatures.”
Researching the House of Commons, 1832-1868
Articles and research from the History of Parliament Trust
Reflections on books and art
Posts on the History of Law, Crime, and Justice
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Exploring the Monarchs of Europe
Cutting edge science you can dice with
Small Steps Toward A Much Better World
“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert”. - J Robert Oppenheimer.
The truth about the great wind power fraud - we're not here to debate the wind industry, we're here to destroy it.
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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