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August 19, 2019

Will the Vatican’s economics drive Matteo Salvini to victory?

Italy’s coalition government seems ready to break apart, with Matteo Salvini of the League (who is seen as the country’s real leader) calling for new elections to force the Five Star Movement out of his alliance and Five Star trying to form a new coalition with the Democratic Party in order to oust Salvini. Continue Reading...
August 19, 2019

Has the purpose of corporations changed?

In his influential 1962 book Capitalism and Freedom economist Milton Friedman promoted the position of shareholder primacy by declaring that a corporation has no real “social responsibility” to the public, since its only concern is to increase profits for the shareholders. Continue Reading...
August 16, 2019

Before economics, human freedom: Learning from Venezuela’s collapse

The Venezuelan people continue to struggle and suffer under the weight of severe socialist policies, facing economic collapse, widespread poverty, and mass starvation. In response, socialism’s critics are quick to focus on the external features, noting how all of this could have been easily avoided with a basic respect for property rights, free exchange, free prices, and so on. Continue Reading...
August 16, 2019

Common grace and natural law

It has been a topic of much dispute in the last century or so of Protestant theology, but the status of natural law, and particularly its connection with the doctrine of common grace, continues to be of significance. Continue Reading...
August 16, 2019

Book Review: A brief primer on the ideas of Milton Friedman

The Book: Milton Friedman: A concise guide to the ideas and influence of the free-market economist by Eamonn Butler The Gist: As the subtitle suggests, this short book provides a concise overview of the ideas and influence of the late economist, Milton Friedman The Quote: “[T]he supporters of tariffs treat it as self-evident that the creation of jobs is a desirable end, in and of itself, regardless of what the persons employed do. Continue Reading...
August 15, 2019

The cultural mandate and the final frontier

“Space,” proclaimed the memorable opening to the original Star Trek series, is “the final frontier.” The image of the frontier, and its historic importance to Americans especially, has been part of our national discourse since at least historian Frederick J. Continue Reading...