Explore Freedom

Machiavelli and U.S. Politics Part 6: Public Choice and Spending

by Lawrence M. Ludlow August 31, 2005

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 Public choice theory Machiavelli would take great comfort in the public choice theory as outlined by economists James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock. Public-choice theory tells us that politicians cannot legislate or spend taxpayer dollars wisely. Why? Because ... [click for more]

Why Payola Doesn’t Matter

by Bart Frazier August 5, 2005

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has recently leveled a $10 million fine against Sony BMG for payola, a practice in which radio producers are paid for promoting certain songs. Why the fine? The argument against payola is that music lovers are ... [click for more]

Economics for the Citizen, Part 6

by Walter E. Williams August 1, 2005

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 My last article introduced the law of demand, which states that, holding everything else constant, the lower the price of something, the ... [click for more]

Unchaining Africa

by Doug Bandow August 1, 2005

Africa Unchained: The Blueprint for Africa’s Future by George Ayittey, (Palgrave/Macmillan 2005); 483 pages; $35. So much promise, so little progress. Populated with creative people and filled with natural resources, Africa, one might think, should be a global powerhouse. Instead, the continent ... [click for more]

Africa Needs Freedom, Not “Aid”

by Sheldon Richman July 18, 2005

Politicians are never more dangerous than when they are thinking, “We’ve got to do something!” Take the just-adjourned G8 meeting in Scotland. The rulers of the most advanced economic powers (and Russia, go figure) met with the intention of looking as though they were doing something to end poverty in Africa. ... [click for more]

Economics for the Citizen, Part 5

by Walter E. Williams July 1, 2005

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 Someone might have made you a gift of this publication. Does that mean reading this article is free? The answer is a ... [click for more]

Economics for the Citizen, Part 4

by Walter E. Williams June 1, 2005

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 In the last lecture, we discussed three of four kinds of behavior that can be called economic behavior: production, consumption, and exchange. ... [click for more]

Productivity and the Wealth of Nations

by George Leef June 1, 2005

The Power of Productivity by William W. Lewis (University of Chicago Press 2004); 323 pages; $28.00. “Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves,” Benjamin Franklin said. We might, in a similar vein, explain the key message of William Lewis’s book The Power of Productivity by saying, “Watch the ... [click for more]

Economics for the Citizen, Part 3

by Walter E. Williams May 1, 2005

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 There are four classes of behavior that can be called economic behavior. They are: production, consumption, exchange, and specialization. The discussion of ... [click for more]

Economics for the Citizen, Part 2

by Walter E. Williams April 1, 2005

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 Which is the best method of resolving conflict over what’s produced, how and when it’s produced, and who’s going to get it? ... [click for more]

What’s Wrong with Public Schools?

by Sheldon Richman March 25, 2005

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 2 of Separating School & State: How to Liberate Americas Families (1994) by Sheldon Richman. Its time to admit that pubic education operates like a planned economy, a bureaucratic system in which everybodys role is spelled out in advance and there are few incentives for innovation and productivity. Its ... [click for more]

Some Civics Lessons for My Son

by Don Boudreaux March 1, 2005

My son, Thomas Macaulay Boudreaux, is seven years old. He’s the most precious creature in the world to me. My wife, Karol, and I will never indoctrinate him, but we do and we will teach him as best we can. Here’s a list of some of the lessons that he’ll get from me as he grows into manhood. Even in ... [click for more]