Serfing the Future?
Escalating housing costs and regulations are confining young people to renting, straining the traditional democratic ideals of property and autonomy.
Joel Kotkin, Wendell Cox
· 11 min read
Economics
A collection of 106 posts
Moral Relativism and the Bottom Line
A surgeon, an engineer, and an economist all die around the same time and are met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter. “Welcome good souls! Welcome! You’re in the right place,” he informs them. “But, unfortunately, we have a shortage of mansions so two of you will need
Jefferson Crow
· 12 min read
The Problem with the Diversity Dividend
The last decade has seen Corporate Social Responsibility metastasize into what has become known, derisively, as “woke capitalism”—a new vision of companies as agents of radical social change. The outward face of this shift has been a torrent of adverts and products laced with political messages. Ben and Jerry’
William Malcolmson
· 8 min read
Diamonds Aren't Forever (And Neither is Your Love)
When a man asks a woman to marry him, and bestows on her a diamond ring, what does he get in return?
Rob Brooks
· 14 min read
Why Environmentalists Pose a Bigger Obstacle to Effective Climate Policy than Denialists
The opposition to nuclear energy is not the only way in which mainstream environmentalists have, with the best of intentions, hurt the cause of climate action.
Maarten Boudry
· 10 min read
Involuntarily Celibate: Explanations and Practical Solutions to a Dangerous Phenomenon
The overall picture from our results is that places where local conditions make it harder than usual for young men to establish themselves as attractive mating prospects tend also to be places where online Incel action is more common.
Rob Brooks
· 6 min read
The Peculiar Economics of 3D Printing
Most new technologies, when they are launched, arrive with a lot of hype. While 3D printing fits the business model for customized products, it is not yet cost effective in a commercial manufacturing sector which requires mass production.
Randall Mayes
· 10 min read
Work or Welfare?
If a man doesn’t have a job or an income, he has neither life nor liberty nor the possibility for the pursuit of happiness. He merely exists. ~Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968) Throughout history, work has been the common lot of humanity—at least, outside of the idle rich
Joel Kotkin
· 10 min read
Noble Intentions, Counterproductive Results: The Tragic Inefficacy of a Deontological Policy Approach
The blood shed for this right matters little to certain factions of the contemporary Left.
Scott Newman
· 9 min read
The Push for Equity in Education Hurts Vulnerable Children the Most
Implementation of newly popular equity policies will hinder the learning of many students before those policies are weakened or reversed.
Russell T. Warne
· 13 min read
In Defense of Objective Knowledge
Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. ~Martin Luther King Some ideas achieve longevity because they are relentlessly exposed to challenge, falsification, and disconfirmation. At the scale of nations, anti-fragile constitutions that enshrine individual freedoms, personal liberties, and legal amendment fare better than societies that prioritize
Peter L. Levin
· 9 min read
Confronting the Supply Chain Crisis
A pandemic-driven shortage of parts and labor has combined with a congested transport system to create an inflationary spike, with shipping rates doubling on some routes.
Joel Kotkin
· 11 min read
As Australia’s Politicians Enforce Yet Another Lockdown, Small Businesses Keep Suffering
Frustrated owners have pled for more advance notice of lockdowns and re-starts, so as to allow them to plan their work schedules, inventories, staff management, and customer communications.
Geoff Parkes
· 10 min read
Luxury Belief Systems and Economic Stagnation: The Recipe for Our Discontent
The result of these two trendlines—the dominance of luxury-belief-driven status competition in a period of extended economic stagnation—was a brew of identity politics, political tribalism, and cultural warfare that would have been bad enough on its own.
Andrew Potter
· 9 min read
Winners and Losers: The Global Economy After COVID
Taking advantage of the post-pandemic era may start with securing national health but will depend over time on creating better conditions for adaptive grassroots businesses.
Joel Kotkin and Hügo Krüger
· 11 min read