Why States Nationalize
Economists have many answers, but the truth may be larger than they know.
Essays
The National Security Externality Can’t Justify Recent Tariffs
National security may justify some kinds of tariffs—in theory. In practice, it’s another story.
The Eighteenth Brumaire and Collective Wrongs
What Napoleon’s nephew can teach us about populism.
Who Owns That Bat?
When conservation goes beyond carbon, local knowledge is the key.
The Ghost in the State
Knowing an individual's will is easy. Knowing the will of a collective is like chasing a ghost in a machine.
The Academy’s Captured Gatekeepers
How a voluntary, bottom-up answer to an information problem became a federally enforced cartel, and why prying it loose is a cause every liberal should own.
Public Choice: Politics without Romance
We choose in groups because we value being united. Public choice economics seeks to make sense of what happens next.
The Power of Public Unions
Not all labor unions are alike. Public sector unions face different incentives, and they often bargain away better governance.
Yours, Mine, or Ours? Liberals Need a Theory of the State
When are state-based solutions the best we can do? It’s tempting to reach hasty conclusions, but technological change means the truth may be a moving target.
Seeing with Two I’s: States, Markets, and Some Advice for Us Liberals
Markets may fail; governments may help, or not. Two unlikely thinkers help explain the limits of what we can know.
The Enemy Is Power, Wherever You Find It
Concentrations of power are a danger, and a liberal society must reckon with them wherever they occur.