Imagine that you are the captain of a huge boat, like a modern container ship or even the legendary Titanic. You’re sailing forward at full throttle when an iceberg is sighted dead ahead. You need to change course because the damage will sink your ship if you hit the iceberg. You turn the wheel as...
Most US media coverage of President Donald Trump’s trade war has focused on how his global tariff regime is likely to impact the US economy and American consumers. However, it’s the workers in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Lesotho, Vietnam and other poor countries who are likely to be harmed the most by the trade war...
We rarely hear positive things about plastic. Headlines overflow with alarming statistics on microplastic contamination and unsettling images of ocean pollution. Yet plastic has quietly played an essential role in reducing poverty, improving global living standards, and even saving lives. How could toxic, Earth-choking plastics possibly combat poverty around the world? In recent articles titled...
In July 1959, at the American National Exhibition in Moscow’s Sokolniki Park, Vice President Richard Nixon stepped into a model suburban kitchen and found himself in a now-famous impromptu exchange with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Known as the “Kitchen Debate,” the moment became emblematic of Cold War tensions — not over missiles or military power,...
Is the DOJ finally done playing games with the economy? It hardly sounds like a compliment to be described as “Hillbilly Antitrust,” but Gail Slater—now heading the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division—has embraced the label with characteristic bluntness. But there may be reason to cheer. In the past, Slater has made some pro-regulation assertions. She’s expressed...
Across college campuses, on TikTok feeds, and in everyday conversations, a familiar narrative is gaining steam: capitalism is broken. Rising rents and stagnant wages fuel the claim among some young people that free markets have failed an entire generation. According to a 2024 poll by the Institute of Economic Affairs, more than 60% of young...
A new book by Dr. Jeffrey Singer proposes a simple idea: “Every human being of adult years and sound mind has the right to determine what shall be done with his own body.” You might think that principle is hard to argue with. Yet in Your Body, Your Health Care, Singer shows that government potentially...
The main principle of trade policy is make or buy. “Economics” comes from the Greek word oikonomia, deriving from oikos, meaning “house” or “household,” and nomos, meaning “law” or “rule”. Thus, oikonomia originally meant “prudent household management,” including labor, finances, and property, to ensure stability and self-sufficiency for the family. Over time, the term expanded...
Too expensive even for the rich. Do the wealthy hate Britain? You would be forgiven for thinking so, from the way wealthy people and companies are fleeing the country. As many as 11,000 millionaires have left since the beginning of 2024, often taking their businesses with them. The effects are finally being felt: in April...
How private property promotes human flourishing is the subject of a new lesson that Northwood University has posted in the complimentary online course, The Philosophy of Free Enterprise. “Next to our right to life, private property may be one of the most essential human rights,” explains Dr. Dale Matcheck, David E. Fry Endowed Professor in...
Reading this article in the comfort of civilization, from a sophisticated tech device, not having to worry about whether you’ll be able to afford dinner later today, or whether you’ll sleep in safety, it might seem natural to assume that this level of comfort is the natural state of Homo sapiens. Nothing could be further...
On April 2, President Donald Trump made a sweeping declaration that could reshape the global economic landscape for years. Deemed “Liberation Day,” his announcement of reciprocal tariffs on nearly every major trading partner marked the most dramatic shift in American trade policy levels not seen in a century since the infamous Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of...
Bolivia’s fuel pumps are running on empty, an almost unthinkable crisis for a country once known for its vast natural gas reserves. Long lines of trucks and cars stretch through city avenues, with drivers waiting hours or even days for gas or diesel. Bolivia’s state-run energy model has produced a fuel shortage. How did a...
The Trump administration’s tariffs and the damage they could cause to people’s livelihoods globally are a rude reminder that free markets matter. But we live in a time when the mainstream voices of the media, academia, and politics are hopelessly preoccupied with their disdain for “capitalism.” Despite the unprecedented progress and technological advancement free markets...