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The end of Cuba’s double despotism
If relations were normalized, would people be more likely to board a plane or to swim shark-infested waters to gain their freedom?Why do black lives matter?
- “Black lives matter.” “All lives matter.” These slogans may forever summarize the deep tensions in American life in 2014. Catalyzed by the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and two New
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A dangerous moment with promise
This is, of course, the season, more than any other season, when we wish one another joy and happiness. I may be thought by some to be a Grinch for mentioning a fact that I think weighs on many of our hearts.The worst Christmas song ever
At this point in the holiday season, whether we like it or not, we’ve all got Christmas melodies echoing through our heads. Everyone has a favorite or two; I particularly enjoy the smooth sounds of Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby. But there are plenty of annoying Christmas tunes as well. One song stands out for Christmas crapulence, however, and it has little to do with the catchiness of the song.
Francis and the idea of Christian poverty
To provide a synthesis of Pope Francis’s thinking on the economy is both difficult and easy. It is difficult, because he has never offered extensive and systematic reflections on such questions; his pronouncements are found here and there, inseparable from a broader moral and spiritual message.Poverty, the rule of law, and human flourishing
- Back in 2012, the financier George Soros and the head of one of the world’s largest anti-poverty NGOs, Fazle Hasan Abed, pointed out in the Financial Times that, despite the Great Recession
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Free Tesla from franchise laws and subsidies
The Tesla Model S is a drop-dead gorgeous electric automobile that can go from 0-60 mph in 4.2 seconds and carries a sticker price of $80,000 at the high end. Tesla is also at the center of a debate on cronyism, consumer choice, and innovation.
Economic tyranny trumps religious liberty
In Poland and elsewhere, religious communities had inspired and led the nations for hundreds of years. In such places, people were not imprisoned solely in their own individual power, which was little. Sometimes they acted through institutions and associations of their own choosing. Solidarity in Poland, for example, or People Against Violence in Slovakia.Toil as curse and grace
According to ancient legend, Sisyphus was punished by the gods for his craftiness in life.Envy in a time of inequality
Envy, I’ve often thought, is the very worst human emotion. The epic biblical narrative of Cain’s slaying of Abel reminds us that people have been jealous of others’ successes and well-being from time immemorial. When mixed, however, with the near-obsession with inequality that dominates much public discourse these days, there’s a serious risk that envy — and desires to appease it — can start driving public policy in ways that aren’t economically wise or politically healthy.The soul of the system
In his review of Hunter Baker’s latest book, The System Has a Soul, Doug Wilson picks up on the allusion in the title.Let’s get back to robbing Peter: The welfare state and demographic decline
The German economist Wilhelm Röpke, commenting on the expansion of European welfare states in 1958, wrote, “To let someone else foot the bill is, in fact, the general characteristic of the welfare state and, on closer inspection, its very essence.” While he did not argue that, therefore, such state assistance should in all cases be stopped, he put the question in sober terms: “[T]he welfare state is an evil the same as each and ev