The Monetary Metal that Just Won’t Die
For more than one hundred years, governments have been trying to kill gold’s role in the monetary system. They’ve dreamed of a day when …
Elections and the Illusion of Choice
The political season has unleashed its predictable frenzy, much to delight of people who make a living off it. But to what end? There …
The Genius of the Price System
The other day, a local hamburger joint was advertising a 99 cent hamburger, and I took the offer. It was great. I wondered: how …
There’s No Such Thing as a Stable State
Twenty years ago, and much to the shock of just about everyone, the mighty Soviet Union, the very embodiment of Hegel’s view of the …
Nicaragua and the Cold War Political Theater
Some friends and co-workers spent their holidays at Rancho Santana in Nicaragua, where you can live like a king on a pauper’s salary. The …
Truth in Advertising
If you are a visitor from another planet and you want to find out about real life on Earth, what do you watch on …
The Race for the Coolest Stuff
A staple of action/thriller movies like the Mission: Impossible and the James Bond series is that the government agencies have all the cool gadgets, …
Who Should Control the World?
In the days following the gift-giving holidays, many millions of people stand in judgement over the quality of the gifts they gave and the …
The Elves of Capitalism
One reason that the Brothers Grimm fairy tales have such appeal — more so than the folklore that came before — is that they …
Two Views of the Internet
The barely-defeated legislation called SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) hit out of the blue and caused a global scramble among the smart set to …