[First published at EveryJoe.com.] You might not think of yourself as wealthy. Let me prove that you are. In 1836, the richest man in the world was Nathan Rothschild. He was 58 years old and, according to a medical check-up at the beginning of the year, in good condition for a man of his age. […]
The Richest Man in the World’s Healthcare [The Good Life] Read More »
Atitudes racistas são remanescentes de um passado primitivo. Existe ainda muito racismo, contudo, progredimos em algumas partes do mundo, como mostra o gráfico dos países mais e menos racistas do mundo, publicado pelo The Washington Post. Em grande parte da Europa, América do Sul, América do Norte, Oceania e em alguns outros lugares, o racismo recuou significativamente.
A tolerância racial é o melhor que podemos conseguir? [Portuguese translation] Read More »
O café chegou à Europa em 1529; a maioria dos historiadores data o início da história moderna nos anos 1500. Coincidência? Enquanto escrevo, já estou no meu segundo copo. O efeito estimulante da cafeína me manterá acordado até o meio dia, quando eu beberei mais um. Volte aos maus e velhos tempos — Antes do
Deveríamos agradecer o café pela civilização moderna? Read More »
Há boas chances de que você conheça alguém que possui uma camiseta de Che Guevara. Versões romantizadas de sua cara barbuda são populares nos campi e em outros lugares — tão popular que a rede de lojas Urban Outfitters planejava lançar uma linha completa de itens de moda inspirada em Che, e dezenas de outros
Nosso problema com Che Guevara [Portuguese] Read More »
In Buenos Aires, I was interviewed by journalist Belén Marty for the PanAm Post. The theme was populism, postmodernism, and politics, as captured in the title “Populism Succeeds Where Education Fails.” Here are the interview’s original Spanish and English versions, and the interview has now also been translated into Portuguese by Adriel Santana.
PanAm Post interview by Belén Marty — Spanish, Portuguese, and English versions Read More »
Michael R. Bloomberg’s “Don’t Major in Intolerance.” Delivered at Harvard University. (Via Z.C.) William H. McRaven’s “Life Lessons From Navy SEAL Training.” Delivered at the University of Texas at Austin.
Two fine commencement addresses: Bloomberg and McRaven Read More »
In an NBER paper, “Culture, Institutions and the Wealth of Nations,” Yuriy Gorodnichenko and Gerard Roland compare the growth gains that individualist ethics generate compared to those of collectivist ethics. The first sentences of their abstract: “We construct an endogenous growth model that includes a cultural variable along the dimension of individualism-collectivism. The model predicts
Individualism and economic growth — Gorodnichenko and Roland Read More »
According to the 2014 Heritage index, the six most economically free nations are Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Canada. Question: Is it a coincidence that five of the six are former British colonies? Follow-up questions: * If not a coincidence, what did the British do in their colonies to enable this legacy
Question about economic freedom and British history Read More »