I’ve been enjoying Qiu Xiaolong‘s series of mystery novels set in Shanghai in the 1990s. One thing I like is Xiaolong’s ability to recreate a culture in transition, with characters of the generation of the Cultural Revolution interacting with characters of the liberalizing and modernizing generation. Early in the Death of a Red Heroine, the […]
Dancing in communist China Read More »
For my “13 Arguments for Liberal Capitalism in 13 Minutes (more or less)”, here are direct links for each individual argument: 1. Liberal capitalism increases freedom. 2. People work harder in liberal capitalist systems. 3. People work smarter under liberal capitalism. 4. Liberalism increases individuality and creativity. 5. Liberal capitalism increases the average standard of
Links for “13 arguments for liberal capitalism in 13 minutes” Read More »
In The Wall Street Journal, David Luhnow contrasts “The Two Latin Americas” — one oriented to the Atlantic and statism and the other oriented to the Pacific and markets. “In 2014, the Pacific Alliance trade bloc (consisting of Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile) is slated to grow an average of 4.25%, boosted by high levels
Luhnow on the two Latin Americas Read More »
Here’s a print version [pdf] of my post on “’Third Way’ politics and its fruits” from earlier this year. Thanks to Chris Vaughan for his graphics work. The opening: “In 1998, President Bill Clinton announced: ‘We have moved past the sterile debate between those who say Government is the problem and those who say Government
“Third Way” Politics and Its Fruits — reprint version Read More »
Entrepreneurial Logistics in Panama The latest issue of Kaizen [pdf] features my interview with Surse Pierpoint. We met in Panama City to discuss Mr. Pierpoint’s experience working in the Free Trade Zone, the Panama Canal’s history and major expansion project, and worldwide trends in transportation and logistics. My favorite image from this issue is below,
Kaizen 28: The Surse Pierpoint interview Read More »
In a recent Kaizen interview, Argentine entrepreneur Enrique Duhau discussed some of the challenges of doing business in a country with a politicized economy. I was reminded of Campante and Glaeser’s comparative study of Buenos Aires and Chicago, two cities that were very similar in the nineteenth century. They were similar in population size, with
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Robert Lawson (Southern Methodist University), along with James Gwartney (Florida State University) and Joshua Hall (West Virginia University), is editor of the celebrated Economic Freedom of the World Index. The Index is one of the major achievements in social science research this generation, made possible by much better data and awesome computing power. Professor Lawson
Robert Lawson on the Economic Freedom of the World Index Read More »
In October 1980, David Horowitz wrote to his former mentor, Belgian-British leftist Ralph Miliband. A decade earlier, Horowitz had broken with the Left, both Old and New, becoming an apostate and, naturally enough, a non-person to his former comrades. As Horowitz put it in his letter: “How could it be otherwise for people like us,
David Horowitz on leaving the Left Read More »