The difference between Keynes and Hayek is that Keynes’s theories were primarily concerned with providing politicians cover for expanding government control of the economy, whereas Hayek’s were concerned with explaining how things work.
Does that headline seem a little overblown? Well, don’t worry, it’s not from me. But it’s entirely possible that in the wake of Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts’s special election to fill the Senate seat left vacant following Ted Kennedy’s death, you’ve seen a few similar headlines around the blogosphere. I know I have. Not shockingly, they’re all from liberals. Now I’m not going to say that liberals shouldn’t be upset about the Brown victory. After all, if you subscribe to that particular political philosophy, then Brown’s election is a stinging rebuke, and will almost certainly derail the “progressive agenda” for the time being. That’s a hard pill for some people to swallow. However, I think that a little perspective is needed.
Yeah, I think it’s that time. Scott Brown’s electoral victory is nothing less than the single most cataclysmic electoral event of my lifetime, and yes, I’m including Obama’s election in 2008. The pendulum of national politics swings back and forth between Republicans and Democrats with some regularity, and despite the fervor that surrounded Obama during [...]
So we have a health care “reform” bill that 61% of Americans don’t want passed; that liberals hate because it amounts to a massive subsidy for private insurance companies; that conservatives hate because it allows the government to expand its reach into an already heavily-regulated industry; that doesn’t lower the cost of health premiums; that [...]
On October 2, 2009, the U.S. unemployment rate hit a twenty-six year high at 9.8%. Real unemployment is somewhere closer to 17%, and the country has now been hemorrhaging jobs for twenty-one consecutive months. Despite President Obama’s reassurances and Vice President Biden’s insistence that the stimulus package passed earlier this year is working “beyond [his] [...]
When Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States, it was because voters believed that he was the herald of a new kind of politician, one that thrived on optimism, sensibility, and competence. Oops.
This column was originally posted at The D.C. Writeup. Wednesday night’s Very Special Episode of the Barack Obama Show has come and gone, and the most memorable thing about it was an interruption by an unruly member of the audience. The President’s Historic Game-Changing Speech is beginning to look like just another in a long [...]
Note: This column was originally posted at The D.C. Writeup. One element of the health care debate that hasn’t received much attention is the underlying economic and philosophical misconception behind the Democrats’ proposals. While we’ve heard countless reports about the “necessity” of providing health care coverage to those who can’t afford it (or don’t want [...]
I strongly recommend giving this article by Patrick Ruffini a read. It makes a strong case for the rebirth of intellectual conservatism, which has fallen by the wayside in recent years as our greatest thinkers have died and not been replaced. It’s called “Can We Have Buckley Back?“
Okay, first the good news: Now before we get into it, let’s take a moment to acknowledge why Republicans’ spirits seem to be rising lately. It’s hard not to get excited, I’ll admit, when we see Barack Obama’s support collapsing under the weight of his own colossal sense of self-importance. With elections coming up in [...]