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Do we really wish for a Tea Party of the left? Do we really want to inject the same sort of fervent, take-no-prisoner, apocalyptic fantasies that characterize much of the Tea Party into an already wracked body politic? Continue reading
Psychologically, the expansion of criminality represents a kind of race to the bottom, in which rules beget rules, and more rules, particularly those with criminal penalties attached, only seem to create more violations. Continue reading
Nicholas Wapshott's 'Keynes Hayek: The Clash that Defined Modern Economics,' appears just as the debate over austerity is once again heating up and a presidential campaign is lurching into gear, to the grind of metal and to a haze of blue smoke. Continue reading
Indeterminacy is a cousin to relativism, which to some minds seems to be related to permissiveness, all of which are milestones on the winding path to hell -- however you define that. Continue reading
Time still knows how to dress itself up. But beneath the graphics and the photography is an emaciated body, held together with drug ads, and that slick writing style that races past any arguable fact like a fast car past a homeless person. Continue reading
Let's talk focal point and curb appeal. I've learned of these essential elements of modern life by watching real estate agents peddle houses on cable. (No mortgage crisis on HGTV.) Every room requires a focal point -- a chintz sofa,... Continue reading
The very fact that we're debating John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich Hayek suggests that we are opting for ideological fantasy over any real engagement with ambiguous and complex realities. Continue reading
Again, the banks. What is a big bank? Public or private; a business or a utility? Or is it a kind of hybrid? How essential are big banks to the economy? These are moss-backed questions that have recurred at least since the '30s, but increasingly since 2008. Continue reading
Blackstone's Steve Schwarzman now seems to agree with President Obama that the pain, notably through tax increases and entitlement reform, needs to be balanced across classes. Continue reading
I guess you could have predicted this. With the world a mess, prediction as a respectable way to expend mental energy has suddenly become about as popular as Osama bin Laden futures. Continue reading
Equilibrium is thus larger than just a model, some equations and a set of proofs; it's a powerful metaphor that has shaped the way we think not only about markets but about politics and society. Continue reading
Summer is the season of sequels, prequels, parodies, takeoffs and cartoon remakes. In short, reruns. In summer, it's apparently impolite to do anything new; everything must be rescued from some decrepit red barn and restored to circulation. This explains our... Continue reading
Labor Day weekend looms. Let's roast a pig or cook a clam or whatever barbaric ritual involving fire and alcohol works for you. For beyond Monday lurks the Rest of the Year, which as we know, starts off in September... Continue reading
