Learn Liberty Blog
We tackle big questions about what makes society free or prosperous and how we can improve the world we live in.
Blog Posts in Focus
Free trade lets us turn corn into cars.
January 25, 2018 | Bryan Caplan
Economics,
From the American point of view, technology and trade are the same. From the human point of view, trade is better.
The organic industry is a case study in rent-seeking.
February 5, 2018 | Henry I. Miller
Economics, Politics & Policy, Regulations, Subsidies,
If businesses get government subsidies to make their products cheaper, or “capture” regulation to hurt their competitors, that’s rent seeking.
The politics of "The Last Jedi"
December 20, 2017 | Ilya Somin
Government, Philosophy, Political Science, Uncategorized,
One Resistance fighter says that the movement will win “not by fighting what we hate, but by saving what we love.” But what do they love?
Blog Posts
Congestion tax in Manhattan: Readers speak!
March 9, 2018 | Michael Munger
Economics, Taxing
Last month, I wrote a post that asked whether Manhattan should tax ride-shares, tax all vehicles, do something else, or do nothing at all. And you had some ideas about that. Below, I have tried to combine your answers (I got nearly 30) into a manageable set of categories. Responses were about evenly split among […]
Learn Liberty Turns 7
February 11, 2018 | Learn Liberty Team
Economics, Taxing, Uncategorized
Since our inaugural videos in 2011, Learn Liberty has sought to advance the ideas of classical liberalism with the help of the scholars and professors who champion them. We’re proud to say that seven years running, the legacy of our early videos lives on in the work we do today. At the core of the […]
The organic industry is a case study in rent-seeking.
February 5, 2018 | Henry I. Miller
Economics, Taxing, Uncategorized, Economics, Politics & Policy, Regulations, Subsidies
If businesses get government subsidies to make their products cheaper, or “capture” regulation to hurt their competitors, that’s rent seeking.
Free trade lets us turn corn into cars.
January 25, 2018 | Bryan Caplan
Economics, Taxing, Uncategorized, Economics, Politics & Policy, Regulations, Subsidies, Economics
From the American point of view, technology and trade are the same. From the human point of view, trade is better.
The Sweet Cakes case: Let the market give discrimination its just desserts.
January 18, 2018 | Ninos Malek
Economics, Taxing, Uncategorized, Economics, Politics & Policy, Regulations, Subsidies, Economics, Ethics, Religion, Rights
The Oregon-based Sweet Cakes bakery has been ordered to pay $135,000 in damages for refusing to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple for their ceremony. In December of 2017, the Oregon State Court of Appeals upheld the decision to force the bakery to pay the couple for damages.
Does Manhattan need a congestion tax on Uber?
January 10, 2018 | Michael Munger
Economics, Taxing, Uncategorized, Economics, Politics & Policy, Regulations, Subsidies, Economics, Ethics, Religion, Rights, Economics, Taxing
Charging “prices” does not a market make.