capitalism

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“Capitalism’s Promise: Essentially Infinite Resources and Human Flourishing” with George Gilder and John Tamny

Watch the episode here. I’m talking in this episode with the upbeat and visionary George Gilder, one of America’s leading economic and technological thinkers, and the author of the groundbreaking books, Wealth and Poverty, Knowledge and Power, The Scandal of Moneyand now:  Life after Capitalism: The Meaning of Wealth, the Future of the Economy, and the Time Theory of Money  Co-hosting with me is the equally upbeat and contrarian thinker John Tamny, founder of Parkview Institute, editor of RealClearMarkets and author of the recently published The Money Confusion: How Illiteracy About Currencies and Inflation Sets the Stage for a Crypto Revolution“ Life after Capitalism launches a new economic theory. A key theme of the book is that wealth is knowledge and that the difference Read More ›

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Manhattan, New York. USA
Manhattan, New York. USA

Book Review: George Gilder’s Brilliant ‘Life After Capitalism’

It was probably fifteen years ago that I was at lunch with Banknote Capital’s Jim Fitzgerald. We were finishing up when the conversation shifted to tax rates, at which point Fitzgerald dismissed the notion that lower rates stimulate more work. To be clear, Fitzgerald was not saying that he opposed lower tax rates. He was and is very much for them. But he was expressing his disdain for the theory that lower rates cause people to work more. In his case, Fitzgerald would work a great deal precisely because there was joy in it. Still, what he said at the time was jarring. It called into question so much that was accepted wisdom. Gradually it made lots of sense. Tax Read More ›

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Daisies growing out of a rock
Daisies growing out of a rock

Life After Capitalism

Anyone determined to provide a “new economics” must haul a heavy burden of proof up a steep slope of professional resistance. At the summits of academic prestige, economics presents a Delphic façade of math and marble. Read More ›
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Revisiting the Simon-Ehrlich Wager 40 Years On

And so, as you listen to the purveyors of doom on the television and the radio, and read apocalyptic predictions of humanity’s future on Twitter and in the newspapers, bear in mind that with every hungry mouth comes a pair of hands and a brain capable of thought, planning, and innovation. Read More ›
Chinese Yuan and US dollars on the map of China. Trade war between US and China, economic sanctions

The Real China Story

With China grabbing all the negative headlines lately, I thought it would be a good idea to step back and look at the big picture, highlighting the great triumphs of this country. Some of my readers worry that I am “soft” on China, too optimistic about the prospects for freedom there and unwary of the Chinese threat to the U.S. As one reader recently wrote, “At the end of the day China is still a communist country” that “does not recognize the right to private property” and therefore can steal our intellectual property without any twinge of conscience. I love this comment because it gets us right to the heart of things: Is China still a communist country? Not: Does China have lots of politicians who ritually declare themselves communists? (It does.) Or even a few who deep in their hearts still yearn for the good old days of Mao? (They exist.) But is China a communist country, a nation of 1.4 billion people living under anything we would recognize as communism? My answer is: “By their fruits, you shall know them.” Let me explain… Read More ›