Economics is often dismissed as ideological, reductionist, and mendacious. In the United States we see these criticisms increasingly from both the political left and right. This e as no surprise as the lessons of economicshave implications for the prudential decisions that make up much of our political life. Ideologues of all parties chafe at constraints. Carl Menger, one of the driving forces behind the marginal revolution in economics, was no stranger to these sorts of criticism. His essay, ‘The Social...

Populism is gaining traction, both abroad and in the United States. In 2017, the Swedish libertarian think tank Timbro and the European Policy Information Center released their “Authoritarian Populism Index,” showing that populist parties have gained the highest percentage of the vote in nine countries, including Hungary (65.2%), Poland (46.4%) and Greece (45.1%). Zoltán Kész, co-founder of the Free Market Foundation in Budapest said in 2015 that “Populists are especially dangerous enemies, because they are strategizing in the terms of...

While eating lunch at an Israeli Kibbutz last winter, I learned firsthand about what used to be a self-contained, munity. I was struck by the local guide’s positive view of socialism, believing it to produce munal life and economic prosperity. The guide’s praise only echoes A.I. Rabin and Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi from Michigan State University who wrote that “[t]he most successful attempt at building a mune has been the Israeli Kibbutz.” The optimism expressed by these observations is not without cause...

The United States faces significant challenges when es to prisoner rehabilitation. According to a recent study, more than 700,000 prisoners are released annually from federal and state prisons. Unfortunately, “within three years, 40 percent will be reincarcerated.” To curb that trend, we’ve seen a range of efforts to improve correctional education and find better ways of supporting prisoners in their journeys toward social reconnection. Yet one of the most effective and inspiring examples is found in a country not typically...