[When a nation’s debt becomes unmanageable, what is the responsible next step?] The Greek mess is complicated, but in sorting through complex messes it’s useful to start with simpler cases and build up. All sides in the discussion are appealing to moral considerations about responsibility, fairness, and prudence. Part of the debate is over what […]
On Greek Debts and the Moral Thing to Do [Good Life series] Read More »
Interview conducted at Rockford University by Stephen Hicks and sponsored by the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. Hicks: I am Stephen Hicks. Our guest today is Professor Terry Noel, who teaches Entrepreneurship and Management at Illinois State. He is here today at Rockford College speaking on the theme of the virtuous entrepreneur. Interesting title, but
Dr. Terry Noel on the Virtuous Entrepreneur [video interview transcript] Read More »
What explains the dramatic differences in economic performance between the two Americas? Take some World Bank GDP numbers — one measure of economic success. We want people to make an adequate living, especially poor people who are struggling. And if we are ambitious, we want people to live the good life — including expensive things
Comparing North and Latin America Economic Performance [Good Life series] Read More »
[Re-pinning for this season’s festivities.] We all know the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge. Or do we? Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol has generated an astonishing variety of interpretations, and as with most rich tales the interpretations often tell us as much about the interpreter as the original story. The legend of Robin Hood is a
Ebenezer Scrooge as Aristotelian Hero Read More »
1. The modern economic debate: Should free-markets or socialism replace feudalism? [Late 1700s to early 1800s] 2. Free-market-ish experiments run in many countries (USA, New Zealand, etc.) — all generally successful [1800s and 1900s] 3. Socialist experiments run in many countries (Soviet Union, China, etc.) — all failures. [1900s] 4. At the same time, Third
Eight steps to Trump Economics Read More »
The long-term estimated death toll from the 1984 Bhopal disaster in India is about 15,000 people. To put that in context, consider that the estimated immediate death toll from the Soviet Union’s 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster is 4,000. The death toll from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear radiation leak in 2011 is zero. And the death toll
The Bhopal Chemical Spill Disaster — Who Is to Blame? [Good Life series] Read More »
[Last week I posted five quotations from Ludwig von Mises indicating his opposition to anarchism. Several commentators mentioned the Mises Institute’s drift toward anarchism. That reminded me of some personal history.] I arrived at Rockford University as a newly-minted Ph.D. in the early 1990s. In addition to the normal excitement of becoming an Assistant Professor
How Not to Donate Money in Honor of Your Intellectual Hero Read More »
Interview with Professor Alexei Marcoux, conducted at Rockford University by Stephen Hicks and sponsored by the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. Part I Hicks: My guest today is Dr. Alexei Marcoux, who spoke at Rockford University on moral partiality in business practice. Dr. Marcoux is a philosopher by training. He teaches in the business administration program
Alexei Marcoux on moral partiality in business [video interview transcript] Read More »