Articles exploring history, economics, political systems, and the lessons they offer for the modern world.
The idea behind Medicare for All is appealing in its simplicity: guarantee health care coverage to every American and have the federal government pay the bills. But providing universal coverage and creating a single government-run health insurance system are not the same thing. The practical problems begin when we ask the most important question: How…
Who is the working class. We hear the phrase all the time from politicians. Some say they are supported and some say they are not, but what’s the facts? Who truly represents working-class Americans? Politicians across the political spectrum claim they do. But in a representative republic, that claim should be measured by evidence—not simply…
“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands… may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” — James Madison, Federalist No. 47 Every generation of Americans has debated how government should solve the nation’s problems. The Democratic Socialists of America propose something far more ambitious—not merely new policies, but…
Few words in modern politics are used more often—and understood less—than capitalism. To many politicians and commentators today, capitalism has become synonymous with greed, exploitation, corporate power, and inequality. Progressive politicians such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senator Bernie Sanders, and others frequently describe capitalism as a system that primarily enriches the wealthy while leaving ordinary…
“If socialists understood economics, they wouldn’t be socialists.” Friedrich A. Hayek, recipient of the 1974 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences Daily Life Under Economic Failures What does socialism actually do to ordinary life? That question matters because socialism is often discussed in America in abstract and idealistic terms. It is presented as compassionate, fair,…
Fair Share or Fair Logic? Few political phrases are repeated more often than the claim that billionaires should “pay their fair share.” It sounds reasonable on the surface. After all, if someone earns vastly more money than the average American, shouldn’t they contribute more? The reality is that America’s tax system already requires high-income earners…
Key Takeaways INTRODUCTION Sir William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–69) is the most important legal treatise ever written in the English language. It was the dominant lawbook in England and America in the century after its publication and played a unique role in the development of the fledgling American legal system. As…
Socialism is a political religion whose God is the State and whose priests are the bureaucrats…It is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal distribution of misery. Winston Churchill Key Takeaways ‘The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s…