In recent years we have heard a great deal of criticism regarding the economic and racial segregation of America’s cities. While much has been written on the subject, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein provides an illuminating explanation as to why this has occurred. Much…
It is rare that a book can objectively present the facts and then draw all of the wrong conclusions. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2017, is one such book. Author Matthew Desmond follows eight low-income families and their landlords during the 2007-2008 financial crisis. He chronicles…
Sadly, contemporary comedic movies usually offer us a boring combination of juvenile antics and crude language. Fortunately, when we want light-hearted entertainment, we are not limited to the offerings of modern film makers. Technology allows us to enjoy some the cinematic gems of the past. And Ninotchka is one of those gems. Greta Garbo is…
Cornerstone of Liberty: Property Rights in 21st Century America, by Timothy Sandefur and Christina Sandefur, presents a compelling story about the importance of property rights. Private property rights are not just dry abstractions of political philosophy. Nor is property a mere economic concept. Like the freedoms of speech or religion, private property affects our everyday…
Cronyism is the exchange of political favors for political support. Voters and donors scratch the backs of politicians, and the politicians reciprocate by supporting legislation favorable to the voters and donors. In most instances (but not all) the political favors involve placing restrictions on how others may use their property. For example, low-income voters (and…
In The Gridlock Economy: How Too Much Ownership Wrecks Markets, Stops Innovation, and Costs Lives, Michael Heller argues that Private ownership usually creates wealth. But too much ownership has the opposite effect—it creates gridlock. Gridlock is a free market paradox. When too many people own pieces of one thing, cooperation breaks down, wealth disappears, and…
Henry George was an American journalist and political economist. His book Progress and Poverty (1879) was one of the best selling books of its time. While he was considered an advocate of free trade (he opposed tariffs), George was a staunch opponent of property rights. In Progress and Poverty, George argued that labor is the…
Pursuing one’s values is always a challenge, and it is even more difficult when those values are in conflict with the community in which one lives. In Chocolat, Vianne Rocher opens a chocolate shop in a small French village on the eve of Lent. She immediately finds herself in conflict with the town’s mayor, who…
One hundred and twenty years ago the American West was a vast, open area brimming with natural resources and opportunity. Cow towns and mining camps sprung up across the landscape. From around the world, millions of people flocked to the Western territories with the hope of making a better life for themselves. Many came to…