Forbes
Virtuous Capitalism In Theory And Practice
Capitalism has a bad reputation. Many people see it as corrupt, uncaring, and in bed with politicians. And popular wisdom isn’t always wrong. For example,…
Study
Reviving Capitalism
The near-death and rebirth of American railroads is a case study in business leaders fending off regulation.
Forbes
The Real Value Of ‘Networking’ In The Business World
Fred Smith discusses "The Real Value of Networking" in Forbes Beating up on capitalism – and business leaders generally – is all the…
Business Ethics Highlights
CEI: There’s Less Corruption In Business Than You Think
The Business Ethics Highlights features CEI's article on rent-seeking. If the data show rent-seeking behavior by firms to be so effective, why don’t…
Study
Virtuous Capitalism
Is there less corruption in business than we think?…
Forbes
An Honest Economist In A PC World
Blog
“Losing Our Minds” over Green Energy
Eco-theocracy has swept America and Europe, resulting in governments devoting vast sums to build their Green Temples where “renewable energy” and “recycled materials” can be…
The Washington Post
Deregulation and Privatization Are the Ways Forward
In his Oct. 8 op-ed column, “A global economy in peril,” Lawrence Summers argued that current bond prices are a sign that government debt…
Blog
Reasons for Global Warming Skepticism
Democrats have developed a cottage industry in ridiculing and condemning Republicans as Luddites. How can any “reasonable” person deny that increased greenhouse gas concentrations in the…
Forbes
The Next Generation Of Capitalists
Ten years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans has made a tremendous comeback. That’s due not just to the hard work of natives…
Cap X
CapX Reviews: By the People
Charles Murray, in his new book, By the People: Rebuilding Liberty without Permission, argues that America’s constitutional checks on the growth of spending, taxation, and…
Forbes
A New History Of American Business
Government intervention in the economy—via spending, regulation, and taxation—has expanded steadily over the last century and is now at an all-time high. As economist Joseph…
Forbes
Students Dive Into The Political Shark Tank
Recently I was a presenter and participant in a workshop organized by the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). The event, “Communicating Liberty: Shark Tank,”…
Forbes
Experimenting In The Laboratory Of Economics
Nobel Prize-winning economist Vernon Smith was in Australia last week to lecture at the Macquarie Graduate School of Management in Sydney. In addition to his…
Investor.com
Pope Worships The Creator, His Advisor Worships The Creation
The Investors.com cites CEI`s Fred Smith on the Pope`s encyclical on global warming: The pope indicates that his primary trouble with global warming…
Forbes
The Pope, Poverty And Global Warming
The world waits in anticipation as Pope Francis and his advisers finalize an official Vatican statement on climate change and the environment – expected out…
Blog
Protecting the Earth Isn’t Just Government Work
This April will mark the 45th anniversary of Earth Day. Since 1970, countless people around the world have used the day to celebrate the beauty…
Comment
Congressional Testimony – Fred Smith on the Private Role of “Public Goods”
Read the full testimony here Good afternoon Chairman Calvert, Ranking Member McCollum, and members of the Appropriations Subcommittee on…
Forbes
Why Human Achievement Is Worth Celebrating
This Saturday marks the seventh annual observance of “Human Achievement Hour,” a celebration of technology and prosperity hosted by my organization, the Competitive Enterprise…
Forbes
Enhancing The Private Role For ‘Public Goods’
John Kenneth Galbraith once observed that in America our gardens are beautiful, while our public parks are in a state of disaster. While Galbraith saw…
Blog
Yes, and Water Can Run Uphill!
A recent Washington Post story by Joby Warrick says much about the credulity of the media. The story extols the great gains in wind…
Human Events
Why Capitalist Virtue Beats Cronyist Sin
Blog
There Are No “Neutral Taxes” in Politics
Those favoring larger government are finding it harder to finance them by raising taxes. Proponents have sought to reduce opposition by claiming that they’re not…
Forbes
A Valentine For Capitalism
The notes and cards we exchange on Valentine’s Day cover a wide range of emotions—from intimate love letters for that special someone to the simple…
Blog
The Empire Strikes Back!
Right-of-center groups have for some time become a bit complacent. Sure the left had the universities, the media, and pop culture—but we had the think…
Blog
Premature Capitulation?
Over the decades I’ve spent in this Heart of Darkness (a.k.a., the bowels of American politics), I’ve learned two lessons that have encouraged the steady…
Investor's Business Daily
Save Capitalism With Those Ads On Super Bowl
With another Super Bowl comes another venerable tradition — the contest to produce the best ads. It's the biggest event of the advertising year —…
Forbes
From Mutual Aid To Modern Insurance: How Capitalism Eased The Pain Of Death
We all die. And we all need to make provisions for that eventuality—especially if we have dependents or goals extending into the future. In traditional…
Forbes
Two Cheers For Cuba Libre
President Obama’s recent decision to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba was welcomed by many free marketers, but met with skepticism by those who favor political…
Forbes
A Better Way To Help Our Fellow Man
As we enter the Christmas season, the question of our responsibility to our fellow man (and woman) arises. When we see people in need, how…
Blog
Political vs. Market Regulation: Uber Edition
Earlier this week The Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell suggested that new entrants in the transportation market, like Uber, should face greater government regulation—despite having fueled much of…
Blog
The Future and the Regulated
Lawrence Summers, the enfant terrible of the economics profession, has written a thoughtful column on “Our Loss of Faith in the Future,” noting that…
Newsmax
Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Smith: Entertainment Industry Vilifies Business
Newsmax discusses Fred Smith's latest Forbes column: "The entertainment…
Forbes
Confessions Of A Capitalist
The recent remake of The Manchurian Candidate is a curious thing. While it repeats most of the plot of the 1962 original, the North Korean…
Forbes
A Truly Frightening Halloween in our Future?
This article was originally published at Forbes on October 31, 2014 For many of us, Halloween brings back many fond memories. We recall the…
Forbes
The Least Important Election of Your Lifetime
The November midterm elections are around the corner and as usual, the airwaves are filled with frenzied appeals to vote for one candidate or another…
Products
What Is Plouffe’s Battle Plan?
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick’s decision to hire former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe raises some interesting questions. Uber, a social network offering consumers an attractive…
Blog
How Will the Future View the “Temples” of Eco-Theocrats?
While vacationing in Germany recently, I noted many beautiful and now largely untenanted churches. Elegant, majestic against the sky, they are potent symbols of a…
Forbes
Defending the Virtue of the Business World at Home and Abroad
A new CNBC/Burson-Marsteller poll on attitudes toward business in both developed and emerging economies reveals some troubling findings. While business leaders in the U.S.
Cato Journal: Fall 2014 Vol. 34 No. 3
Cato Journal: “Unstoppable” Book Review
This article was originally published in the Fall 2014 Edition of the Cato Institute Journal. Read the Full Review…
Study
Learning from the Past, Freeing up the Future: The Political Economy of Regulatory Change
Blog
The Not-So-Free Market at Work
In the mail, I recently received a brochure from a firm called Solar Solution LLC, claiming to be the District of Columbia’s #1 solar installer. Included…
Business Insider Australia
How A ‘Bunch Of Commies’ Are Forcing The Fortune 500 To Stop Destroying Rain Forests, Overfishing, And Burning Fossil Fuels
Even Greenpeace’s detractors have taken note of the organisation’s newfound potency. Fred Smith, former president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and founder of the…
Financial Times
Capitalists ought not to be cowed by their critics
Sir, Lynn Forester de Rothschild’s recent column (“Capitalism thrives by looking past the bottom line,” May 21) provides new evidence of the prescience of legendary…
Blog
The “Cooperative” Enterprise Institute?
In a sense, companies compete with each other to be the better cooperator.
Forbes
Ronald Coase Was The Greatest Of The Many Great University Of Chicago Economists
Ronald Coase (1910-2013), the greatest of the Chicago School economists in my view, died this week. Yet, his work lives on. If it gains the…
Forbes
We’re In A Cultural War Between The Forces Of Economic Dynamism And Stasis
In a recent column, I noted that our tribal ancestors viewed entrepreneurs with suspicion. In their view, entrepreneurs were too willing to violate…
Forbes
Charles Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge Was The Ultimate Job Creator
There is probably no figure more emblematic of the greedy, penny-pinching capitalist than Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Dickens is often seen…
Forbes
The Sad Decline of the Word Capitalism
Not everyone is giving up. One example is Fred L. Smith, chairman and founder of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who has launched the…
Forbes
When Steven Pearlstein Bashes Capitalism, Is It Really Capitalism?
Washington Post columnist Steven Pearlstein recently touched on several important tensions that arise in our conceptions of capitalism—tensions that lie at the core of America’s…