in turn enable further types of interactions beyond the realm of business. The genius of the market is that it enables a wide array of individuals, groupings, and associations to organize spontaneously to advance their various interests in a cooperative fashion that yields win-win arrangements.
Featured Posts
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Free the Economy podcast: Waste, fraud, and tax hikes with Emily Ekins
In this week’s episode we cover workplace injuries, MAGA antitrust in theory and practice, portable benefits for gig workers, and the…
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Fred Smith and the Hourglass of Market Evolution
Our much–loved CEI founder Fred L. Smith Jr. would often insist that we not refer merely to antitrust or antitrust policy, but…
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Free the Economy podcast: Debt and taxes with Jack Salmon
In this week’s episode we cover the death of ESG investing, next moves on regulatory reform, Wall Street enthusiasm for a…
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Messages of Freedom and Hope from FEEcon
Last week I was in Atlanta enjoying the excitement and intellectual ferment of FEEcon, the annual conference held by the Foundation for Economic Education.
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Good News for Young Lemonade Stand Entrepreneurs
Every summer there are news stories about local authorities shutting down children’s lemonade stands over lack of licenses, permits, a lack of restaurant-grade kitchen or…
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How Socialism Devastated Venezuela
I’m attending FEEcon, the annual conference held by the Foundation for Economic Education, this week, and there’s an overwhelming number of great speakers…
Op-Eds
Do-er/Thinker Alliances: How Capitalists Can Defend Capitalism
The Fraser Institute of Canada just released a new book called Demographics and Entrepreneurship: Mitigating the Effects of an Aging Population. The book contains a series of 10…
Blog
Did You Hear the One about the Entrepreneur?
When putting together a chapter on entrepreneurship and regulation for the Fraser Institute’s new book “Demographics and Entrepreneurship: Mitigating the Effects of an Aging…
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A New Bibliography for the Platform Economy
The future has arrived, and it is a radically different economy. Havas Media’s Tom Goodwin pointed out in 2015, “Uber, the world’s largest taxi…
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Prof. Rajshree Agarwal on the Rubin Report: The True Value of Free Enterprise
I’ve been interested over the last several years to see Dave Rubin’s metamorphosis from stand-up comedian to podcast co-host to serious public affairs…
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What’s Driving the New Economy: Reviewing ‘Tomorrow 3.0’
We truly do live in amazing times. And according to Michael Munger, who directs Duke University’s multidisciplinary PPE program (it stands for Philosophy, Politics, and…
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Track How Humans Are Making Progress around the World
For several years now, HumanProgress has been an excellent source of data and scholarship on major demographic trends around the word. As longtime fans know,…
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Tax Complexity a Major Headache for Small Businesses Online
For a lot of small businesses in America, taxes are not just an expensive hassle but a scary, anxiety-inducing ordeal. Taxes are the…
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Natural Isn’t Necessarily Better: Celebrating Human Achievement
Human Achievement Hour is the Competitive Enterprise’s Institute’s annual celebration of innovation and progress. During this hour, people around the world pay tribute to the advancements that inventors…
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History Lesson in Technological Optimism: Simon, Jevons, and Lardner
Through his publications and scholarly work in the 1980s and 90s, the economist Julian Simon challenged the conventional wisdom and the intellectual position of the…
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Hernando de Soto Wins Julian Simon Memorial Award
It is enormously gratifying that this year’s winner of the Julian Simon Award is Hernando de Soto, whose work around the world to define,…
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Gains from Automation Create Path to Greater Prosperity
Automation has become somewhat of a dirty word recently. Fear of mass unemployment and widening inequality has led to calls for greater regulations of technology…
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Human Achievement Benefits Nature’s Creatures—Including Pets
Environmental activists want you to “take action for our planet and nature” by sitting in the dark for an hour on March 24th. But…
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Impressive Work on Display by Students for Liberty
Congratulations are in order to our friends at Students for Liberty and their CEO Wolf von Laer on a successfully annual conference recently held here…
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What Will You Achieve with Your 8,760 Hours?
Several years ago CEI launched Human Achievement Hour, an annual celebration of innovation and progress. During this hour—this year, Saturday, March 24th from 8:30pm to…
Blog
‘Fair Shot’ by Chris Hughes: Facebook Co-Founder’s Book Rich in Anecdote and Emotion
Chris Hughes, the co-founder of Facebook, has a new book out with a dramatic suggestion for changing the distribution of wealth in the United States.
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Happy Birthday to Adam Smith’s ‘Wealth of Nations’
Being able to make voluntary transactions with others while having redress in the case of fraud sets the stage for larger, more complex, and longer-term market…
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Tracking Public Opinion on Trump, Tariffs, and Trade
A Pew study noted that Republicans’ views on free trade shifted in a more negative way during the 2016 presidential campaign, while Democrats’ views…
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Millennials Love Entrepreneurship But Skeptical of ‘Capitalism’
If we want Millennials to have a greater appreciation for the virtues of capitalism, we need to convey how their entrepreneurial aspirations can only be made possible…
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Seeing How People Really Live around the World
A recent TED Talk by Anna Rosling Rönnlund features images collected by photographers dispatched to 264 different homes in 50 countries around the world. They document the stoves, bed,…
The Washington Times
Democratic Governors Outsource Climate Campaigns To Activist Groups, Emails Reveal
The Washingotn Times quoted Chris Horner on the cache of emails obtained by the Competitive Enterprise Institute through use of open records requests which shows…
Valuewalk
Time To End The GSE Conservatorship
When other financial institutions that received TARP funds paid back what they owed to the U.S. Treasury in full, the government relinquished its ownership stake…
Forbes
Online Gambling — None Of Washington’s Business (But Its Enemies Don’t Care)
Forbes cited Michelle Minton on the history of Pennsylvania Representative Charlie Dent and others to pass an amendment illegalizing state-based internet gambling within the state…
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The Politics of Groundhog Day
In honor of the classic Bill Murray film “Groundhog Day,” Reason TV has released a “horrifyingly relevant” parody video about the seemingly endless national…
Blog
Young Americans’ Disdain for Capitalism Misplaced
The enmity that many young Americans hold towards capitalism can be attributed to ideological and partisan predispositions, personal experiences during the Great Recession, the ensuing…
U.S. News & World Report
Cutting Off Consumers
A new regulation will burden low- and middle-income Americans reliant on payday loans. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau just released a new rule against payday…
Las Vegas
Think Tank Releasing Report On New Jersey Challenge To Sports Betting Act
Las Vegas Review-Journal quotes Michelle Minton the impact on consumer freedom which a federal sports gambling known as PASPA poses. When the U.S.
USA Today
Businesses Already Serve a Social Purpose
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s letter to CEOs demanding that their companies “serve a social purpose” is the latest example of what economist Milton Friedman dubbed…
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Understanding the Weird and Wonderful with Pete Leeson
Prof. Pete Leeson’s recent book teaches readers how to use economic thinking to reveal the hidden sense behind seemingly senseless human behavior.
Blog
Here’s to the Side Hustlers
The rise of self-employment apps like Uber and TaskRabbit, where people decide when to work and how many jobs, rides, or gigs to take on,…
Blog
Federalist Society Documents ‘American Spirit’ of U.S. Distilling
The Federalist Society has produced an excellent new short film out about the history of alcohol regulation.
Blog
Justice Department Breaks Trump Vow to Leave Marijuana up to States
It is Congress’s responsibility to finally update federal drug laws in a way that reflects America’s changing values and priorities. …
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Business World Lessons from the Silicon Valley International Film Festival
Business relationships are about serving the customer and creating win-win transactions.
Intercollegiate Studies Institute
What Should Direct Our Economy: The Invisible Hand or the Iron Fist?
You probably heard: a recent poll found that nearly half of American millennials would rather live under socialism than capitalism. To anyone old enough to remember…
Blog
President’s Fall Policy Update
We have measures and very clear guideposts to tell us if we are on the right path.
Blog
Raising a Glass to Repeal Day
This week we celebrated the 84th anniversary of the end of Prohibition with Repeal Day.
Blog
Economic Lessons of Thanksgiving
The history behind Thanksgiving can teach us valuable lessons about how we can and should live together with our fellow Americans.
Blog
This Thanksgiving, I’m Thankful for Hysterical Net Neutrality Advocates
Do you want private entities in a marketplace in charge or do you want government regulators calling the shots?…
Blog
Framework for a Free Society: Celebrating the Ideas of Bruno Leoni
People can manage their affairs, even drawing and administering the lines between right and wrong, without legislators and bureaucrats.
Blog
Will New Zealand Forget the Benefits of Economic Freedom?
As an Australian, there are two things I have always admired about New Zealand—their remarkable national rugby team and their stunning embrace of…
Blog
An Appreciation: Atlas Shrugged at 60
Sixty years ago this month, Ayn Rand’s monumental novel, Atlas Shrugged, was published. It helped a vast number of people around the world to become…
Blog
An Anniversary Toast for I, Whiskey
It’s been a tremendous year since we released I, Whiskey on YouTube and Facebook and co-hosted our red carpet premiere with the Distilled Spirits Council…
Blog
Fighting for Our Right to Party at WhiskeyFest
Don’t be afraid of sticking up for your favorite things – there’s always someone looking for the weakest target to tax, regulate, and restrict. If…
Blog
Celebrate National Coffee Day
In the modern American workplace, many people see coffee as essential to productivity and for socializing around the coffee machine, which makes it unsurprising that…
Blog
Taxes, Welfare, and Economic Inequality
At a time when comprehensive tax reform is dominating news headlines, concerns about income inequality and the distributional effects of future tax changes are again…
Blog
Human Freedom Is Key to African Prosperity
Earlier this week at a presentation to the Cato Institute, authors Greg Mills, Jeffrey Herbst, Olusegun Obasanjo, and Dickie Davis, discussed their new book…
Blog
Google Employees Hear Moral Case for Fossil Fuels
Everyone, especially Silicon Valley's tech elite, needs to understand the human value of fossil fuels.
Blog
Beacon Center Nominated for Templeton Freedom Award
Congrats to the hard-working folks of the Beacon Center of Tennessee for their “Tackle the Hall Tax” advocacy campaign…
