Archive for Donald Boudreaux
Science Fiction and Economic Fiction
Thomas Macaulay Boudreaux, age 12 and my only child, is a huge fan of Star Trek. Actually, even an italicized “huge” doesn’t quite capture the extent of Thomas’s fascination with, and knowledge of, the franchise. From Captain Pike through Mr. Spock to Ensign Sato, Thomas knows and loves anything and everything Star Trek.
So in August [...]
Hayek, Coase, and Buchanan on the Market Process
Donald Boudreaux is chairman of the economics department at George Mason University.
Compared to most other economists, my George Mason University colleagues and I put more emphasis on books than articles. Tyler Cowen, one of my most accomplished colleagues, often describes GMU Economics as a “book department.”
This affection for books doesn’t mean that we ignore articles. Indeed, [...]
Cool on the Idea of Cooling Global Warming
Donald Boudreaux is chairman of the economics department at George Mason University.
Here’s some self-promotion: the December 21, 2006, issue of The New York Review of Books published this letter of mine—a letter saturated with the obvious influence of FEE’s founder, Leonard Read:
I’ve read few passages in your pages that are as mistaken as Bill McKibben’s assertion [...]
Mencken’s Wisdom
Donald Boudreaux (dboudrea@gmu.edu) is chairman of the economics department at George Mason University.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the death of H. L. Mencken (1880–1956). I wish that this Bard of Baltimore had lived far longer—past the age of Methuselah—so that those of us born after World War II could have enjoyed his brilliant [...]
The Wrecking Ball and the Prosperity Tower
The economic question of greatest importance to Adam Smith remains the economic question of greatest importance today: what causes wealth? What conditions best encourage economic growth and widespread prosperity?
The general answer is easy: private property rights and freedom of contract. When everyone enjoys the right to acquire, own, use, and exchange property [...]
Muting Messages
As schoolchildren we learn of ancient kings who, when told of their armies’ defeats, angrily commanded that the messengers be put to death. Each of us recoils at the cruelty and pointlessness of such killings. We ask ourselves how anyone could be so foolish as to imagine that a messenger is in any way to [...]
1Oct2002 | Donald Boudreaux | 0 comments | ContinuedEquality and Capitalism
Probably the most common charge against capitalism is that it creates wealth and income inequality. The frequency of this allegation testifies to the fact that it strikes a chord with large numbers of people. It’s so believable. After all, who can deny that Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and bond traders each have vastly more money [...]
1Sep2002 | Donald Boudreaux | 3 comments | Continued-
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Book Reviews
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The End of Prosperity: How Higher Taxes Will Doom the Economy–If We Let it Happen
By Arthur B. Laffer, Stephen Moore, and Peter J. Tanous
