All Posts Tagged With: "progressivism"
Taxi Regulation and the Failures of Progressivism
As the American people head into another election year some will be puzzled by the rise and the staying power of Progressive ideals—according to which government manages the private economy supposedly for the social welfare. But in truth they’ve been operating at the local level for more than a century. Overestimating the power of Progressive [...]
4Jan2012 | Samuel R. Staley | 2 comments | ContinuedThe Twisted Tree of Progressivism
Sorting out the Progressive movement and its constituent ideologies can be difficult in that the very term “progressive” is burdened with contested meanings. Rather than work along lines agreeable to presently out-of-office politicians hoping to regain power by denouncing long-dead Progressives, we begin with some deep background. One portent of Progressivism is found in the [...]
30Nov2011 | Joseph R. Stromberg | 24 comments | ContinuedPutting Bureaucracy First: Rachel Maddow’s Progressivism
Bureaucratic dominance does not merely lower material living standards or reduce profit opportunities. It crushes lives and dreams.
18Nov2011 | Sheldon Richman | 31 comments | ContinuedEugenics: Progressivism’s Ultimate Social Engineering
According to the received account of the Progressive Era, an enlightened government swept in and regulated markets for goods, labor, and capital, thereby protecting the hapless masses from the vicissitudes of unrestrained laissez-faire capitalism. The Progressives had faith that experts would rise above self-interest and implement wise plans to create a great society. The resulting [...]
21Sep2011 | and Art Carden | 21 comments | ContinuedTaylorism, Progressivism, and Rule by Experts
The Progressive movement at the turn of the twentieth century—the doctrine from which the main current of modern liberalism developed—is sometimes erroneously viewed as an “anti-business” philosophy. It was anti-market to be sure, but by no means necessarily anti-business. Progressivism was, more than anything, managerialist. The American economy after the Civil War became increasingly dominated [...]
24Aug2011 | Kevin A. Carson | 13 comments | ContinuedSue the Government
If your life is not perfect, sue the government, since everyone knows that it can and should bring perfection to society.
12Jan2011 | William L. Anderson | 10 comments | ContinuedVoting, Accountability, and the Rise of Executive Power
Here’s what I want to know: Does Congress matter these days?
3Nov2010 | William L. Anderson | 8 comments | ContinuedTeddy Roosevelt and the Progressive Vision of History
Over a hundred years ago, on August 31, 1910, Teddy Roosevelt gave his famous “New Nationalism” speech in Osawatomie, Kansas. In that speech the former president projected his vision for how the federal government could regulate the American economy. He defended the government’s expansion during his presidency and suggested new ways that it could promote [...]
22Sep2010 | Burton W. Folsom Jr. | 8 comments | ContinuedReaping the Whirlwind of Progressivism, Part I
From numerous wars (to promote “democracy” abroad) to the current depression, we see the imprint of Progressivism.
30Jun2010 | William L. Anderson | 8 comments | ContinuedThe Rise of Government and the Decline of Morality
The recent financial crisis has expanded the power of government. Tea parties have revealed the disillusion of millions of Americans with the rise of government and the decline of morality. The crisis has damaged, unfairly, the vision of market liberalism. It is essential, therefore, to reexamine and articulate the principles of a free society and [...]
29Jun2010 | James A. Dorn | 10 comments | ContinuedCorruption in Government? Shocking!
It’s funny how the people who push hardest for government intervention in more and more areas are the first to gripe that everything has become politicized. What were they expecting? Did they forget that government is a political institution? Paul Krugman and Chris Matthews, among other Progressives, are apoplectic because two senators of the minority [...]
20Apr2010 | Sheldon Richman | 3 comments | ContinuedThe Insanity of Government “Reform”
The belief that government continually “reforms” itself, correcting earlier “mistakes” and moving toward “perfection,” has dominated our body politic since the Progressive Era.
7Apr2010 | William L. Anderson | 7 comments | ContinuedEquality, Markets, and Morality
Burton Folsom, Jr. is a professor of history at Hillsdale College and author of New Deal or Raw Deal?, to be published by Simon & Schuster this year. The subject of “equality” is the source of much political debate. Ever since the founding era, free-market thinkers have argued for equality of opportunity in the economic [...]
1Sep2008 | Burton W. Folsom Jr. | 5 comments | ContinuedCoercion Is the Only Way to Ensure Health?
Aeon J. Skoble is a professor of philosophy and chair of the philosophy department at Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts. In his April 11 New York Times column, economist Paul Krugman discusses the minor trouble then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton got into when an anecdote she told about a woman who died because she didn’t have [...]
1Jun2008 | Aeon J. Skoble | 1 comment | ContinuedIs Fair Trade a Fair Deal?
Gene Callahan is the author of Economics for Real People. We’ve all seen the signs in our local cafes, boasting something like: “We proudly sell coffee brewed with Fair Trade coffee beans, acquired at a price that permits sustainable farming and pays growers a living wage.” These posters are part of a popular trend in [...]
1Mar2008 | Gene Callahan | 3 comments | ContinuedThe Great Duration, 1929–41
Economists, following the usage of Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz in their classic Monetary History of the United States, call the economic collapse between 1929 and 1933 the Great Contraction. In my own writings, I have added two similar terms to refer to other aspects of the Great Depression—the Great Duration and the Great Escape. [...]
1Jul2007 | Robert Higgs | 0 comments | ContinuedCapitalism and Democracy
I recently heard a prominent American politician tell how a “chill” went up his spine when he heard someone question the importance of democracy. How could anyone doubt the value of democracy? he wondered. Fortunately, he said, he soon realized that by “democracy” his (European) interlocutor really meant “capitalism.” Whew, he thought, that’s all right, [...]
1Nov2006 | Arthur E. Foulkes | 1 comment | Continued-
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