Excerpted from an edited transcript of "Ideology and Theories of History," the first in a series of six lectures, given in 1986, on the history of economic thought. The Whig theory of the history of science is very similar, of course,

Resources that are utilized to promote economic prosperity in normal times become underutilized during recessions. Some experts are of the view that what is required are policies which will increase the availability of credit to make greater use of underutilized resources.

Any freshman economics major can attest that nobody gets through their introductory economics courses without learning the theory of public goods and the so-called free-rider problem. As espoused by Paul Samuelson in the 1950s, public goods are consumed collectively, therefore making

In the economy, real economic return on investment is not just an important metric. It is crucial. That is why I find it so intellectually dishonest when some economists look at the GDP and employment growth without putting it in the

As someone who has written about public policies for three and a half decades, I have often struggled with the slipperiness of how words are used, because many people become confused by using words without thought. That gives power to

Washington politicos want to keep the debt going up at breakneck speed forever. But the responsible thing to do is refuse another increase to the debt ceiling and force a partial default. Politicians hate that idea because default would make

One thing struck me as especially odd about Google’s ban of LewRockwell.com from its advertising program. This was the claim that articles on this site could “undermine participation or trust in electoral or democratic process.” I suppose what is meant

Though the effective federal funds rate remains less than 0.1 percent, the reaction of the markets and financial press as the ten-year Treasury yield crossed the 1.5 percent threshold near the start of the month reminds us just how fragile our economy’s underlying monetary framework

The story of European colonization of the Americas is popularly understood as the conquest of American Indians—the end of natives’ control of the land and the beginning of their subjugation. The contingencies of indigenous agency and geopolitics mean that the