Behind the Moral Curtain

I’m slow in posting this video of Elise Parham presenting her monograph Behind the Moral Curtain: The Politics of a Charter of Rights. The paper and video are both well worth checking out. Astute viewers may even be able to spot the back of my head in the video. Elise’s argument is that bills of [...]

Democraphobia Goes Mainstream (Sort of)

This op-ed from Tapu Misa contains an odd mix of democraphobia (yay!) and statophilia (boo!). First the good: The catalyst for the march was the Government daring to ignore the result of the recent ambiguously worded citizens-initiated referendum on the child discipline law. Which means the Government is clearly undemocratic. “The people are the boss [...]

Scenes from a Moral Panic

From Craig Reinarman and Harry G. Levine (1997), The Crack Attack: Politics and Media in the Crack Scare. On September 5, 1989, President Bush, speaking from the presidential desk in the Oval Office, announced his plan for achieving “victory over drugs” in his first major prime-time address to the nation, broadcast on all three national [...]

The Political Power of Bad Ideas: Networks, Institutions, and the Global Prohibition Wave

That’s the title of  a forthcoming book by Mark Schrad, which looks very interesting. I’ve read a paper on this topic by the author, which has been very useful to the chapter I’m currently writing of my thesis (basically analyzing the consequences of  what Schrad calls “bad policy ideas” on constitutional effectiveness). I really wish the [...]

See the Dollar Auction in Action

Here’s a video of a public choice teacher running an all-pay dollar auction, and describing its relevance to lobbying (hat tip: Max Borders). The teacher misquotes WOPR, but at least he got the reference in there. Crampton runs a twenty dollar auction, which is more interesting because people care about the outcome a little more. He clearly needs to [...]

Drug Deaths vs Media Coverage

From the Guardian’s Data Blog comes this neat visualization of poisoning deaths from various drugs and compared to press coverage thereof. The at the comparison for pot in particular. I think this image, which shows the deaths as a proportion of users is probably more relevant when considering the likely social consequences of media bias.

Libertarian?

Glenn Beck is a complete and utter bigot.  That’s hardly news, but this anti-atheist rant is particularly icky: Hat tip: Timothy Sandefur

Documentary Series on New Zealand’s Free-Market Reforms

The excellent 1996 documentary series Revolution is now available to watch online at NZ on Screen. I may be biased, but I see the reforms which took place here in the 1980s and ’90s as one of the most interesting series of political events in recent world political history. I haven’t seen the series in [...]

Bailouts and Capitalism

The G-20 protesters in Pittsburgh seem to have some interesting political views: The marchers included small groups of self-described anarchists, some wearing dark clothes and bandanas and carrying black flags. Others wore helmets and safety goggles. One banner read, “No borders, no banks,” another, “No hope in capitalism.” A few minutes into the march, protesters unfurled [...]

Inside the Mind of a Politician: Taxation is Voluntary

Something about withholding taxes. I don’t get it. It’s possible to support government without being a complete moron. Denying that government is force is not the way to do it. Hat tip: The Peace, Freedom and Prosperity Movement.