Hubris, Humility, and the AI Revolution (with Walter Isaacson)

What if the results of one of the most influential economics papers of the past 25 years are unreliable? The “China shock” narrative–that a surge of Chinese imports destroyed American manufacturing jobs and the communities that depended on them–became conventional wisdom in Washington and beyond. But economic historian Joseph Francis argues that the claim is… MORE

In his new book The Civilization of Commerce (Encounter Books, October 2026), American Institute for Economic Research president Samuel Gregg explores the requirements, benefits, and positive features of a commercial society, which isn’t merely trading and exchanging goods but a civilization of growth in knowledge, specialization, networks, and institutions that is built on tradition, virtue,… MORE

For millions of entrepreneurs, the greatest barrier to generating wealth is no longer market competition but the relentless expansion of regulations and administrative procedures. While governance is ostensibly designed to ensure order, modern bureaucracy has morphed into a formidable “invisible shackle.” Rather than functioning as a neutral tool of oversight, excessive red tape treats a… MORE

Rather than breaking capitalism… A.G.I… is more likely to create a powerful… ally for capitalism’s most destructive creed: neoliberalism. —Evgeny Morozov. The New York Times1 The New York Times for decades has been America’s bellwether of coming political, ideological, and cultural trends. Even those who rarely agreed with it (Ayn Rand is a prime example)… MORE

“Smith is a friend of competitive markets and the division of labor and the institutions that secure these. But within the division of labor and the governance of these institutions, the population needs to be not just prudent, but also to become educated in skill, dexterity, and good judgment, as Smith shows in Book V.”… MORE

Anthony de Jasay, a regular columnist for Econlib, was one of the most original and independent thinkers on the relationship between the individual and the state. Through his published works, he challenged the reigning paradigms justifying modern democratic growth. His deeply challenging theoretical works include The State, an analysis that views the state as acting… MORE

Recognized as one of the most influential voices in the areas of market structure, the theory of the firm, law and economics, resource unemployment, and monetary theory and policy, in this 2001 interview, Armen Alchian (1914-2013) outlines the “UCLA tradition” of economics which he founded and explores the many unanticipated consequences of self-seeking individual behavior.… MORE

Gary Becker (1930-2014) was one of the most original and pathbreaking economists of modern times. His 1992 Nobel laureate in Economic Sciences was described as his “having extended the domain of microeconomic analysis to a wide range of human behaviour and interaction, including nonmarket behavior.” Becker’s early work on discrimination led to his further work… MORE

  “Can capitalism survive? No. I do not think it can.” Thus opens Schumpeter’s prologue to a section of his 1942 book, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. One might think, on the basis of the quote, that Schumpeter was a Marxist. But the analysis that led Schumpeter to his conclusion differed totally from Karl Marx’s. Marx… MORE

Joseph Schumpeter described Bastiat nearly a century after his death as “the most brilliant economic journalist who ever lived.” Orphaned at the age of nine, Bastiat tried his hand at commerce, farming, and insurance sales. In 1825, after he inherited his grandfather’s estate, he quit working, established a discussion group, and read widely in economics.… MORE

  Karl Marx was communism’s most zealous intellectual advocate. His comprehensive writings on the subject laid the foundation for later political leaders, notably V. I. Lenin and Mao Tse-tung, to impose communism on more than twenty countries. Marx was born in Trier, Prussia (now Germany), in 1818. He studied philosophy at universities in Bonn and… MORE