Search Results for: "Milton Friedman"
Relevance | DateProfits and Energy (Caveman Economics 101)
By Richard W. Fulmer -- January 31, 2019 No Comments[E]nergy is not life, but a prerequisite for it, and life is insatiable for it.
– Bernd Heinrich, American zoologist, professor, and author
Civilization and profit go hand in hand.
– Calvin Coolidge, American President
In his book Economics on Trial, American economist Mark Skousen defined Economics as, “the study of how individuals transform natural resources into final products and services that people can use.”
Skousen’s definition is problematic for the purposes of this book [Caveman Economics, in process], which proposes to illustrate economic principles by imagining a prehistoric world at the dawn of our species. For in such a world, natural resources do not yet exist. Natural materials exist, but they do not become natural resources until they are combined with knowledge. Such knowledge came only after thousands of years of trial and error—trial and error in a world in which error often resulted in death.…
Continue ReadingWilliam A. Niskanen: Economist, Scholar, Foe of Political Capitalism
By Robert Bradley Jr. -- June 11, 2018 3 Comments[Note: This will be Niskanen Week with forthcoming posts on his views on climate-change science, economics, and public policy. This is particularly relevant with the contradictory policies of the Niskanen Center under its founder and head, Jerry Taylor.]
The longtime chairman of the Cato Institute, William N. Niskanen, passed away in 2011 at age 78. We shared the podium a few times on energy issues, and I admired his Enron project at Cato that resulted in two books, Corporate Aftershock: Lessons from the Collapse of Enron and Other Major Corporations (2003) and After Enron: Lessons for Public Policy (2005).
Like virtually everyone else who knew him, I remember Bill as a scholar and gentleman. He had one tone of voice and reliably imparted insightful logic. He was a scholar’s scholar, a role model for the rest of us.
Political Capitalism as a Distinct Economic System
By Randall Holcombe -- March 26, 2018 1 CommentEditor Note: Three years ago, Randall Holcombe, the DeVoe Moore Professor of Economics at Florida State University, published an important essay in the Cato Journal, “Political Capitalism.” MasterResource is pleased to republish his summary as Part I of our four-part series. The lineup is political capitalism (today), contra-capitalism (tomorrow), and business-history scholarship (Wednesday and Thursday). Professor Holcombe’s contribution is also timely given the recent rent-seeking-friendly $1.3 billion, Republican/Democrat, 2,322-page Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018.
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… Continue Reading“While political capitalism as an economic system has barely been recognized, the building blocks that form a theoretical foundation for political capitalism are firmly in place and well-accepted. In political science and sociology, the ideas of elite domination and biased pluralism are mainstream concepts that are a fundamental part of political capitalism.”
T. Boone Pickens: Contra-Capitalist (a ‘man of system’ sought more fame and fortune)
By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 31, 2018 7 Comments“The two greatest enemies of free enterprise in the United States … have been, on the one hand, my fellow intellectuals and, on the other hand, the business corporations of this country.”
– Milton Friedman. “Which Way for Capitalism?” Reason, May 1977, p. 21.
“To put it plainly, T. Boone Pickens is out to save America.”
– Carl Pope (Sierra Club). Quoted in Dean Calbreath, “Pickens Pitches Plans to Shift U.S. Away From Oil,” San Diego Union Tribune, June 25, 2008.
They are not against capitalism. They can be very charismatic, in the know, and mainstream. They may be industry leaders. They are always politically correct and receive good press. And they can, often do, pledge allegiance in the abstract to the American way of free enterprise.…
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