Reconsidering the City
If they are to survive and thrive, cities need to become more people-friendly.
Joel Kotkin
· 10 min read
economics
A collection of 47 posts
Woke Capitalism’s Tragedy of the Commons
Woke capitalism is rational, but it is also unsustainable.
Ilya Levine
· 7 min read
Piketty’s Progress
A review of A Brief History of Equality by Thomas Piketty, Belknap Press, 288 pages (April 2022) As I write this, the city of Rotterdam is considering a request to dismantle one of its historic bridges to grant Jeff Bezos’s super-yacht (too monstrous for normal ports) safe passage to
Jared Marcel Pollen
· 10 min read
The Dangers of Western Complacency
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has revived the Western alliance. After years of drift and self-doubt, the West has been reminded of its historic and institutional uniqueness by seeing the contrast between the atavistic revanchism of Vladimir Putin and the heroism of Ukraine’s defenders. Once again, our collective purpose
Fredrik Erixon and Dalibor Rohac
· 7 min read
Serfing the Future?
Land ownership has shaped civilizations from their beginnings, with a constant interplay between great powers—the aristocracy, the state, the Church, the emperor—and those below them. History has oscillated between periods of greater dispersion of ownership, and those that favored greater concentration. Today, we live in an era of
Joel Kotkin
· 11 min read
Moral Relativism and the Bottom Line
A surgeon, an engineer, and an economist all die around the same time and are met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter. “Welcome good souls! Welcome! You’re in the right place,” he informs them. “But, unfortunately, we have a shortage of mansions so two of you will need
Jefferson Crow
· 12 min read
The Problem with the Diversity Dividend
The last decade has seen Corporate Social Responsibility metastasize into what has become known, derisively, as “woke capitalism”—a new vision of companies as agents of radical social change. The outward face of this shift has been a torrent of adverts and products laced with political messages. Ben and Jerry’
William Malcolmson
· 8 min read
Diamonds Aren't Forever (And Neither is Your Love)
Diamond is the most valuable, not only of precious stones, but of all things in this world. ~Pliny The Elder Loving someone, and having them love you back, is the most precious thing in the world. ~Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook At age 11, I first glimpsed the bewildering anthropologic spectacle
Rob Brooks
· 14 min read
Involuntarily Celibate: Explanations and Practical Solutions to a Dangerous Phenomenon
The overall picture from our results is that places where local conditions make it harder than usual for young men to establish themselves as attractive mating prospects tend also to be places where online Incel action is more common.
Rob Brooks
· 6 min read
The Peculiar Economics of 3D Printing
Most new technologies, when they are launched, arrive with a lot of hype. While 3D printing fits the business model for customized products, it is not yet cost effective in a commercial manufacturing sector which requires mass production.
Randall Mayes
· 10 min read
Work or Welfare?
If a man doesn’t have a job or an income, he has neither life nor liberty nor the possibility for the pursuit of happiness. He merely exists. ~Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968) Throughout history, work has been the common lot of humanity—at least, outside of the idle rich
Joel Kotkin
· 10 min read
In Defense of Objective Knowledge
Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. ~Martin Luther King Some ideas achieve longevity because they are relentlessly exposed to challenge, falsification, and disconfirmation. At the scale of nations, anti-fragile constitutions that enshrine individual freedoms, personal liberties, and legal amendment fare better than societies that prioritize the
Peter L. Levin
· 9 min read
Confronting the Supply Chain Crisis
A pandemic-driven shortage of parts and labor has combined with a congested transport system to create an inflationary spike, with shipping rates doubling on some routes.
Joel Kotkin
· 11 min read
As Australia’s Politicians Enforce Yet Another Lockdown, Small Businesses Keep Suffering
Frustrated owners have pled for more advance notice of lockdowns and re-starts, so as to allow them to plan their work schedules, inventories, staff management, and customer communications.
Geoff Parkes
· 10 min read
Luxury Belief Systems and Economic Stagnation: The Recipe for Our Discontent
The result of these two trendlines—the dominance of luxury-belief-driven status competition in a period of extended economic stagnation—was a brew of identity politics, political tribalism, and cultural warfare that would have been bad enough on its own.
Andrew Potter
· 9 min read