Republicans and Democrats, liberals as well as conservatives, have bought into anti-Chinese trade demagoguery. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested that tariffs against China are a “key part of our ‘Make It in America’ agenda.” During his 2010 campaign, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called his tea party-backed Republican challenger, Sharron Angle, “a … Read more
The Politically Incorrect Guide to the British Empire. H.W. Crocker III. Regnery Publishing. $19.95. 327 pp. An American Catholic looks at the British Empire with some skepticism. The Empire brought with it unquestioned benefits, but its roots in the seventeenth-century are entwined with a deep hatred of Rome and the Catholic heritage of the … Read more
In America, the federal government seems to control everything. Light bulbs, shoe leather, refrigerators, even the water strength in your shower. Your banker, your doctor, your lawyer, your computer all are regulated beyond belief. What is it in America that the feds can’t control? The answer is simple: human nature. We need to eat, … Read more
Distributists and followers of the “Austrian school” of free market economics are notoriously at odds with each other over what constitutes a just economic order. We disagree, at times vigorously, on how to structure an economy that best guarantees the rights of the family and that offers the best opportunities for prosperity and liberty. We … Read more
Leadership, said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in his press conference Tuesday announcing he would not reverse his decision not to run for president, is something you can’t be taught or learn. “Leadership today in America has to be about doing the big things and being courageous.” No one doubts that Christie has shown this … Read more
The following will explain the most important idea in the history of social analysis. The notion (actually, it’s a description of reality that is all around us but rarely noticed) has been around for many centuries. It was first discovered by late-medieval monks working in Spain. It was given scientific precision in the classical period. … Read more
The Euro–South Korea Free Trade Agreement took effect on July 1, 2011, only eight months after the Agreement was approved by legislators of both countries. By contrast, the U.S.–South Korea Free Trade Agreement was first signed on June 30, 2007, and was held up by opposition from congressional Democrats, unions, and environmental organizations. Free … Read more
July Fourth’s fireworks flashed for me beneath a long, sad shadow. On the birthday of my motherland died my fatherland’s father: Otto von Habsburg, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne and son of Blessed Karl I (the last man to serve that Catholic empire as its steward). It was Karl who reigned when my grandfather left … Read more
International trade has been one of the most powerful forces for prosperity in the history of the world. But a lot of Democrats, including the one occupying the Oval Office, treat it as a mixed blessing at best, requiring reparations for the alleged victims. That’s the source of the fight between the president and congressional … Read more
“To assert no falsehood, and hide no truth,” was the motto of many journalists and papers when modern journalism was first setting up. The line is paraphrased from Cicero, though I am copying from the Mercurius Caledonius of Edinburgh, launched in 1661. Not untypically, this journal was conducted by a comic playwright — the errant … Read more
Christopher Hitchens surveys the political landscape and wonders what sane person would choose to run for office today: I could introduce you to dozens of enthusiastic and intelligent people, highly aware of “the issues” and very well-informed on all questions from human rights to world trade to counterinsurgency, to none of whom it would occur … Read more
Faith draws on far more resources of head and heart than the formal reasoning that flashes through our frontal cortex can account for. Religious sentiment and habits of piety formed in early life can lay down trails we will endlessly retrace in future decades. Conversely, pieties denied us when we were young will be harder … Read more
The 20th, worst of centuries — if you reckon such things by as blunt an instrument as the number of civilians murdered by their own governments — was bloodied by that deadliest of things: bad philosophy. The intellectual errors of previous centuries had festered slowly in thick French and German books, still restrained by the … Read more
By now, most of the world knows something about human trafficking. Basically, if you’re not dwelling among consumers, you’re likely at a place of origin or along a transit route. But this story drew my attention yesterday: In this impoverished town in central Mexico, a sinister trade has taken root: Entire extended families exploit desperation and … Read more
I’ve read the stories on and off for some time: Unless things change, our oceans could be out of fish by 2050. The latest report from the United Nations says that, according to current estimates, a fish-less world is quite possible within 40 years unless stocks are allowed to recover: According to the UN, 30 … Read more
Sad news for those in journalism and publishing: Abandoning some of the best known names in trade publishing, the Nielsen Company said Thursday that it would shut down Editor & Publisher and Kirkus Reviews, and sell a stable of other publications, including Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter, to a newly formed media company…. For generations, … Read more
The global warming theory holds that certain gases are accumulating in the atmosphere. These so-called greenhouse gases essentially trap heat in, resulting in a slight increase in temperatures around the world. The most significant greenhouse gas is water vapor, but most political debate is focused on carbon dioxide (CO2). It has been hard to justify … Read more
Trade and open markets have been the bedrock of our nation’s growth and prosperity since at least the end of the Second World War. But it was not always so: We learned the hard way that protectionist policies are not an effective cure for economic problems at home and in many cases have severely worsened … Read more
A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World William J. Bernstein, Atlantic Monthly Press, 494 pages, $30 It was the year 1600 and coffee had become wildly popular all over Europe, just as it had been popular all over the Muslim world since its discovery 900 years earlier. The sitting pope was Clement VIII. His … Read more
“Watch this, Mom,” my red-haired, eleven-year-old son yelped yesterday, his brown eyes dancing with amusement. He yanked a white tissue from the Kleenex box and blew. Smiling largely, his drippy nose reddened to match his hair. “Well,” I ventured, “very nice job, dear, blowing your nose.” As I cocked my head quizzically, he offered, “Mom, … Read more