Are You a Supremacist, a Neutralist, or a Subordinationist?

A supremacist is someone who thinks his tribe deserves special advantages. He doesn’t want the same rules and standards for everyone. He wants the powerful to rig the game against members of different tribes. A neutralist is someone who thinks his tribe deserves neither special advantages nor special disadvantages. He wants the same rules and …

Incentive-Based Governing

We all know why Big Business, Big Non-Profit, Big Labor, and Big Tribalism donate money to federal politicians. They want Congress to pass laws that favor them with some form of cronyism—that is, they want either tax-avoiding loopholes, revenue-enhancing subsidies, or competition-hobbling regulations. Not all lobbying is bad, of course. If I were a billionaire, …

Understanding Constitutional Rights as a Form of Property Would Make America a More Perfect Union

I have a simple definition of property. Here it is: Property is anything that people can legally own and has value, whether that value is real or sentimental. Using the above definition as a guide, I believe there are four kinds of property. Here they are: Classic: This is the stuff that immediately pops into …

Which Costs the Consumer More: Profits or Politics?

Socialists firmly believe that business profits are the bane of the consumer. If capitalists weren’t greedy bastards trying to maximize profits, consumer goods and services would be much more affordable. It is, therefore, in the mind of a socialist, preferable to shift production toward the government. Politicians aren’t chasing profits, so profits aren’t baked into …