At the moment, it is certain that we do not have anything remotely approaching a scientific understanding of human society. And the methods of experimental social science are not close to providing one within the foreseeable future. Science may someday allow us to predict human behavior comprehensively and reliably. Until then, we need to keep stumbling forward with trial-and-error learning as best we can.

The social sciences have actually uncovered a lot of highly useful knowledge. The problem is that what the social sciences have demonstrated to be true tends not to be popular with social scientists.

You’ve probably heard about eminent domain abuse. That’s where the government takes your land and hands it over to another private party….one that is more politically connected.
But you may not have heard about civil forfeiture. And yet, today, it could very well be the most egregious abuse of private property rights in America.

Public union wages and benefits (especially defined benefit pension plans) are the biggest problems states face. Any candidate winning endorsement of public unions is a candidate deserving to be thrown out on their ass in the upcoming election.

The president doesn’t seem to understand that his own policies have created pervasive uncertainty about the government’s future actions, causing many private investors to steer clear of new commitments to long-term investment – the kind that gives rise to additional private-sector jobs.

The typical discussion of discrimination takes it for granted that the practice is odious and should be penalized. Yet, closer inspection reveals that most people have no problem with discrimination that caters to their preferences. When we specify precisely what we mean by “bad” discrimination, we find that the free market offers automatic and swift financial penalties in proportion to the severity of the practice.

It has to be frustrating to argue with those promising a free lunch when there are so many willing to believe one can be provided.

So apparently we’re all supposed to be worried these days about the specter of deflation. I am doubly baffled by this—I don’t see the problem in theory and I don’t see the problem in practice. Maybe there’s something I’m missing.

the 18th century was not less polluted than the 21st; it was vastly more polluted. Human excrement and other environmental hazards were a part of everyday life in the 18th century in ways that we in the 21st can barely imagine. Any good book on life in that century tells a repugnant tale of dirt, disease, and environment-borne dangers.

So where did the twentieth century really go wrong? I’m not sure, but here are my two favorite candidates: