"There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
Relating to performance of centrally planned, socialist economies
I have not updated the leading and coincident economic indicators I have been following for approximately seven months. They have now been updated up to October-November 2021. Having waited that … Read More
It seems as if the “woke” in the U.S. are taking over the Democratic Party. In the process, they want to fundamentally transform American cultural, social, economic, and political institutions. … Read More
Russian President Vladimir Putin talking to Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky in May 2001. In the center between them is another Russian oligarch, Mikhail Fridman. Wikimedia Commons / Kremlin.ru Russia represents … Read More
Like-minded thinkers: Thomas Robert Malthus (13 February 1766 — 29 December 1834), English cleric, scholar, and economist; and Thomas Piketty (7 May 1971 — ), French economist Photo Credits: Wikimedia Commons / … Read More
An Indian plowman in West Bengal working in India’s largest industry: Agriculture Wikimedia Commons / ILRI In my last two posts, I have taken looks at the history of leftist … Read More
GDP per capita in Europe in 2014. According to the World Bank, the U.S. GDP per capita in the same year was $54,540. Wikimedia Commons In this post, I will continue my … Read More
Revolutionary Images: Lessons to be avoided like the plague! Left: A barricade erected by revolutionaries in Moscow, 1905. Wikimedia Commons / Imperial War Museum Right: People’s Liberation Army entering Beijing, … Read More
The headquarters for the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) at Lubyanka Square in Moscow in the same building that used to be the HQ of the KGB. Wikimedia Commons/NVO There … Read More
Moscow Victory Day Parade, 2015 Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru Russia is having increasingly difficult economic problems, as was discussed in my last post. A large part of the reason for that can … Read More
Constant Russian per capita GDP in 2010 US dollars (Blue curve) and its percent change from a year earlier (red curve). Image Credit: St. Louis Federal Reserve District Bank/FRED Data … Read More
Der Russische Führer, Vladimir Putin Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru ANDERS ÅSLUND has become an indispensable analyst of that “riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”, as Sir Winston Churchill … Read More
The Moscow Kremlin, the working residence of the President of Russia. Wikimedia Commons/Минеева Ю. (Julmin) (retouched by Surendil) Will Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini have the last laugh on history? There seems … Read More
Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. The three witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Act 4, scene 1 Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Johann Heinrich Füssli 1783 The Western World’s political … Read More
The Scandinavian Countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden Image Credit: Wikitravel/Stefan Ertmann In the previous post Are European States More Socialist Than The US?, I noted that American progressives had … Read More
Alphonse de Lamartine rejecting the red flag of socialism in front of the Town Hall of Paris during the 1848 French Revolution. Wikimedia Commons/ Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux (1815-1884) The … Read More
Country per capita GDP vs. WSJ/Heritage Foundation Index of Economic Freedom for 195 nations Data courtesy of Wall Street Journal/Heritage Foundation and the World Bank In a comment to the … Read More
World Map of countries by per capita GDP in 2014 Image Credit: St. Louis Federal Reserve District Bank/FRED Plus or minus a few controversial states (like Taiwan, the Holy See, and Palastine), … Read More
World Map of Transparency International’s perception of corruption index for 2015 Wikimedia Commons/Turnless If there is one area of agreement between believers in capitalist free-markets and American Leftists, it is that … Read More
Target the Rich! (c) Can Stock Photo The far-left in the United States — including President Barack Obama and the two Democratic Party candidates, Bernie … Read More
The Gods of Fascism: Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler Photo Credits: Left: Wikimedia Commons/time.com Right: Wikimedia Commons/German Federal Archives Whenever fascism is discussed, more often than not the characteristic emphasized … Read More
Justice awaits! Photo Credit: Flickr.com/S Baker Neither the Democratic electorate nor most of the media have shown much interest in Hillary Clinton’s legal troubles so far, but recent … Read More
Storm Clouds of Socialism (c) Can Stock Photo / leedsn This essay is a continuation of my previous … Read More
A collective life under socialism. (Of course, Bernie Sanders would say this is capitalism!) The Last Judgement, Hell By Fra Angelico (circa 1395–1455) – The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der … Read More
Standard Oil stock certificate from 1896 – A share of wealth Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Rjensen at English Wikipedia This is the fourth essay in a series of posts on the … Read More
Claim checks on wealth. Image Credit: Freeimages.com/Jon Syverson This is the third part of a series of posts on the effects of Capitalism on the culture of … Read More
Economic Temptation: Is this the danger posed by capitalism? (c) Can Stock Photo I will now continue the discussion of how desirable capitalism is as an economic system in our … Read More
Greed – Is this all there is with capitalism? (c) Can Stock Photo This essay has been inspired by notions concerning capitalism I have heard or read from a number … Read More
Adam Smith, the builder of a majestic Gothic cathedral of economic thought. by John Kay (1742-1826)/Library of Congress (PD-1996) This is the second of two posts on the applicability of … Read More
Idols of Capitalism in front of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Germany, a high temple of Capitalism Wikimedia Commons/Eva K. Since we looked at the various meanings people give to the … Read More
