Want a hole? Rent a drill! Really?

Michael Munger, transaction costs, and limits to the gig economy.

2019-04-17 · 4 min · Frank Hecker

Thoughts on market democracy, part 2a: Society as a spontaneous order

This is part 2a of a (hopefully) four-part series; see also part 1, part 3, and part 4. This part grew so long I’m spreading it across two posts, with the second post to follow when I finish writing it. This post continues my thoughts on the concept of “market democracy” as described in John Tomasi’s book Free Market Fairness. In this post and the next I explore the second core idea of market democracy, that of society as a “spontaneous order”:1...

2013-11-03 · 7 min · Frank Hecker

People worth reading: Arnold Kling and the three languages of politics

I subscribe to almost two hundred blogs, covering a wide range of topics. I thought it would be fun to highlight some of the more interesting ones, in case anyone else finds any of them interesting and also to provide some insight into the particular things I tend to blog about. First up is Arnold Kling and his “Askblog,” the tagline of which is “taking the most charitable view of those who disagree....

2013-08-24 · 6 min · Frank Hecker

What good is economic freedom (as measured by the Mercatus Center)?

Recently the Mercatus Center at George Mason University released its latest “Freedom in the 50 States” index ranking US states by their overall levels of personal and economic freedom. I happened to see it via a post on the Bleeding Heart Libertarians blog, but it’s been referenced in a number of places. I won’t rehash the comments of others, many of which criticize the way the various types of freedom are measured....

2013-03-31 · 9 min · Frank Hecker

Thoughts on market democracy, part 1: Capitalistic economic freedoms as vital aspects of liberty

This is part 1 of a projected four-part series, of which the only other part I’ve completed is the first half of part 2. A while back I read the essays in the online symposium on John Tomasi’s book Free Market Fairness at the Bleeding Heart Libertarians group blog. I’ve previously noted why I think the book and its topic are important. But what exactly is “free market fairness”? It is Tomasi’s particular take on a broader concept he calls “market democracy”:...

2013-03-15 · 14 min · Frank Hecker