Sabotaging the Free Market | How the Industrial Revolution and Great Depression Facts are Twisted

The effects of the Standard of Living by the Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution is a time in history that has undergone major debate and continues to be under great scrutiny, especially now when most of society views capitalism and capitalists as inherently evil and bad. In the typical high-school history class and textbook, pictures …

Sweden as an Example of the Free Market and the Protestant Work Ethic

Government 1B: Lesson 65 The standard claim about Sweden is that it shows society can prosper without a free market and with extensive government intervention. But the fact of the matter is, economists and politicians who use this claim have not studied the history of Sweden and know next to nothing about its culture, people, …

Washington Monument Syndrome | Government manipulation tactics

Government 1B: Lesson 45 The "benefit principle" has been used to justify progressive income taxation. What is the benefit principle? Are there any problems with it? The benefit principle attempts to create taxation similar to market pricing, where individuals should be taxed in accordance with the benefits they receive from the government. While sounding nice …

My Flower Garden is not a Public Good

Government 1B: Lesson 20 Here's why an elderly lady can stand out on her lawn and shout at people "You are not allowed to look at my flowers!" and not be labelled as the town's crazy old lady. Public goods have been used as a government tactic for decades, and we certainly have many examples …

Moral Manipulation and Magna Carta

Government 1B: Lesson 15 Does the state have the right to redistribute wealth from some people to others? Why or why not? The quickest way to answer this question is by saying no, absolutely not. But I assume you will want a little more detail and reasoning behind this answer, so I will elaborate. The …

Tariffs & Taxes & Invisible Lines

Economics: Lesson 155 Do import quotas benefit most voters economically? People understand that when they purchase an imported good from across the sea and it is brought over their national border, that they will have to pay an import quota. They don't know why, but they pay it anyway and are told it is to …

A Reason Not to Vote for the Tax Amendment of 1912

English: Lesson 115 Would I have voted for the income tax amendment in 1912, based on the arguments in Philip Dru: Administrator, A Story of Tomorrow? Edward M. House wrote Philip Dru: Administrator, A Story of Tomorrow in 1912. The book was meant to be fiction, but from what we know of House now, the main character …

An Example of the Broken Window Fallacy

Economics: Lesson 125 An example of the broken window fallacy as applied to a government intervention. The broken window fallacy is all about seeing the thing unseen. Government is often at fault for taking taxes and using them for things that are not necessary but are easily seen by the public. If taxpayers were able …

Why tax-supported school is not the same as tax-supported church

Economics: Lesson 45 Is a tax-supported school different in principle from a tax-supported church? In theory, it seems that tax-supported schools and churches were supposed to be relatively similar, however in practice, they are not, and in fact, have become total opposites of each other. The first difference or issue that makes a tax-funded school …