The main reason that the socialists have had the staying power that has, luckily, eluded the Nazis is the argument that these self-acclaimed socialist regimes were “not real socialism.” One influential intellectual responsible for popularizing this argument is philosopher Noam Chomsky, who postulates that socialist regimes, the USSR specifically, merely pretended to be socialist to
READ MOREAmid the aftermath of George Floyd’s tragic death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, a lot of misinformation has been spread concerning the riots and their place in history. One particular item I’ve noted is a comparison of the present protesters and looters with the men who engaged in what later became known as the Boston
READ MOREThe brutal killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police spurred widespread protests which have been followed by looting in dozens of American citizens. CNN’s Don Lemon compared looters who plundered Nieman Marcus and other upscale stores to the Boston Tea Party. But far more Americans likely agreed with Quinta Caylor, a black North Carolina nurse
READ MORECNBC reports that Sweden, which avoided a hardline lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, saw its economy grow in the first quarter. The Swedish economy expanded at a far superior rate than many of its European counterparts over the first three months of the year, data published Friday showed, following the government’s decision not to impose
READ MOREIn Minneapolis last week, the death of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, in police custody led to days of rioting and looting in Minneapolis and in cities across the nation. Many are saying that this incident is one more sign of American racism. Others have declared the riots are justified, the natural and spontaneous
READ MOREWhen it comes to economics, I must be dumb as a stump. Like many others, I received a letter from The White House this past week announcing that I would receive $1200 from the Coronavirus, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES ACT). The CARES Act is bringing “this $2.2 trillion
READ MOREI was talking with a friend the other day when the conversation took a sudden political turn. Knowing the two of us come from opposite sides of the spectrum, I braced myself, wanting to be kind, but also wanting to defend my views. During the debate, I got the sense that I was surprising my
READ MOREThe protests, looting, and fires which have rocked the city of Minneapolis after the tragic death of George Floyd are yet another illustration of the comprehensive failure of our leading institutions, which seem incompetent and unprepared to handle society’s widespread anger and alienation. The concurrent rise of nationalism, socialism, and populism during the twentieth-first century increasingly resembles a tragic recapitulation of the nineteenth. Institutions are
READ MORESweden’s approach to the COVID-19 pandemic continues to draw scrutiny, both praise and criticism. One thing critics and supporters agree on is that Sweden’s “lighter touch” approach, which encourages social distancing through softer measures in lieu of mass closures, is unorthodox or exceptional. This is not entirely true, however. As Sweden’s top infectious disease expert
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