Role of Government

Featured News

No Evidence of Climate Crisis

In his annual State of the Climate report published on April 14, 2022, Dr. Ole Humlum, Emeritus Professor at the University of Oslo, examined detailed patterns in temperature changes in the atmosphere and oceans together with trends in climate impacts. Many of these...

Democratic Disappointment

Mr. Caplan concludes that those who seek to fiddle with electoral systems, for example by introducing proportional representation or reforming campaign finances, are misguided. Meanwhile, those who seek salvation in getting more non-voters to the polls are in fact promoting disaster, since non-voters tend to be less educated and thus even more likely to embrace dangerous ideas.

American Myths

When the September 11th terrorist attacks happened, many in this country were astonished at how quickly it took for many Canadians to reveal they secretly believed America had it coming. In fact, it seems anti-Americanism is our civic religion that we can barely conceal any longer. In this excellent collection of 15 essays, Griffiths has assembled a diverse group of writers to each present a particular area of life touching on Canadian-American relations that has been distorted by anti-Americanism.

Let Them Eat Fruit Kebabs

Rather than assuming people are generally fit to make their own decisions and allowing them to bear or enjoy the consequences, good and bad, the paternalist state focuses on diminishing their access or temptation, treating them as weak, impressionable victims, prey to advertisers and retailers, who need to be protected from their own foolishness.

The Pursuit of Happiness

The insight that markets break down discrimination is not new. Over 200 years ago Voltaire wrote: “Go into the London Stock Exchange. . . and you will see representatives of all nations gathered there for the service of mankind. There the Jew, the Mohammedan, and the Christian deal with each other as if they were of the same religion, and give the name of infidel only to those who go bankrupt.”

Bryan Schwartz

Bryan Schwartz

“If everyone is beholden to government, if you have a supplicant society, people are hesitant about engaging in free thinking and forthright criticism of government because that’s their funder. The other thing is that if you’re dependent on government you are less likely to think imaginatively and innovatively and cleverly about how to solve your own problems.”