Natural law is often regarded with suspicion by social scientists because they conceptualize human nature, and increasingly even the nature of animals, as a social construct. In their view there is no essential human nature by reference to which we can decide what is in the best interests of society. They argue that we must instead adopt an aspirational approach, by constructing a better and fairer world for the planet, and by discovering what is best for society...
Read More »What’s behind a CEO’s paycheck in Switzerland
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Read More »What the Media Says about Homeschooling
You would think that the growing popularity of homeschooling in the United States would be in more news headlines. Estimates from the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) reveal a staggering increase in the number of homeschool students since the 1970s—by a factor of 238. Of course, there was a surge in homeschooling during the Covid lockdowns, when many public schools either went completely virtual or implemented harsh measures that severely limited...
Read More »Nothing Ever Happens
We are stuck in the middle of the road, far away from full socialism or the unhampered market.On Friday August 2, due to a disappointing jobs report, there was a large sell off on the stock market. After understanding Austrian Business Cycle Theory (ABCT) and the structural fragility the Federal Reserve creates in the production structure, my temptation upon seeing such a large swing in the market is to say, “Finally, I am vindicated! The boom-bust cycle has shown...
Read More »Diplomacy, Distrust, and Nuclear War
The war in Ukraine rages. Underwritten by US dollars, arms, intelligence, and provocation, US leaders have prolonged the war. And, in funding and arming Ukraine to the teeth, they have escalated tensions with Russia, a nation with thousands of nuclear weapons. Just this week, for the third straight month, the Russian military conducted drills to prepare for using short-range, “tactical” nuclear weapons. The risks could not be graver. Yet, as the threats of nuclear...
Read More »USD is Trading Mostly Firmer, but Yen and Swiss Franc Show Resilience
Overview: The US dollar is mostly firmer, though consolidating against most of the G10 currencies. The Japanese yen and Swiss franc are the strongest, while the Scandis and Antipodean currencies are the heaviest. Among emerging market currencies, a handful of Asian currencies, including the Chinese yuan are higher, but central European currencies, the South African rand, and the Mexican peso are softer.The news stream is light but the threat of the escalation of the...
Read More »Meyer Burger to stop solar cell production in Colorado
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Read More »Top Swiss CEOs earn 143 times more than lowest paid staff
Unia: Gap between highest and lowest wages is widening Keystone-SDA Listen to the article Listening the article Toggle language selector...
Read More »Industrial Policy, Green Deals, and the Well-Paid New Public Intellectuals
The renaissance of industrial policy has been promoted by a breed of public intellectuals with considerable financial interests as they are well paid consultants for governments.Our new book, Moonshots and the New Industrial Policy: Questioning the Mission Economy, takes a critical look at the renaissance of state capitalism and interventionist industrial policies. The book features contributions from 23 different scholars, it is published by Springer and available...
Read More »How the Federal Government Conquered Utah
[Unpopular Sovereignty: Mormons and the Federal Management of Early Utah Territory, by Brent M. Rogers, Nebraska University Press, 2017, xiv + 383 pp.] Behind its clinical-sounding subtitle about “federal management,” Brent Rogers’s Unpopular Sovereignty contains essential history for understanding how American westward expansion paved the way for the growth of federal power during and after the American Civil War.Contrary to the popular myth that the settlement of...
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