The Wisdom of Bryan Caplan

"Since I think that most news is overblown fluff, I have little sympathy for the endless pieces about "What we've learned about the world in 2016."  Against the background of all of human history, 2016 taught us next to nothing.  If you just discovered that horrible people often gain vast political power with widespread popular support, you're in dire need of remedial history.  If you've just discovered that politicians' personalities matter at least as much as their policy views, you're in dire need of remedial political science.  If you've just discovered that demagogic appeals to national identity work, you're in dire need of remedial psychology."

Quotation of the Day

Is from Robert Higgs 1987 volume 'Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government':

"[W]e do know something - at least abstractly - about the future.  We know that other great crises will come.  Whether they will be occasioned by foreign wars, economic collapse, or rampant terrorism, no one can predict with assurances.  Yet in one form of another, great crises will surely come again... When they do, governments almost certainly will gain new powers over economic and social affairs... For those who cherish individual liberty and a free society, the prospect is deeply disheartening."

Hat tip to Bryan Caplan.