Worst-Case Scenarios: The Problem of Neglect
Show Me the Money
Seduction by Contract: Law, Economics, and Psychology in Consumer MarketsBy Oren Bar-Gill (Oxford University Press, 280 pp., $40) WHAT DO people notice? What do they miss? In the late 1990s, the social scientists Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons tried to make some progress on these questions by asking people to watch a two-minute movie, in which six ordinary people pass a basketball to one another. The simple task? To count the total number of passes. READ MORE >>
Charles Fried, a professor at Harvard Law School, has long been one of the most important conservative thinkers in the United States. Under President Reagan, he served, with great distinction, as Solicitor General of the United States. Since then, he has been prominently associated with several Republican leaders and candidates, most recently John McCain, for whom he expressed his enthusiastic support in January. READ MORE >>
Misery and Company
Leaderless Jihad: Terror Networks in the Twenty-First Century By Marc Sageman (University of Pennsylvania Press, 208 pp., $24.95) READ MORE >>
Wall Street's Lemmings
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } Some of the most interesting work in modern economic theory explores a pervasive social phenomenon: the informational cascade. The concept, first elaborated in a brilliant 1992 paper by Sushil Bikhchandani, David Hirshleifer, and Ivo Welch, illuminates countless social and economic surprises. It is impossible to understand the real estate bubble, or the current financial crisis, without exploring the dynamics of informational cascades. Policymakers should consider its implications in seeking ways to respond to today’s economic chaos. READ MORE >>
Obama And Ayers: The View From Hyde Park
In view of the truly despicable efforts, by Sarah Palin and others, to discredit Barack Obama by association, I thought that it might be appropriate to repost a relevant post of mine from this past April. I would add that some of the recent personal attacks fall outside the bounds of decency. Consider, for example, this statement: "This is not a man who sees America as you see America and as I see America. READ MORE >>
The Empiricist Strikes Back
In the last few weeks, a number of people on the left have expressed disappointment with Barack Obama. Obama has said that the death penalty may be appropriate for child rape. He has applauded the Supreme Court's recognition of an individual right to own guns. He has voted for wiretapping reform that includes retroactive immunity for telephone companies. Having raised doubts about NAFTA during the primary, Obama recently said that he does not want to reopen negotiations unilaterally. READ MORE >>
Palin Denies That Global Warming Is Man-made
Astoundingly, Sarah Palin has denied that climate change is man-made--not in 1996, not in 1998, not in 2000, not in 2002, but in an interview posted on August 29, 2008. In response to this question: "What is your take on global warming and how is it affecting our country?" Palin answered: "A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one though who would attribute it to being man-made." READ MORE >>
Clarence Thomas Is Not 'Mr. Constitution'
The Wall Street Journal has a remarkable interview with Clarence Thomas, available here. In the interview, Thomas states his fidelity to the Constitution "as it's drafted." READ MORE >>
