Author: James K

Hey everyone, I thought the brief lull between the April Fools’ listicles and the Education Symposium was a good time for the next part of my trade sequence.       Here’s the current contents page....

The Definition of Marriage Bill, which would legalise gay marriage in New Zealand, passed through Committee of the Whole yesterday. This is basically the last real hurdle before the passage of the Bill. As the Parliament...

So, I’m doing this again. I thought it was high time I returned to my Trade Sequence, I can’t spend the whole time enjoying Wellington abnormally good summer weather. In light of the recent discussions about sweatshops / working...

That is the question raised in the latest Econtalk podcast, wherein Russ Roberts interviews Constitutional law professor Louis Michael Siedman. Siedman argues that one of the central principles of US government, that the Constitution is the supreme law of...

On Opposite Day, we do our best to argue in service of a position that, under normal circumstances, we argue against. Coke people might sing the praises of Pepsi, Cat people might talk about...

Greetings loyal readers! My apologies for taking so long on this part, but life got in the way a little. I’m glad I’m getting some really interesting discussion on these posts, and based on the discussion so far,...

First off, I have to say I’m both pleased and apprehensive I managed to get over 100 comments on my first post without actually saying anything. I hope that it’s a sign of ongoing interest in the topic, and not you guys running out of...

So, I thought it might be interesting to do a post on trade theory, to give an economist’s perspective on international trade. Yesterday I realised I’d hit 4 pages and I wasn’t even finished yet. Since...

I hereby demand that all presidential debates be replaced by Rap Battles.

                    I came across a great Tumblr the other day: A Song of Ice and The Wire.   So I ask you – good idea or the...

New Zealand already has Civil Unions but a Bill has been introduced to allow gay marriage.  It passed its first reading (the first of 3 votes needed to pass the Bill), which clears it...

… the greater good Libertarianism is a very diverse ideology there’s a real blend of intellectual systems within it and much of the reason for that is that libertarianism is a purely political philosophy,...

Note: This post is part of our League Symposium on inequality. You can read the introductory post for the Symposium here. To see a list of all posts in the Symposium so far, click here. Whenever...

Pop Quiz, hotshot! Take 5 seconds and think of the top 5 ideas popularly associated with Libertarians. Go on, I’ll wait… OK, I estimate that over 90% of you put The Gold Standard somewhere...

It occurred to me recently, that I haven’t actually done of these yet, and as it happens this week is the perfect opportunity. You see, this week marks the US release of New Zealand artist Kimbra’s first album Vows....

The situation in Greece seems to be coming to a head, with the Greek people near-united in opposition to austerity, but not apparently sufficiently united on an alternative. The mainstream left has lost ground...