No easy answers to Middle East conflict, poverty and Islamic extremism, but Sarah Chayes argues in Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security pervasive corruption is at the root of all three. A powerful NYT...
We look for fairness and justice in a free society. Legal institutions shape economic behavior and guide development. What legal rules are appropriate? In a fair and equitable society “everyone deserves a chance to...
Students researching U.S./Middle East policy should be aware of the influence of special interest groups. The Founders cautioned about “factions,” explaining that when federal policies helped or hurt particular groups, they would lobby for...
U.S. policy toward the Middle East is strongly nationalistic. U.S. policy, both domestic and foreign, favors centralized political and economic power, rather than federalism. And this is unfortunate. For Iraq, federalism is key to...
In communities with more legislation and regulations, more people are tripped up by the law more often. Local corruption follows the wisdom of Roman historian Tacitus: The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the...
U.S./Middle East policy has been distracted and distorted by lobbyists and special interests. Critics of U.S. policy have focused on a variety of special interests including oil companies and military contractors. Was U.S./Middle East...
Many scholars and journalists write on America’s shrinking “middle-class.” Mark J. Perry’s research, drawing from Census data, reveals surprising explanations. Perry quotes from a recent New York Times story “…since 2000, the middle-class share of households...
This January 27, 2015 LearnLiberty video begins: “You should be worried about NSA surveillance…” This LearnLiberty page has more information on the video and links to the full debate held at San Jose State...
In the ongoing inequality “Battle of the Network Narratives,” new volleys of stories, statistics, and charts are fired back and forth. The CNN Money article, “This is why Obama is so concerned about the...
