The Palmer Raids: America’s Forgotten Reign of Terror
Exactly a hundred years ago this morning—on January 3, 1920—Americans woke up to discover just how little their own government […]
Enrico Fermi: The Man Who Built the World’s First Nuclear Reactor
Today marks the 35th installment in a series of articles by HumanProgress.org titled Heroes of Progress. This bi-weekly column provides […]
17 Benjamin Franklin Quotes on Tyranny, Liberty, and Rights
Americans remember Benjamin Franklin as one of our founders. That is fitting because he was not just our most famous […]
The Magna Carta Offered More Property Protection Than Modern US States
Eight dollars and 41 cents. About the cost of a Chipotle burrito. That’s how much Uri Rafaeli owed the treasury […]
6 Things We Learned from Prohibition
Just over 100 years ago (October 28, 1919), the National Prohibition Act became law. Better known as the Volstead Act, […]
8 Venezuelan Industries Hugo Chavez Nationalized (Besides Oil)
Venezuela has experienced one of the sharpest economic declines in modern history—rampant inflation, near-famine, and an exodus of millions of […]
I, Coffee: Why You Should Thank 1,000 People for Your Cup of Morning Joe
Your morning cup of coffee, A.J. Jacobs wants you to know, is a miracle of human cooperation. Jacobs writes in […]
The Miracle of the Market
At this time of year especially, the wide variety of individual human preferences and interests becomes abundantly clear. My children’s […]
FEE’s Top 10 Articles of the Decade
It’s been a wild decade, especially here at FEE. We’ve covered a lot of stories and ideas throughout the past […]
How Adam Smith Showed We Can Do Good By Doing Well
Among economists’ insights over the last almost 250 years, one of the keenest is that one can do good while […]
The Courage of a Nurse: the Story of Edith Cavell
Nazi Germany forced France to surrender on June 22, 1940. A day later, Adolf Hitler himself toured the conquered capital […]
What Streaming Services Teach Us about Economics
“Fifty-seven channels and nothing on” is an adage and a so-so Bruce Springsteen song from the ‘90s. Obviously, he is […]
Why America’s Founders Didn’t Want a Democracy
When I took history and government in school, many critical issues were misrepresented, given short shrift, or even ignored entirely. […]
“Common Good Capitalism” Is No Substitute for Free Enterprise
The notion that, left unguided, without any sort of of policy involvement, the market will solve our problems will not […]
My Response to Time Magazine’s Cover Story on Capitalism
[Editor’s note: The following is in response to the cover story, “How the Elites Lost Their Grip,” by Anand Giridharadas […]
9 of the 10 Richest People in the World Are Self-Made Entrepreneurs
Every year Forbes publishes its list of the 400 wealthiest Americans. Topping the list in 2019 for the second year […]