Lawrence W. Reed

What China’s Hyperinflation in the 1940s Can Teach Americans

Not so long ago, when the dollar was “as good as gold” and so were many other currencies, economists spoke…

4 years ago

The Death of Mori Arinori, the Japanese Tocqueville

Mori Arinori of Japan (1847-1889) began his service as Japan’s first ambassador to the United States when he was just…

4 years ago

Mori Arinori: The Japanese Tocqueville (Part 2)

By the time Commodore Matthew Perry sailed his fleet of American gunboats into the harbor of Edo (now Tokyo) in…

4 years ago

Celebrating Freedom in Prague—Three Decades After Its Liberation from Soviet Socialism

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC—I am in one of my favorite cities this weekend to deliver a speech at European Students for…

4 years ago

Mori Arinori: The Japanese Tocqueville (Part 1)

In the early 1830s, the French political philosopher and historian Alexis de Tocqueville toured America. He compiled his observations in…

4 years ago

Putting Milton Friedman to Work at 110

My years of teaching college-level economics courses at Northwood University in Midland, Michigan (from 1977-1984) are among the most memorable…

4 years ago

Why Warren Harding’s Reputation Is Receiving a Long Overdue Renovation

A typical head of state craves pomp and circumstance, especially if he’s at the center of it. If others (such…

4 years ago

Russia Almost Sold Alaska to This Tiny European Country Instead of the United States

What conclusions might you draw from the following statistics? At about 1,000 people per square mile, the population densities of…

4 years ago

Ukrainians Have Been Defying Foreign Invaders for a Thousand Years. Their Courage Is No Surprise

Chicken Kiev may be a popular dish but as the world has learned in recent days, the word “chicken” does…

5 years ago

Meet the World-Famous Astronomer Who Was Also a Wicked Smart Economist

The greatest “Renaissance Man” of the 15th Century was indisputably Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). His interests encompassed painting, engineering, architecture,…

5 years ago

The ‘Adam Smith of the North’: Meet Finland’s Founding Father of Classical Liberalism

February is the month in which Anders Chydenius was born (1729) as well as the month in which he died…

5 years ago

The Jesse Owens They Don’t Teach You about in History Class

The world’s top athletes in 1936 wrestled with a moral conundrum: “Should I compete in the Olympics or make a…

5 years ago

‘There’s No Free Lunch’: A New ‘Daily Devotional’

Books of quotations are ubiquitous. What home does not have at least one or two? Some are dull and uninspiring.…

5 years ago

Remembering a Giant in Economics

Less than nine months before the much-anticipated US midterm elections, it’s not too soon to ask an old question: Is…

5 years ago

America’s First Experiment With Paper (Fiat) Money

George Washington—surveyor, farmer, soldier, and statesman—never thought of himself as an economist but experience taught him a great deal about…

5 years ago