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Are we living in the new Dark Ages? Despite vast technological advances, our societies are increasingly looking like those that preceded the advent of literacy. So argues journalist James Marriott , who sees in our abandonment of reading a threat to democracy and a reversal of many of the Enlightenment’s gains. He and
Daron Acemoglu has been the target of an unusually harsh piece in The Economist , which prompted fellow economists to come to his aid. The magazine cast doubt on the data and methods underlying his research on institutions; it suggested that Acemoglu frames complex historical episodes through overly simple narratives,
Incentives matter, sure. But what should you do when following the incentives means quietly participating in something wrong? Psychologist Adam Mastroianni argues that obeying bad incentives–shading a headline for clicks, keeping the found wallet because no one’s watching–is “loser behavior,” a surrender of the hardest
Daron Acemoglu won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2024 and is the third most cited economist of all time. Thus, the paradox of his new book, What Happened to Liberal Democracy? , is that its most serious analytic failures are economic. He provides a sincere and serious consideration of modern liberalism’s estrangement
Sam Enright works on innovation policy at Progress Ireland , an independent policy think tank in Dublin, and runs a publication called The Fitzwilliam . Most relevant to us, on his personal blog , he writes a popular link roundup ; what follows is an abridged version of his Links for July . Blogs and short links 1. Que
Daron Acemoglu won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2024 and is the third most cited economist of all time. Thus, the paradox of his new book, What Happened to Liberal Democracy? , is that its most serious analytic failures are economic. He provides a sincere and serious consideration of modern liberalism’s estrangement
In the last thirty years or so, the United States has seen persistent shortages of housing, waste disposal facilities, electricity generation, and oil refineries. More recently, we have begun to see the difficulties in building data centers, portending new shortages. This is confusing in a wealthy nation. A “shortage”
What does a failed 19th-century Chinese civil exam and one of the deadliest wars in history have to do with how we hire, educate, and test people today? In this EconTalk conversation, Russ Roberts and education expert Daisy Christodoulou trace a surprising thread from the Taiping Rebellion through Britain’s Northcote-T
He lost his childhood homes, dozens of family members, and most of his hearing in his left ear to Israeli bombs, yet Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib insists that Palestinians must also take responsibility for Gaza’s destruction and for peace. Most Gazans, he insists, have turned against Hamas for oppressing them, enriching itself
Has the earth been visited by extraterrestrials? Are we alone? Despite no formal evidence for conscious life outside of earth, the belief that we are not alone has become more common among both scientists and everyday people. Listen as author Adam Kirsch talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the urge to believe tha
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