These articles provide background and elucidate specific issues. The list will be supplemented over time.
On the Institution of Property
From Private Law by Friedrich Julius Stahl, pp. 43–58
Part Two: Property in the Broad Sense[1]
Chapter One: Concerning Property* in General
§. 22. Property* as the Manifestation of Individuality
Man is lifted out of the material base of...
Rethinking the Foundations
(this version March 3, 2019)
WANTED: an understanding of economics that takes into account the realities of economies, economies that really exist, rather than the textbook abstractions or figments of political campaigns. And really existing economies...
A Common-Law Critique of Traditional Economics
In the last chapter [“Common-Law Politics,” ch. 2 of Common-Law Conservatism ] we characterized contemporary conservatism as “State of Nature Conservatism.” That holds true for politics; it also holds true for economics. Contemporary conservatism is fund...
Christianity and Economic Development
The process of economic development is the process by which closed societies are broken open, reestablished upon new foundations built upon freedom on the one hand and accountability on the other. Historically, this was not a mechanical process; nor was...
Malthus, Human Nature, and the Social Question
The founder of state of nature politics, Hugo Grotius, was motivated by the desire to move beyond religion, specifically Christianity of one form or another, as the basis for legitimating sovereignty. Sovereignty had to be grounded in something other...
The Gold Standard and the Social Question
Three chapters in the history of money and labor relations. From Follow the Money :
The Mystery of Capital
This review of Hernando de Soto's important book The Mystery of Capital was written back in 2001, before I unravelled for myself (and for those with ears to hear) the mystery of capital: the relationship of the institution of property to contract, d...