Wealth Inequality
“You don’t need a strongman to fix inequality—you need strong policy and the political will to act.” The first three posts in this series showed how economic inequality can fuel the rise of authoritarianism—and how authoritarian regimes consistently fail to solve it. But what if we flipped
Current Events
You may have heard that the “Big Beautiful” budget bill now moving through Congress is designed to cut taxes, help working families, and reduce wasteful government spending. That’s the sales pitch. But once you look at what’s actually in the bill, the picture looks very different. This post
Wealth Inequality
“Authoritarianism doesn’t fix the system—it replaces one broken elite with another, and silences anyone who notices.” Yesterday, we explored how inequality drives people toward authoritarianism, using four historical examples—Rome, Weimar Germany, Chile, and Russia. Today, we follow those stories to their next chapter: What happened after the
Wealth Inequality
“The most dangerous inequality is not just economic—it’s the belief that the system no longer works for you.” Yesterday we explored how wealth inequality in America has reached staggering levels. Today, we look at why that matters not just for fairness or economics—but for democracy itself. When
Wealth Inequality
“The issue isn’t that the system is broken. It’s that it’s working exactly as designed—for the wealthy few.” America likes to think of itself as a land of opportunity, where hard work pays off and each generation can rise above the last. But for millions of
Adam Smith
Adam Smith trusted in the power of markets. But more importantly, he trusted in the moral imagination of human beings. He believed that sympathy, fairness, and a sense of justice would guide us — individually and collectively — to create societies that could thrive. We have forgotten part of that vision. But
Adam Smith
The story we’ve traced so far is not a story of inevitable decline. It’s a story of choices — choices made, and choices still open to us. We lost sight of Adam Smith’s full vision. But we can recover it. And if we want markets that truly serve
Adam Smith
Adam Smith believed that free markets, anchored by morality and competition, could create prosperity for all. But he also knew that where moral sentiment and justice are weak, markets can be twisted into tools of extraction, exploitation, and entrenchment. Today, one of the clearest examples of this corruption is found
Adam Smith
Adam Smith gave us a vision of free markets anchored in morality, justice, and public trust. For a time, the world tried — imperfectly, unevenly — to walk that path. But over the last two centuries, something changed. Gradually at first. Then faster. Until, today, we barely recognize the balance Smith worked
Adam Smith
After years of thinking deeply about human morality, Adam Smith turned his attention to another question: How do societies grow wealthy? By the time The Wealth of Nations appeared in 1776, Smith had spent a lifetime studying not only philosophy, but law, politics, and commerce. He was deeply familiar with
Adam Smith
Before Adam Smith ever wrote about markets, he wrote about something much closer to home: our hearts. In The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), Smith tackled the biggest question of all: What holds human society together? It’s not wealth. It’s not laws. It’s not power. It’s
Adam Smith
When most people hear the name Adam Smith, one image pops up almost instantly: The father of capitalism. Maybe you think of the invisible hand, gently guiding markets. Maybe you think of self-interest, and the idea that by pursuing our own gain, we somehow benefit society. Maybe you picture