Bob Murphy

Author Archive

Principled Leftists Realizing That Bush+Eloquence=Obama

Bob Roddis sends this encouraging video. Remember back during the Bush years, kids, when those of you who think like me were so mad at being lumped in with the “conservative” nation-building, deficit-exploding, Big Brother Bush administration. Well by the same token, we should give credit where it’s due. There are a lot of leftists […]

Libertarian, Free-Market Blog "MarginalRevolution" In Support of White House Torture

Yeah, their argument is that given that the feds are going to torture people to prevent American deaths–and really, can any libertarian be for American deaths? isn’t it unlibertarian to blow up a building?–then it makes sense to allow trained professionals, under the direct supervision of the Cabinet, carry out the electroshocks, waterboarding, and mock […]

Potpourri

You know, it would really make my life easier if all of you readers would get your brother to start reading. Then I could quit my day job and blog full time. As it is, I keep accumulating interesting tidbits until the width of each tab on Firefox bumps up against the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, […]

PIG to Capitalism Audio Online

I’m thinking this isn’t legal, so if your conscience bothers you buy a copy of the book. But anyway I just came across this online reading of my book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism. If you have a colicky infant, I suggest playing this along with chirping birds. It soothes and educates at the […]

Two Men Enter, One Man Leaves the Back Door Open

Earlier I was happy that Paul Krugman had “definitively” (you’ll understand the quotation marks in a sec) said we were in a recovery, since I am predicting that the economy is going to be in the toilet for years. Just to refresh our memories, here’s how Krugman opened his August 21 blog post: “Barara Kiviat […]

I’m Starting With the Man in the Mirror

OK I must confess that this Wonk Room hit piece on my compatriots really ticked me off. I had originally wanted to blog it with the title, “Definition” and the comment, “If you want to know what ‘ad hominem’ means, just check out this Wonk Room piece on the AEA bus tour.” But then I […]

The Innumerate Billy Ocean

I know this sounds impossible, but I actually don’t like the radio stations in Nashville. And no, it’s not because they play all country. Would you believe that there’s not even a reliable Oldies station? Or how about this–in the entire time I’ve been here (since fall of 2006), I swear I’ve heard maybe three […]

Finding an Actual Use for My Game Theory Training

Although my dissertation was in capital and interest theory, my “field exam” at NYU was in “theory,” which basically meant micro/game theory. This was definitely an example of studying something for its sheer elegance, because I think whenever game theorists pontificate on the actual real world, they usually give horrible advice. (E.g., “Yes, sir, it […]