Bryan Caplan

Archive for Bryan Caplan

More Divisive Thoughts on the Supreme Court and SSM

[UPDATE: I made a few edits to my original version. The substantive changes are adding the points about Sheldon Richman’s and Bryan Caplan’s recent posts.] I really thought I was done writing on this topic, but the further comments by many libertarians compel me to speak. In the interest of brevity, I’m going to fire […]

A Dreamy Argument

It’s the age-old debate: Do people wear clothes for functionality (such as staying warm or protecting feet), or do they wear clothes for style? A lot of people think the answer is “both,” but those people are no fun. I like to make it sound like I really believe it is nothing but style, except […]

Piketty Makes “Typos,” Bryan Caplan Cites “Noise”

This is odd. Bryan Caplan apparently wrote in his book on irrational voters: There are countless issues that people care about, from gun control and abortion to government spending and the environment… If you know a person’s position on one, you can predict his view on the rest to a surprising degree. In formal statistical […]

Privatize the Borders!

I argue that Bryan Caplan isn’t radical *enough* when it comes to immigration. An excerpt: First let me deal with the question of the libertarian ideal. If politics weren’t an issue, and we could get the society we really want, I think both Bryan and I would want all real estate held in private hands. […]

I’m So Mischievous

3 days after Bryan Caplan asks on EconLog why gov't water works so well, the Featured EconLib article explains how gov't caused CA drought. — Robert P. Murphy (@BobMurphyEcon) September 3, 2014 The links are here and here.

Responding to Bryan Caplan on Why Government Enterprises Are So Good

My newest LibertyChat article takes on Bryan Caplan’s surprising argument that Rothbardians can’t explain why government enterprises work so well. Here’s my conclusion, so you can see where I took the argument, but you should read the whole thing; I even talk about ice-pick lobotomies. (Yes, I went there.) We see that the spirit of […]

This Will Not End Well

Bryan Caplan (a fellow pacifist) lays down the gauntlet: If Mark [Krikorian] brought me to lunch with an unemployed low-skilled native, I really would tell him, “Sorry you lost your job, but foreigners have as much a right to work as you do.” It needs to be said.

Bryan Caplan on Immigration

Caplan recently had a debate over immigration. He has posted his opening statement which is really good. Here are two excerpts: Let’s start with our [immigration] laws’ injustice. Imagine the U.S. made it illegal for blacks, women, or Jews to take certain jobs or live in certain neighborhoods. You wouldn’t merely object. You’d be appalled. […]