Coordinated Conflict:

A Property Rights Perspective on Traffic

By Rosolino A. Candela

The “trade” of the economist as a social scientist is to understand the emergence of spontaneous order in terms of systematic generalizations of cause and effect, the cause being the purposes and plans human beings attach to their action, and the effect being a consequence of individuals attempting to realize their goals through action with the means available to them…One of the best examples to illustrate this notion of economics as a science of meanings, to understand how coordinated conflict emerges, is the observation of car traffic patterns.

Battle of the Sexes

By Arnold Kling

How and when did the patriarchy emerge, and is gender-based division of labor soon to be a thing of the past? Arnold Kling explores Emmanuel Todd’s history of women in this month’s review.

Join Kling and friends on November 28, 3-4 pm EST for our monthly “From the Shelf” conversation based on Todd’s book.

Free to all, but pre-registration is required.

Illiberal Integralists

By Samuel Gregg

“Integralists are on the march,” says reviewer Samuel Gregg. And that’s a problem according to Kevin Vallier. But neither can integralism “be dismissed as the frantic cogitations of a tiny group of eccentric intellectuals aghast at the relativism that plagues modern Western societies or the disarray into which many Christian confessions are mired.” Yet the question of “distinction” and “separation” between the temporal and spiritual realms is still one worth exploring.

The Past, Present, and Future of Public Choice: Part II

By Peter J. Boettke

Boettke continues his reflections on the evolution of Public Choice economics, offering tantalizing suggestions for future research, and imploring us not to fall prey to ignoring the importance of institutional analysis.

Zach Weinersmith on Space Settlement and A City on Mars

Loss of taste for most foods, vision problems, loss of muscle mass and bone density. In light of these and the many unpleasant and outright dangerous effects of space travel on human physiology, science writer and cartoonist Zach Weinersmith wonders: When it comes to the dream of space expansion, what exactly do we hope to gain? Listen as he and EconTalk's Russ Roberts discuss his new book (co-authored with Kelly Weinersmith) A City on Mars, which offers a hard-nosed yet humorous look at the sobering and lesser-discussed challenges involved in building space settlements. 

Explore More

More Recent Episodes & Extras:

• Michael Easter on Excess, Moderation, and the Scarcity Brain

• Robert Skidelsky Extra: When is Enough Enough?

• Adam Mastroianni Extra: How Much Went to Your Brain?

• Robert Sapolsky on Determinism, Free Will, and Responsibility

• Alexandra Hudson on the Soul of Civility

• Adam Mastroianni on Learning and Mostly Forgetting

• Elie Hassenfeld on GiveWell

We know Arnold Kling as our favorite book reviewer and curator. And we want you to get to know him better!

After the release of each month’s new review, Kling hosts an online webinar with invited guests to discuss that month’s selection. Join in to hear from our esteemed panelists, and engage in a spirited Q&A. Come with your questions, and stay for a great conversation.

This month, we’ll be discussing Emmanuel Todd’s Lineages of the Feminine on Tuesday, November 28th starting at 3pm EST. Click here to reserve your space.