The Only Orthodoxy is Reason

Dear Mr Bernanke, 
I certainly don’t envy your job lately.  Congratulations on surviving a tough initial period of your tenure.
 
As you probably already know in theory, it is unlikely that the decision-making role of the Federal Reserve will grow easier before it becomes more difficult.  Unfortunately, sir, this is in no small part your fault nor […]

“I’m personally opposed to slavery, but I don’t want to force my opinion on people who support the right to own slaves.”
This statement probably sounds ridiculous to most people, but it was, more or less, the position of Stephen Douglas, the Democratic candidate for president in 1860. Douglas is famous for his failed attempt to […]

Early in World War II, Japan considered invading the mainland of the United States. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander in chief of the Japanese naval forces and architect of the Pearl Harbor bombing, advised against invading. Twenty years prior, Admiral Yamamoto had spent a few years in the United States studying at Harvard University. […]