The Profit Motive Is Vivifying Karl Marx's Beautiful Vision
The profit motive produces its own “gravediggers.” That’s what Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels argued in The Communist Manifesto.
Read
Essays
Writing by John Tamny and Parkview contributors, from the latest commentary to the collected archive.
58 essays · Newest first
Clear filtersBeware the Experts Who Tie Prosperity to Consumption
There’s no need to focus on consumption. It’s pointless simply because our wants are unlimited. The unlimited nature of our wants raises an obvious question about why some can consume more than…
GDP Is Thoroughly Dishonest. So Is Debt-to-GDP
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a fraud. Centrally planned, politicized consumption of precious wealth (government spending) adds to the number, while massive inflows of global wealth meant to profit…
Taylor Swift’s Eras Didn’t Boost Growth. World Cup Won’t Either
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour was a smashing success, but it in no way sparked domestic or global economic growth. Quite the opposite most likely. More on the Swift tour in a bit. For now, it’s useful to…
No One Is Lazy or Stupid, There’s Just Not Enough Growth
“Grit” is so overrated. It implies that economic growth is an effect of doing what we must to get by. What an awful existence, what an untrue presumption. If there are doubters, they need only…
Economic Growth Is the Cause of the National Debt, Not Its Solution
What’s your limit on a typical credit card in your wallet? And if your borrowing limit is higher today than it was when you turned twenty-one, ask yourself why. To say you can borrow more today…
Defense Spending, and the 5% of GDP Fallacy
The idea that defense spending should somehow be a consistent percentage of GDP is as fallacious as it is wasteful. Consider a recent Washington Post editorial. It oddly asserted that “Throughout the…
The Unsung Compassion of Walmart’s Supercenters
To discover the U.S. and what the Founding Fathers meant, drive a state or two or three of the United States. About the opening sentence, it’s not a trite tribute to the “Real America” that can…
We Are In the Midst of An Astonishing Productivity Miracle
“The times they are a-changin’… but fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy!” Yes, a combination of quotes from Bob Dylan and the angel Gabriel.…
Wealth Creation Is Not An Act of War, Opposite What You’re Told
West Virginia’s relative poverty isn’t an effect of California’s enormous wealth. The better way to look at it is to consider how much poorer the Mountain State would be minus all the advances…
A Tax Cut for ‘Working Families’ Does Nothing For Economic Growth
When did Republicans quit on supply side and go John Maynard Keynes on us? What can’t be said enough is that supply-side economics isn’t about fiddling with the tax rate to increase tax revenues by…
Falling Prices Enable the Savings That Drive Progress
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos can’t realistically spend all the wealth they’ve created. That’s why both epitomize progress. It’s not just that they’ve transformed how we live, it’s that their inability to…
Slower Progress Since ’71? Floating Dollar Begs for Attention
Economists and their obtuse theories have been the overwhelming driver of reduced progress since 1971. Market-friendly economists (think Milton Friedman) are paradoxically the biggest offenders since…
The Fed Was Never Steering the Ship. Evidence? The Growth
The Federal Reserve is a full employment act for economists, both inside the central bank and outside of it. Please keep this in mind amid all the debates about what the Fed will do, how independent…
Soaring GDP Is More Evidence of What a Fraudulent Number It Is
The fraudulent number that is Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a substantially shrunken number relative to the true size of the U.S. economy. See the “surge” in GDP reported yesterday for evidence.…
The American Mind Has Been ‘Closed’ for Decades. And Progress Has Soared
Bill Dally dropped out of high school. Something about history class. He didn’t want to sit through it. Dally subsequently went to work as an auto mechanic, though high test scores eventually secured…
If the Chinese Are Producing, the World Is Growing
The problem with economics is the economists. They arguably understand what powers economic growth the least. Consider “World Pays a Price for China’s Growth,” the latest piece by Wall Street Journal…
Cultural Confidence: The Missing Ingredient of Western Prosperity
What our greatest civilizations shared wasn’t just power or prosperity—it was a fierce belief in themselves, something the modern West is forgetting . Did you hear about the…
The Unsung Compassion of the Smartphone
Since wireless telephony was only in its infancy by the 1980s, and since broad internet usage was realistically decades away, nearly all work took place at a physical location. “Chained to the desk”…
Sorry Keynesians, Housing Has Nothing To Do With Economic Growth
Writing at the New York Times, economist Rebecca Patterson confidently asserted that “Housing is the foundation of the economy. Homes represent the single largest asset for most Americans. They are a…
There Are No Lazy or Stupid People, There’s Just a Lack of Progress
You would have felt lazy, and likely viewed as pathetic and stupid if you were alive in 1825. Why? Because 200 years ago your work options were almost certainly limited to farm drudgery six days a…
Trump Can Have Booming Growth or Deportations, Not Both
People drive economic growth. Which means President Trump’s problem isn’t the Fed, it’s his own administration’s deportations. Trump wants economic growth, but he doesn’t want the people who make…
$37T In Debt Doesn’t Fuel Prosperity, It’s An Overwhelming Sign of It
$37 trillion in total debt is a loud, bullish sign that the U.S. is the world’s richest country…by far. But don’t misread what you’ve just read. The total debt run up by the U.S. Treasury isn’t…
The Fed As Source Of Econ. Growth Is A Monstrous Delusion
“I trust that you will never lose sight of the fact that millions of Americans are dependent on the Fed continuing to support the economy’s recovery.” Those are the words of Democratic Rep. James…