Why military dollars aren't like other dollars
The Pentagon is asking Congress for $200 billion, in no small part because of the outrageous war with Iran. The Center for Strategic and International...
Reading, Thinking: the Iran War
This is February’s premium piece– this time, an aggregation of some things I have been reading and thoughts on it. March’s free articles will be coming soon!...
A Nation That Can’t Lose Battles Can’t Win Wars
America’s birth relied on a grievous strategic error by the British Empire of the 18th century: overreliance on the Navy. Britain used the Royal Navy the way...
We Can Do Better than Luddism
Lessons for the age of AI from 19th-century shipwright organizing
Is "the Economy" "Good?"
And how would we know?
It's All Just People
Before this month’s second post, some news: my book Control Science: How Management Made the Modern World will be out with Verso on May 12th! You can pre-...
Some (Very Critical) Thoughts on Degrowth
I’ve been meaning to write about degrowth– the left-wing call for an economy whose material throughput decreases rather than increases– for a while now....
Why Venezuela? Just Oil... and more
Nuance for nuance's sake alone clarifies nothing
Bad Luck Makes History Too
So don't forget to make your own luck
The Another Way Last Minute Holiday Gift Guide, 2025
Another year of difficulties and hopefully joys has gone by, and rather than ruin the holidays with Grinch-like missives from the past or punditry on the...
No, Eugenics Doesn't Discredit Progressive Liberalism
The right is eager to remind anyone who will listen that early 20th-century liberals supported eugenics. This argument is a frustrating attempt to bypass...
Something To Be Thankful For
Democracy against inequality; agency against structure
The Big Steel Ball of Socialism
In a direct follow-up to last month’s posts on economic “metagames” and capitalist coercion, I want to think a bit more about alternative ways to run an...
The "Confidence Fairy" and the "Prince of Darkness"
Spooky Halloween economic history
Escaping the Metagame
Evil Monopoly hotel strategies and what they meant for you
"The Value of a Human Life is About $10 Million"
Immigrant workers and the coercive foundations of our economy
Toughness Is Not Strength
Nakae Chōmin and Horatio Nelson vs. the Secretary of Defense
America’s First Free Speech Crisis
Wriggling toward democracy
Why Are Stocks Up? What Does It Mean?
Mr. Powell I don't feel so good
Mad about Trump? Blame Half of John Locke
Like pineapple on pizza, liberalism's worst ideas are getting in the way of itself