I saw a production of "Born Yesterday" the other night, the 1946 play written by Garson Kanin. It’s the story of a corrupt businessman who bribes a Senator to get special treatment for his scrap metal business. The moral lesson of the play is that we need less selfishness and return to the roots of democracy where every voice counts equally. I think this lesson is not just naive, but dangerous. In this podcast, I discuss these issues with Don Cox of Boston College. We talk about Smith’s Wealth of Nations, Thomas Sowell’s underappreciated A Conflict of Visions, the way to reduce the role of money in the political process, the phenomenon of rent-seeking and whether you should trust your babysitter when you’re out of the house. It’s about 30 minutes long. Thanks to James Reese of Radioeconomics.com for hosting.
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