Prompted by the Trump administration’s threat to block Chinese economic investment in the United States, Scott Sumner is understandably critical of the ignorance coiled at the root of Trumpians’ economic fears of the Chinese. (Note also – from the passages that Scott quotes from hyper-economic-nationalist Steve Bannon – the extraordinary tension, if not outright inconsistency, of these economic nationalists wanting, on one hand, to shrink the so-called “U.S. trade deficit with China,” and, on the other hand, to decry – as Bannon does – U.S. investments in China.)
Also from Scott Sumner is this lament that libertarians are being purged from the Republican Party.
Jeff Jacoby exposes the folly of the so-called “People’s Pledge.”
Vincent Geloso busts the myth that economists of late ignore the debate over climate change. A slice:
In essence, climate change is in part a problem that governments created by subsidizing consumption decisions that widened the gap between private and social costs. So, why should economists believe governments to be able to remedy with new policies the problems they helped create? This is a leap of faith that many, if not most, should be reluctant to take.
Here’s Gary Saul Morson on Leninthink.
GMU Econ alum Eli Dourado ponders opportunities for further economic progress.
Mark Perry shares Steve Horwitz’s recent Facebook post on St. Greta of Stockholm.
