Aaron Ross Powell pens a lovely tribute to the Cato Institute’s David Boaz. A slice:
David became what he became, and built the organization he built, because he feels the moral weight of freedom’s call—not just for himself, because everyone wants freedom for themselves, but for everyone. His tireless advocacy for gay rights, long before such a thing was popular in Washington, and his early calls to end the war on drugs, speak to what made David a libertarian, and not a Republican masquerading as one. Freedom isn’t just lower taxes. It’s liberation and emancipation for those most ground down by its lack, and those so marginalized that they don’t have any power to stand up to the state, or to the oppressive social hierarchies that give it marching orders.
Richard Vigilante explains that accusations of Chinese intellectual-property theft are overblown. A slice:
But the plot thickens—or rather, the truth thins out. Though these two reports are wielded in accusations that China’s tech ascendancy is owed to stolen I.P., neither has anything to do with high tech. The “I.P.” allegedly stolen mostly consists of trademarks affixed to faux high-fashion sneakers (a perennial leader), watches, handbags, and other accessories, or copyrights on pirated music. Most shipments intercepted are in retail quantities, often fewer than 10 items. Most come by mail.
Somewhere in China, Mom and Pop are ripping off Rolex, Louis Vuitton, and probably Taylor Swift. They may have some bad karma coming their way, but they are not the reason China is rich.
Yet that is what we are meant to believe. Nearly every commentary on the subject promotes itself as evidence that China stole its way to technological prowess and then cites these irrelevant numbers as the sole quantitative evidence. Again and again, we are told “China steals hundreds of billions or trillions in intellectual property,” with no mention that we’re talking about sneakers.
Without these phony numbers, the China hawks’ fearmongering campaign would lose its legs. No reporter would write this story without such eye-catching numbers to cite.
On the topic of Chinese I.P. theft, see also here and here.
Joakim Book ponders the dollar’s role as global reserve currency.
Russ Roberts talks again with Glenn Loury, this time about the latter’s autobiography.
