History and Critical Analysis

Key Takeaways Prices lie: The price of beef excludes environmental damage, health costs, and subsidies. The true cost is several times the store price. Externalities are the rule, not the exception: Most production imposes costs on third parties who don't consent and aren't compensated. Markets systematically underprice harmful goods. Subsidies compound the problem: Taxpayers fund the beef industry through subsidies, then pay again through environmental damage, then again through healthcare costs. Fixing prices isn't radical: Internalizing externalities—making prices reflect true costs—is basic economics. The radical position is ignoring reality. The Five-Dollar Burger You can buy a fast-food burger for about $5. At the supermarket, ground beef costs maybe $5-8 per pound. These prices seem to reflect the cost of producing beef. ...

Capitalism Unmasked 1 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 1: The Myth of the Free Market 2 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 2: The Shareholder Value Myth 3 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 3: The Trickle-Down Delusion 4 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 4: The Myth of the Lazy Poor 5 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 5: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Distrust 6 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 6: The Education Myth 7 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 7: The Myth of Natural Inequality 8 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 8: The Myth of Capital Flight 9 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 9: The Myth of the Rational Consumer 10 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 10: The Hidden Costs of 'Free' Markets 11 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 11: The Myth of the Self-Made Man 12 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 12: The Myth of Efficient Financial Markets 13 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 13: The Myth of Corporate Social Responsibility 14 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 14: The Myth of Growth 15 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 15: Development Institutions - Help or Hindrance? 16 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 16: The Myth of Immigration Harm 17 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 17: The Myth of Flexible Labor Markets 18 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 18: The Myth of Shareholder Primacy 19 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 19: The Myth of Technological Unemployment 20 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 20: The Privatization Illusion 21 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 21: The Myth of Patent Protection 22 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 22: The Myth of Government Debt Crisis 23 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 23: Finance - Economy's Brain or Parasite? ← Series Home What They Tell You In a globalized world, capital is mobile. If you tax the rich too much, regulate businesses too heavily, or make labor markets too rigid, capital will flee to friendlier jurisdictions. Countries must compete for capital by keeping taxes low, regulations light, and labor flexible. The price of ignoring this reality is unemployment and economic decline. ...

The Invisible Army ← Series Home Key Takeaways Two different concepts: The Army built forward bases and pulled supplies toward the front. The Navy created mobile logistics that moved with the fleet. Both worked�for different purposes. The fleet train revolution: The U.S. Navy developed underway replenishment�refueling and rearming ships at sea without returning to port. This multiplied combat power by keeping the fleet in action. Island hopping was logistics strategy: Bypassing strongholds and seizing key islands wasn't just tactical cleverness�it minimized the logistics burden of capturing and holding territory. Distance dominated everything: The vast Pacific distances forced innovations that shaped naval logistics for the next 80 years. The Tyranny of Pacific Distance The Pacific Theater presented logistics challenges unlike anything in Military and Logistics. The distances were almost incomprehensible: ...

The Kinetic Chain 1 Part 1: Alexander's Invisible Army 2 Part 2: Napoleon's Fatal Calculation 3 Part 3: The Railroad Revolution 4 Part 4: The Crimean Catastrophe 5 Part 5: Barbarossa and the Battle of the Gauges 6 Part 6: The Battle of the Bulge and the Tyranny of Fuel 7 Part 7: Wholesale Distribution and the American Way of 8 Part 8: The Pacific Logistics Challenge 9 Part 9: Victory Through Logistics 10 Part 10: Vietnam and the Tyranny of Terrain 11 Part 11: Giap's Bicycle Brigades 12 Part 12: The Ho Chi Minh Trail 13 Part 13: American Largesse in Vietnam 14 Part 14: The M16 Debacle and Logistics Failure 15 Part 15: The Falklands Logistics Miracle 16 Part 16: Desert Storm and the Logistics Miracle 17 Part 17: The Future of Contested Logistics ← Series Home Key Takeaways Two different concepts: The Army built forward bases and pulled supplies toward the front. The Navy created mobile logistics that moved with the fleet. Both worked—for different purposes. The fleet train revolution: The U.S. Navy developed underway replenishment—refueling and rearming ships at sea without returning to port. This multiplied combat power by keeping the fleet in action. Island hopping was logistics strategy: Bypassing strongholds and seizing key islands wasn't just tactical cleverness—it minimized the logistics burden of capturing and holding territory. Distance dominated everything: The vast Pacific distances forced innovations that shaped naval logistics for the next 80 years. The Tyranny of Pacific Distance The Pacific Theater presented logistics challenges unlike anything in Military and Logistics. The distances were almost incomprehensible: ...

Key Takeaways Corporations can be more powerful than governments: In early 20th-century Central America, fruit companies had more money, more influence, and more power than the states they operated in. "Banana republic" describes a real pattern: Export economies dependent on a single commodity become hostage to the companies that control that commodity. The US government served corporate interests: The CIA overthrew Guatemala's democracy in 1954 because land reform threatened United Fruit Company profits. The pattern continues: Modern corporations may not directly overthrow governments, but they extract concessions, avoid taxes, and shape policy through economic power. The Term We Use Too Casually “Banana republic” has become a casual insult—a way to describe any dysfunctional government. We use it without thinking about where it came from. ...

Capitalism Unmasked 1 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 1: The Myth of the Free Market 2 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 2: The Shareholder Value Myth 3 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 3: The Trickle-Down Delusion 4 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 4: The Myth of the Lazy Poor 5 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 5: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Distrust 6 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 6: The Education Myth 7 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 7: The Myth of Natural Inequality 8 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 8: The Myth of Capital Flight 9 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 9: The Myth of the Rational Consumer 10 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 10: The Hidden Costs of 'Free' Markets 11 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 11: The Myth of the Self-Made Man 12 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 12: The Myth of Efficient Financial Markets 13 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 13: The Myth of Corporate Social Responsibility 14 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 14: The Myth of Growth 15 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 15: Development Institutions - Help or Hindrance? 16 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 16: The Myth of Immigration Harm 17 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 17: The Myth of Flexible Labor Markets 18 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 18: The Myth of Shareholder Primacy 19 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 19: The Myth of Technological Unemployment 20 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 20: The Privatization Illusion 21 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 21: The Myth of Patent Protection 22 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 22: The Myth of Government Debt Crisis 23 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 23: Finance - Economy's Brain or Parasite? ← Series Home What They Tell You Consumers know what they want and make rational choices to maximize their satisfaction. Markets aggregate these choices to produce efficient outcomes. Consumer sovereignty means that production follows consumer preferences. Therefore, what the market produces is what people want. Government intervention in consumer choices is paternalistic and inefficient. ...

The Invisible Army ← Series Home Key Takeaways Victory creates logistics demands: The end of the European war didn't end logistics requirements—it created new ones as forces redeployed for the Pacific. Scale of redeployment was unprecedented: Moving millions of men and millions of tons of equipment halfway around the world in months had never been attempted. Operation Downfall's logistics: The planned invasion of Japan would have required the largest logistics operation in history—eclipsing even Normandy and Okinawa. Demobilization is logistics too: When Japan surrendered, the challenge reversed: how do you bring 12 million people home and return to a peacetime economy? The One-Front War On May 8, 1945, Germany surrendered. The European war was over. The Pacific war continued. ...

The Kinetic Chain 1 Part 1: Alexander's Invisible Army 2 Part 2: Napoleon's Fatal Calculation 3 Part 3: The Railroad Revolution 4 Part 4: The Crimean Catastrophe 5 Part 5: Barbarossa and the Battle of the Gauges 6 Part 6: The Battle of the Bulge and the Tyranny of Fuel 7 Part 7: Wholesale Distribution and the American Way of 8 Part 8: The Pacific Logistics Challenge 9 Part 9: Victory Through Logistics 10 Part 10: Vietnam and the Tyranny of Terrain 11 Part 11: Giap's Bicycle Brigades 12 Part 12: The Ho Chi Minh Trail 13 Part 13: American Largesse in Vietnam 14 Part 14: The M16 Debacle and Logistics Failure 15 Part 15: The Falklands Logistics Miracle 16 Part 16: Desert Storm and the Logistics Miracle 17 Part 17: The Future of Contested Logistics ← Series Home Key Takeaways Victory creates logistics demands: The end of the European war didn't end logistics requirements—it created new ones as forces redeployed for the Pacific. Scale of redeployment was unprecedented: Moving millions of men and millions of tons of equipment halfway around the world in months had never been attempted. Operation Downfall's logistics: The planned invasion of Japan would have required the largest logistics operation in history—eclipsing even Normandy and Okinawa. Demobilization is logistics too: When Japan surrendered, the challenge reversed: how do you bring 12 million people home and return to a peacetime economy? The One-Front War On May 8, 1945, Germany surrendered. The European war was over. The Pacific war continued. ...

Key Takeaways Intellectual property creates artificial scarcity: Unlike physical goods, ideas can be shared without being depleted. IP law deliberately restricts this sharing to create profits. The justification doesn't always hold: Patents and copyrights are supposed to incentivize innovation. But many industries innovate without them, and IP often protects the obvious. The costs are hidden: Higher drug prices, restricted access to knowledge, and blocked follow-on innovation—these costs are real but invisible compared to visible corporate profits. It's a policy choice, not natural law: IP regimes are designed by governments, often under corporate pressure. They can be redesigned. The World’s Most Valuable Recipe Coca-Cola’s formula is supposedly locked in a vault in Atlanta. Only a few executives know the complete recipe. The secrecy is legendary—and deliberate. ...

Capitalism Unmasked 1 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 1: The Myth of the Free Market 2 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 2: The Shareholder Value Myth 3 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 3: The Trickle-Down Delusion 4 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 4: The Myth of the Lazy Poor 5 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 5: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Distrust 6 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 6: The Education Myth 7 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 7: The Myth of Natural Inequality 8 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 8: The Myth of Capital Flight 9 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 9: The Myth of the Rational Consumer 10 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 10: The Hidden Costs of 'Free' Markets 11 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 11: The Myth of the Self-Made Man 12 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 12: The Myth of Efficient Financial Markets 13 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 13: The Myth of Corporate Social Responsibility 14 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 14: The Myth of Growth 15 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 15: Development Institutions - Help or Hindrance? 16 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 16: The Myth of Immigration Harm 17 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 17: The Myth of Flexible Labor Markets 18 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 18: The Myth of Shareholder Primacy 19 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 19: The Myth of Technological Unemployment 20 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 20: The Privatization Illusion 21 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 21: The Myth of Patent Protection 22 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 22: The Myth of Government Debt Crisis 23 Capitalism Unmasked - Part 23: Finance - Economy's Brain or Parasite? ← Series Home What They Tell You Market prices capture all relevant costs and benefits. When you buy something, the price reflects the true cost of production. Free markets therefore allocate resources efficiently. Government intervention distorts prices and leads to waste. ...