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1. Bounty of modern life was not available to many 60 short years ago

   The washing machine was especially important in freeing up women’s time. ...

2. Price controls and anti-gouging laws make matters worse

   Economists are used to having to repeat ourselves as we try to communicate the basic ideas of our discipline to a public and politicians who are resistant to our message about the importance of prices and markets. This is never more true ...

3. The Joy of bourgeois virtues

   On a long plane ride back from Europe recently, I watched the film Joy. It stars Jennifer Lawrence as a housewife and mother with a penchant for inventing things and follows the story of her attempt to bring a self-wringing mop to market ...

4. Blazing Saddles and crony capitalists

   The recent death of Gene Wilder prompted a number of showings of his films around the country. I was able to attend a screening of the Mel Brooks classic comedy Blazing Saddles. The comedy still holds up after more than 40 years, but ...

5. How capitalism made marriage (not Valentine’s Day) about love

   If you asked people what the connection between love and capitalism is, they might well point to Valentine’s Day as one example. After all, many people spend a lot of money on their romantic partners as they celebrate the day. But that’s ...