Value and Exchange

The concept of "productive complements" shows us how capitalists have long sought to make as much use as they can of every part of the materials they use to make goods.

Private entrepreneurs have solved many environmental problems by finding ways to turn garbage into something people were willing to pay for.

Unlike a moralistic schoolmarm or a government, markets do not punish or tax anyone. They merely reflect the choices we make and the values we hold.

The unintended consequences of government regulation lead to even more government coercion.

When people change cities, they are likely to change their consumption patterns — which means a simple cost-of-living index doesn't tell us what it should.

In spite of claims they will benefit society overall, interventionist policies designed to benefit certain interest groups ultimately only help certain groups at the expense of everyone else.

If local prices are sending the message that everything's perfectly normal, residents may be overly optimistic about the risks they face during natural disasters.

Those who oppose "consumerism" contend it is wrong to give consumers what they want if they want the wrong things.

Gentrification gets bad press. It would appear that the gentrifier (he who engages in gentrification) is a malign exploiter, a bully, someone who takes advantage of the weak and the poor. And these are the nice things said about him.

People usually recoil at the idea of trading babies for money, but in the wake of Soviet deprivation, easy-adoption laws helped countless orphans in Romania.