I wrote a piece in Gawker titled “Actually, Riots are Good: The Economic Case for Riots in Ferguson.” The piece is serious in many ways, but also trollish in a way that is obvious to a certain internet circle, but not others. What has surprised me is how underwhelming the criticisms of the piece has… Continue reading Actually, Breaking Windows Is Good
Deeply Serious Procedural Justice Question
Obama used executive action to shield a few million undocumented immigrants from deportation. As usual, the relatively sparse discussion of the merits of this action is buried beneath an avalanche of arguments about appropriate government processes. Is it the role of the executive to do this sort of thing? What does it forebode? And won’t… Continue reading Deeply Serious Procedural Justice Question
Higher Education, the Nordics, and the Matthew Effect
Giulia Pines has a piece at Jacobin in which she cautions people not to celebrate too much about Germany’s free college tuition because, among other things, they put kids on educational tracks early in life. This, she suggests, has the effect of baking in class distinctions because working class kids presumably get put on vocational… Continue reading Higher Education, the Nordics, and the Matthew Effect
The Success of Social Democratic Parties in the Nordics
From historian of Scandinavia Mary Hilson’s The Nordic Model: Scandinavia since 1945: Why have the Scandinavian social democratic parties been so successful, at least in Norway, Denmark and Sweden? The question has been pursued with particular interest in Sweden, give the status of the SAP as perhaps the most successful political party, measured by any… Continue reading The Success of Social Democratic Parties in the Nordics
Instant Runoff Voting and Strategic Voting
Wikipedia defines the spoiler effect thusly: The spoiler effect is the effect of vote splitting between candidates … with similar ideologies. One spoiler candidate’s presence in the election draws votes from a major candidate with similar politics thereby causing a strong opponent of both or several to win. The minor candidate causing this effect is… Continue reading Instant Runoff Voting and Strategic Voting