The state of resistance, in this case, is Florida. Many readers will be aware that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has prohibited mask mandates in the state, and faced some resistance from local school boards that have imposed mask mandates in defiance of the governor’s prohibition. Meanwhile, where I teach, at Florida State University, the...
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Humans are an inherently tribal species. People have always lived and worked in groups. In primitive times, they recognized those in their group as allies and cooperated with them. Those outside their group were viewed with hostility. Strangers were potential predators and potential prey. Better to take their stuff when the opportunity presents itself...
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At the Independent Institute, we believe that individual liberty—in the context of constitutionally limited government and free markets—produces great results. Our defense of individual liberty does not arise out of a philosophy that says to the world, “Leave me alone.” Rather, we defend liberty from a philosophy that says specifically to the government, “Leave...
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People have different ideas about the appropriate role for government. Democratic political institutions allow citizens to express those ideas, albeit imperfectly, by campaigning, contributing monetarily, and voting for candidates and parties whose ideas correspond closely with their own. The troubling thing about many Trump supporters is that they appear to be supporting the man...
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Donald Trump’s power as president of the United States comes from the fact that he was elected president, not because he is Donald Trump. President Trump’s presidential power will be transferred to Joe Biden on January 20 when Biden is inaugurated as the next president. Democratic government is governed by democratic institutions and people...
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My latest book is titled Coordination, Cooperation, and Control: The Evolution of Economic and Political Power. The book’s ultimate conclusion is that when the same people hold both economic and political power, the result is stagnation. When the people who hold economic power are not the same people who hold political power, the result...
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Almost two centuries ago Tocqueville observed that the “political world is metamorphosed [and] new remedies must henceforth be sought for new disorders.”

Easing tribalism giving way to political division.

With polarization has come intolerance: people abandon their friends and family when they seem to have the wrong political views.

A reminder of the fundamental goodness of human beings.