Socialism Questions
Was Karl Marx a communist or a socialist? Karl Marx was the co-author of The Communist Manifesto and an avowed communist. However, he recognized that promoting socialism was a means of achieving communism. What is the difference between communism and...
Economics Thinkers to Know
A list of Economics Thinkers we should study and get to know so we can best apply their thinking to realizing the communities goals.
Economic Fallacies
https://fee.org/articles/3-common-economic-fallacies-that-need-to-die/ FEE.org posted 3 Common Economic Fallacies That Need to Die. Imports Subtract From Economic Growth Middle-Class Stagnation The Gender Wage Gap This gave me the idea to put together a list of...
The Industrial Revolution, Not Liberals, Destroyed The Family
This lesson argues the Industrial Revolution, Not Liberals, Destroyed The Family by moving from family businesses to factory work from .
F. A. Hayek Quotes
Hayek, Friedrich A. (1952). Individualism: True and False, @lantis Version It is the contention that, by tracing the combined effects of individual actions, we discover that many of the institutions on which human achievements rest have arisen and are functioning...
Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System – Satoshi Nakamoto – Original PDF
Bitcoin - A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash SystemDownload
Understanding the Technology S-Curve
A lesson on understanding the Technology S-Curve
Cato Institute Economic Myths Discussed
A discussion of the Myths the Cato Institute believes those “hostile to free markets” believe. Each one is studied to see what we can learn form it.
Libertarianism Basics
#1 - Non-aggression principle and victimless crimes “How would a libertarian society address drug addiction, public services, caring for the poor, or reckless businesses? #2 - Free-market economics - libertarians prefer laissez-faire capitalism over government...
Friedman Falsely Claims Government is Always the Problem
In his PDF Milton Friedman lays out his argument for why Government is the Problem. I disagree Friedman Claims that Government causes, deteriorating education, lawlessness and crime, homelessness, the collapse of family values, the crisis in medical...
The Decline of Cable TV is an Example of Creative Destrcution
When one looks at the downward trend of Cable TV, it looks like a great example of “creative destruction.” This media evolution is a great deal for consumers and content creators alike. For more than a quarter-century, we’ve been hearing predictions about the demise...
Conservatives Beliefs June 2023
A post on reason.com titled "Don't Confuse 'Local Control' with Small Government" provided several examples of what conservatives get wrong about progressives. The post was about how a conservative city Huntington Beach, is challenging the state's recent housing...
Are Building Codes Socialism if Conservatives Support them
The fundamental question I often ask is, "What is the optimal role of Government?" And I usually use Building Codes as an example. I ask it this way, should the government "MANDATE" building codes? Or should we let the free market do its thing? Or should it be a...
Correlation Between Money and Happiness
I found this post on Bloomberg interesting. It supports the belief that having money is important for many reasons, including happiness. Having money takes worry out your life. It takes money to live so having it is important. Here is that post. We need to discuss...
Being Critical is Not Thinking Critically
The presentation of the TIDAL Approach to Decision Making. The TIDAL approach is designed to mitigate the perceptual limitations caused by the way our brain works. Selective perception, confirmation bias, motivated reasoning, and cultural/linguistic biases are real things that affect our decision-making.
7 National Conservativism Beliefs
The third annual National Conservatism Conference was held Sept. 11-13, 2022. Here are 7 "Beliefs" as reported by the Daily Signal - 7 Highlights from National Conservatism Conference. Sen. Josh Hawley: ‘The American Revolution Is a Continuation of the Revolution of...
The Social Dilemma Transcript – Main Arguments
Using The Social Dilemma Transcript this lesson tries to understand the influences Social Media has on the community and what should we do about it. Updated March 27, 2023
Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System – Satoshi Nakamoto
Original PDF of Bitcoin – A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System – Satoshi Nakamoto. This is intended to be a “Base 0” Learning Packet from this new Learning Packets can be built.
Hayekian behavioral economics
In a recent post, Cass Sunstein suggested that Behavior Economics somehow invalidates F. A. Hayek. I disagree. Using Fractal Thinking, Behavior Economics is perfectly aligned with Hayek and other important economic thinkers like Adam Smith....
Schools of Economic Thought
This lesson on the Schools of Economic Thought is additive to the Class on Economic Schools of Thought and helps us make better predictions.
Behavioral Economics
What Is Behavioral Economics? Behavioral economics is, in a way, at the intersection of economics and psychology. In fact, the "behavioral" in behavioral economics can be thought of as the analog of the "behavioral" in behavioral psychology. On one hand, traditional...
Review of Libertarianism and Pollution by Matt Zwolinski
Libertarianism is identified as a political philosophy by its commitment to strong rights of private property, free markets, and strictly limited government. Though this is true to a certain extent of all libertarians, it is most clearly and consistently true of...
Understanding the S-Curve
Exploring the Limits of the Technology S-Curve. Part I: Component Technologies Learning Objective: Understand the Four propositions about the usefulness of the S-curve. This reading is important for 2 reasons. It discusses a very important theoretical point,...
Creating a Federal Minimum Wage is a Bad Idea
Creating a Federal Minimum Wage is a Bad Idea for a number of reasons. There is nothing "necessarily" wrong with a community setting a minimum wage. But that minimum wage must be voluntary and limited to that single community. The Congressional Budget Office released...
The Changes That Made California Become a Liberal Fiasco
Is America destined to become like California? Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey created a stir recently when he tweeted out an article calling for an end to bipartisanship and the beginning of nationwide, one-party rule—similar to the Golden State. He called it a “great read.”...
Fractal Economics is the New Economic Paradigm
Fractal Economics is giving economics its “Copernican Moment.” Before Copernicus, it was widely believed that everything – including the Sun – revolved around the Earth, rather than the Earth revolving around the Sun. Everyone used Ptolemy’s description of the...
There is a role for an Economic “Safety Net”
Conservatives often regard any community provided "safety net" as either morally illegitimate or economically destructive. This lesson will examine why opposition to any safety net is the default Conservative position, and why some Conservatives don't believe this is...
Understanding Libertarian Morality: The Psychological Dispositions of Self-Identified Libertarians
Understanding Libertarian Morality: The Psychological Dispositions of Self-Identified Libertarians https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0042366#authcontrib Abstract Libertarians are an increasingly prominent ideological group in U.S....
Right Wing Takeaways from Senate Report on Russian Interference
Senate Intel Panel Finds ‘Absolutely No Evidence’ of Collusion, Faced Roadblocks The Senate Intelligence Committee said in a long-awaited report released Tuesday that there is no evidence that the Trump campaign conspired with the Russian government to influence the...
Takeaways From the Senate Committee Report on Russian Interference
Takeaways From the Senate Committee Report on Russian Interference Senators divided along party lines about whether to conclude that the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin’s election sabotage operations. Democrats and Republicans could not agree on whether...
Machiavelli: On Change
“It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution and merely lukewarm...
The Rise of The Autocratic
The autocrat problem Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary has used the coronavirus crisis as an excuse to further centralize authority. The European Union seems to be functioning better than the United States in some big ways right now. Europe has been far more...
Nock and Mencken on Democracy and Equality
Nock and Mencken on Democracy and Equality Albert Jay Nock (1870–1945) and Henry L. Mencken (1880–1956) were the two leading libertarian intellectuals of the Old Right, during the thirties of the twentieth century. Both defended laissez-faire but opposed the New Deal,...
Hayek on Health Care
Hayek on Health Care and Other Social Safety Nets This lesson is on how Hayek views Health Care and other Social Safety Nets. The following passage is taken from The Road to Serfdom, Text and Documents, The Definitive Edition, by F. A. Hayek, edited by Bruce Caldwell,...
Frank S. Meyer: The Fusionist as Libertarian
Frank S. Meyer: The Fusionist as Libertarian Until a few years ago, the conservative spectrum could be comfortably sundered into the "traditionalists" at one pole, the "libertarians" at the other, and the "fusionists" as either judicious synthesizers or muddled...
Noam Chomsky as Seen by Tom Wolfe
[pdf-embedder url="https://atlantisschoolofcommunication.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/HarpersMagazine-The-Origins-of-Speech.pdf" title="HarpersMagazine-The Origins of Speech"] The Origins of Speech In the beginning, was Chomsky by Tom Wolfe Nobody in academia had...
How the Mind Makes Meaning
Louder than words: The new science of how the mind makes meaning. By Benjamin K. Bergen. New York: Basic Books, 2012. Pp. 312. ISBN 9780465028290. $27.99 Imagine that you are a participant in the following psycholinguistic experiment. You are seated in front of a...
Lesson on Federalist Paper #10
Lesson on Federalist Paper #10. What are Factions and why are they important. Madison lays out a great strategy to achieve political stability.
Fractal Markets Theory
Fundamentals Of Fractal Markets Theory< In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, many have challenged the dominant economic theories and perspectives on markets. The Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) in particular has fallen short in explaining the crisis. According...
I, Pencil
The activities for Economics in One Day are developed around the themes of Leonard E. Read’s classic essay, ‘‘I, Pencil.’’ ARTICLE: I, Pencil: My Family Tree - Leonard Reed (FEE.org) [http://at.fee.org/1yAq6Jf] ‘‘Not a single person in the world knows all the...
Libertarianism and Pollution
[pdf-embedder url="https://economicslearningcommunity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Libertarianism_and_Pollution.pdf"]
Conservative Take on Socialism, Jesus, and Wealth
https://fee.org/articles/61-quick-facts-and-observations-on-socialism-jesus-and-wealth/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2020_FEEDaily 61 Quick Facts and Observations on Socialism, Jesus, and Wealth Was Jesus of Nazareth truly a socialist? An...
Adam Smith – Self Interest
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest. We address ourselves not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities, but...
Hayek – Central Planning
This is not a dispute about whether planning is to be done or not. It is a dispute as to whether planning is to be done centrally, by one authority for the whole economic system, or is to be divided among many individuals. From The Use of Knowledge in Society.
Von Mises – Economics
Ludig von Mises
Aggregate Demand
Aggregate demand is an economic measurement of the total amount of demand for all finished goods and services produced in an economy. Aggregate demand is expressed as the total amount of money exchanged for those goods and services at a specific price level and point...
Mathematical Beauty Activates Same Brain Region as Great Art or Music
People who appreciate the beauty of mathematics activate the same part of their brain when they look at aesthetically pleasing formula as others do when appreciating art or music, suggesting that there is a neurobiological basis to beauty. There are many different...
Fractal Politics 2
Fractal Politics The evolution of digital technologies and the evolution of contemporary society and politics have facilitated fractal thinking. It is fairly obvious that technology innovations can facilitate cultural and political innovations, which in-turn...
12 Economic Concepts
Twelve Economic Concepts Everyone Should Know 1. Gains from trade: In any economic exchange, freely chosen, both parties benefit–at least in their own minds. 2. Subjective value: The value of any good or service is determined by the individual human mind....
Quarantine Fatigue
Quarantine Fatigue Instead of an all-or-nothing approach to risk prevention, Americans need a manual on how to have a life in a pandemic. In the earliest years of the HIV epidemic, confusion and fear reigned. AIDS was still known as the “gay plague.” To the extent...
Adam Smith – Invisible Hand
From An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Book IV, Chap. 2 by Adam Smith. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce...
Henry Ford and the $5 wage
He says Ford proved that higher wages led to more productivity, which in turn was good for business. That positive feedback loop gave rise to a broad, prosperous middle class. But over the years, waves of economic pressures and political changes have broken that link....
Adam Smith – Effort of Men Can Overcome the Abuses of Government
“The uniform, constant and uninterrupted effort of every man to better his condition … is frequently powerful enough to maintain the natural progress of things toward improvement, in spite both of the extravagance of government, and of the greatest errors of...
A Hayekian Case for Free Markets
This essay by Matt Zwolinski provides a strong argument for a Hayekian Case for Free Markets how they fit into a stable economic system.
Hayek’s Biggest Ideas
Five of Hayek's Biggest Ideas F. A. Hayek has had a lot of great thoughts. I'd thought it would be useful to layout 5 of Hayek's biggest Ideas. Friedrich August von Hayek (1899-1992) is today glorified by freedom lovers all around the world. The Austrian in a double...
The Cognitive Science of Free Will
The Cognitive Science of Free Will How to make the best decisions is one of the "Key Questions" the @lantis Learning Community is interested in. This lesson is focused on how the brain constrains our decision making by fooling us about Free Will One of the main...
Adam Smith – All Quotes
“No human wisdom or knowledge could ever be sufficient [for] the duty of superintending the industry of private people..." “[Governments are] ...without exception, the greatest spendthrifts in the society.” “The agents of [government] regard the wealth of their master...
Fractal Politics
Fractal Politics “The rise of fractal politics” was first submitted to the Nine Dots Prize in response to the question, “Are digital technologies making politics impossible?” The essay was written as a thought piece prior to the announcement of the 2017 UK General...
Ernst Friedrich Schumacher
Ernst Friedrich Schumacher (16 August 1911 – 4 September 1977) was a German-British statistician and economist who is best known for his proposals for human-scale, decentralised and appropriate technologies.[1] He served as Chief Economic Advisor to the British...
Economic Thinkers
This is an evergreen list of important economic thinkers. This list is dynamic and represents the important voices we need to study.
Network Neuroscience
The new discipline of network neuroscience yields a picture of how mental activity arises from carefully orchestrated interactions among different brain areas. Networks pervade our lives. Every day we use intricate networks of roads, railways, maritime routes and...
Adam Smith – Wealth of Nations
The Condensed Wealth of Nations and The Incredibly Condensed Theory of Moral Sentiments Eamonn Butler Contents 1 Introduction 4 2 The Condensed Wealth of Nations 7Book I: Economic efficiency and the factors of production 9Book II: The accumulation of...
Cartesianism
Cartesianism, the philosophical and scientific traditions derived from the writings of the French philosopher René Descartes (1596–1650). Metaphysically and epistemologically, Cartesianism is a species of rationalism, because Cartesians hold that knowledge—indeed,...
Individualism: True and False | F. A. Hayek
According to Hayek, there are two opposing ideas about how to understand individuals and the society in which they live: true individualism and false individualism. These ideas permeate all social and political thought. They apply to beliefs about reason and knowledge, economics, justice, equality, power, tradition, marriage and family, and government.
A Hayekian Case for Free Markets and a Basic Income
Introduction If Friedrich Hayek is not in our discussions on how best to govern a community, he should be. Not only because his most popular book, The Road to Serfdom, was used by Reagan and Thacher to run a country (their own admission), but because he has a lot of...
Whistled Languages help understand Cognitive Processes
Herodotus mentioned whistled languages in the fourth book of his work The Histories, but until recently linguists had done little research on the sounds and meanings of this now endangered form of communication. New investigations have discovered the presence of...
Neuro Linguistic Programing
I think the more you want to become more and more creative you have to not only elicit other peoples' (plural) strategies and replicate them yourself, but also modify others' strategies and have a strategy that creates new creativity strategies based on as many...
Neural Networks
A Basic Introduction To Neural Networks http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~bolo/shipyard/neural/local.html What Is A Neural Network? The simplest definition of a neural network, more properly referred to as an 'artificial' neural network (ANN), is provided by the inventor of...
How We Think
[ted id=2265] Great Video of how we think. Specifically the comments about how we can take very little information and create huge conclusions. 00:12 Imagine that you invented a device that can record my memories, my dreams, my ideas, and transmit them to your...
The Neurophysiology of Religion
This lesson on the Neurophysiology of Religion looks at the cognitive science that tries to understand how we process Religious Information.
Neurotheology
Iran J Neurol. 2014; 13(1): 52–55. PMCID: PMC3968360 PMID: 24800050 Neurotheology: The relationship between brain and religion Alireza Sayadmansourcorresponding author Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer This article has been...
17 Georgia Companies Make Forbes List of Best Employers
Georgia 6th District — Forbes released its annual rankings of the best employers in America for 2018. There were 17 Companies that might employ residents of the 6th District. This is important. We need to learn what makes these companies the "best" so other...
The Changes That Made California Become a Liberal Fiasco
Is America destined to become like California? Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey created a stir recently when he tweeted out an article calling for an end to bipartisanship and the beginning of nationwide, one-party rule—similar to the Golden State. He called it a “great read.”...
Trade War: China to Impose New Tariffs, As Trump Tweets His Stupid Response
China, which previously threatened tariffs on pork, fruit, and other commodities, today expanded the list to include soybeans, cars, and airplanes. The Bezos #FAKENEWS!!1! Washington Post reports: President Trump showed no sign Wednesday of backing down from an...
The Art of the Trump Trade Deal – Stephen Moore
Posted: Apr 03, 2018 12:01 AM The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent the views of Townhall.com. Is it possible that Donald Trump is winning on trade? Last week, Trump apparently delivered two underappreciated victories as a result of...
F. A. Hayek – The Use of Knowledge in Society
The complete essay from F. A. Hayek called: “The Use of Knowledge in Society.” It is a fundamental document our Learning Network uses to process information
I’m Not Saying Food Boxes Are a Bad Idea Because It Is Much Worse Than That
The real attraction of profoundly bad ideas is that they have the attraction of seeming logical and commonsense. For instance, a lot of conservatives are enamored of term limits. This looks appealing (once you assume away the fact that we do have term limits, we call...
Resist: New Poll Finds Voters Trust GOP Over Dems on Economy, Jobs, National Security, and Immigration – Guy Benson
In my post yesterday about freshly-announced benefits from tax reform -- here's another bummer for Pelosi and friends -- I warned that in spite of Americans' positivity on the economy and growing support for the GOP-passed law, outsized Democratic enthusiasm threatens...
Supreme Court may reverse precedents on unions, taxes, regulations
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court precedents that have stood the test of time for generations are in danger of falling like dominoes in the next few months. First on the chopping block is a 1977 ruling that allowed public employee unions to collect fees from non-members for...
5 Stocks That Could Be Hurt By Cryptocurrencies
Five companies that have been associated with cryptocurrencies are AMD, NVIDIA, Overstock, Square and TSMC. AMD, NVIDIA and TSMC provide hardware to mine the digital currencies while Overstock and Square accept them for payment. Bitcoin and workers with a pickaxe and...
How To Explain Cryptocurrencies And Blockchains To The Average Person
When a friend of Jamie Smith’s first urged her to work at a Bitcoin company, her first reaction was, "That’s criminal money, I want nothing to do with that." But once the former press officer for the White House began learning more about the cryptocurrency, she...
Forget Bitcoin, Here Comes EFTs
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are all the rage with investors — even as their prices have taken some big hits lately. So it should come as no surprise that there are now two exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, focused on blockchain technology, the digital ledger that...
Litecoin: All You Need to Know About This Cryptocurrency | Money
Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency, but as the first iteration of a revolutionary idea, it was born with notable drawbacks. For instance, one feature of Bitcoin’s blockchain-based currency — security guaranteed by a decentralized method of tracking transactions — is...
Bitcoin likely to ‘totally collapse’: Nobel laureate Robert Shiller says
Bitcoin will likely "totally collapse," Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller has told CNBC, adding that it reminds him of "tulip mania" centuries ago in the Netherlands. The Yale University professor said there are "bubbles everywhere," not just in bitcoin,...
Bitcoin is making a comeback – Business Insider
Cryptocurrency dip buyers have returned after Bitcoin crumbled through key support and hit a low of less than $10,000 overnight. But the gains seen earlier this morning have solidified in Asian trade, and Bitcoin has now bounced by almost 20% today off its overnight...
Fastest Growing Occupations
Fastest growing occupations: 20 occupations with the highest percent change of employment between 2014-24. Wind turbine service technicians - 108% - $51,050 per year Occupational therapy assistants - 43% - $57,870 per year Physical therapist assistants - 41%...
Talking to Conservatives
Conservative-Cartoon-Hitler-Trump-Liberals This is how we process information today. Dan Adams+1 Obama, the Democrats and Trump Derangement Syndrome Liberals are completely f***ed up in the head. Frank RobertsBrad, Clearly you miss the point of Fascism. Jews can be...
Torpy at Large: Tom Price, fiscal hawk / highfalutin flyboy
Metro Atlanta’s own Tom Price, the surgeon-turned-congressman-turned-U.S. Health Secretary, is now getting pummeled for flying around in private jets. Last week, the news site Politico detailed a three-day sprint for which Price spent more than $60,000 on such...
Karen Handel’s “I Am Not a Crook Moment”: “I Do Not Support a Livable Wage!”
Karen Handel's comment that she does not support a "Livable Wage" supports the narrative that Conservatives in general do not support the idea that poor people deserve any respect or consideration. This post from George Lakoff articulates the notion that how we view...
Trump Supporting Convenience Store Is Offering $50,000 Bounty For Kathy Griffin’s Head
Tweet A convenience store in Tennessee is featuring a scrolling digital sign outside the gas station offering $50,000 for Kathy Griffin’s head. Lewis Country Store’s Facebook page is littered with controversial messages in an attempt to garner attention. The store’s...
Interesting New Term – Streaming Analytics
I just learned a new term – Streaming analytics. Apparently streaming analytics is the application of analytics to data while it’s in motion, and before it’s stored – and includes data manipulation, normalization, cleansing and pattern of interest detection. Streaming...
The Trump Narrative
Since the election of Trump to POTUS I have questioned my ability to see reality. I struggle to understand the Trump Narrative. I completely agreed with Obama when he said, "Americans do not elect Donald Trump." And, wow, were we wrong! I just came across a story...
The Economic Inequality Is the Result of Understandable Political Forces Through Rent Seeking
A great post on Economics by Nobel Winner Joseph Stieglitz provides a lot of data for discussion. The title of the posts is "American Inequality Didn't Just Happen, It was Created." (Click here to read the post) Here are some of the things I liked about the post....
Trump Inauguration Use of America First
Something I have to say to my friends and family. For what it is worth. During Donald Trump’s campaign for president, Trump was repeatedly asked, by many in the Jewish community, to stop using the phrase “America First” to describe his foreign policy views. The reason...
What I think Today
I believe a Trump administration will do immense damage to America and the world. Unfortunately, we’re not just talking about four bad years. The damage will last for decades, maybe generations. The political damage will extend far into the future, too. Putin now is...
To Improve Health Care We need to Change the Incentive From Making Money off of Sick People to Improving the Health of the Patient
To Improve health care and reduce costs we need to change the incentive from making money off of sick people to improving the health of the patient. Tom Price has a plan for Health Care. His plan is to reduce transparency, reduce standards, and increase freedom to...
Morning Joe Host Joe Scarborough Says Trickle Down Economics is a Lie!
Joe Scarborough said on Tuesday that the working poor love Trump because Republicans have lied to their constituents for the last thirty years that wealth will trickle down to them if we help the wealthy by cutting taxes. This is not the first time Scarborough as said...
What is Wrong with the GOP “Pro-Growth Agenda.”
On February 4, 2016 House Republican leaders announced the formation of six committee-led task forces charged with developing a bold, pro-growth agenda. (For updates, visit speaker.gov/confidentamerica.) In and of itself, putting forth a pro-growth agenda is a great...
Ted Cruz’s 3 Prong Plan To Replace Obamacare Will Hurt Our Community
In the latest GOP Debate Ted Cruz was asked a great question about Healthcare and Obamacare. “Today there are millions of people who gained health insurance from Obamacare and they now rely on it. So the question, Sen. Cruz, if you repeal Obamacare, as you say you...
Taxes Are Not Theft – They Are Dues
Taxes are not theft, they are dues. They are dues to belong to the community. They are dues to maintain the common infrastructure required for the community to thrive. Dues are not theft because if you don't want to pay the dues to belong to the community you are...