Using which instead of that. That introduces essential clauses while which introduces nonessential clauses. Consider the sentence Tools that have sharp edges can cause nasty cuts. If you remove the wo...
He is certainly not a good citizen who does not wish to promote, by every means in his power, the welfare of the whole society of his fellow citizens. That is Adam Smith talking, the apostle of laisse...
Your career is likely to bear more resemblance to that of a writer than that of an athlete or painter. You should look ahead to your forties as the time when you will be at your peak of creativity, te...
Family structure that produces the best outcomes for children, on average, are two biological parents who remain married. Divorced parents produce the next-best outcomes. Whether the parents remarry o...
When the country began, the Founders were unanimously of the opinion that their creation could work in practice only because of qualities that already existed in the American people—their honesty, ind...
Burlington, Vermont, is an example of a certain kind of small city that David Brooks calls Latte Towns, enclaves of affluent and well-educated people, sometimes in scenic locales such as Santa Fe or A...
Changing the new upper class by force majeure won’t work and isn’t a good idea in any case. The new upper class will change only if its members decide that it is in the interest of themselves and of t...
Corruption in the political process varies directly with the number and value of things that politicians have to sell. This
Discarding the welfare state in favor of a universal basic income is no longer something that would be economically feasible in America’s future. It is economically feasible right now.
During the second half of the twentieth century, the welfare state confronted accelerating increases in the number of people who were not just poor, but who behaved in destructive ways that ensured th...
For a discussion of the Founders’ view that a successful republic required a high level of virtue in the people, see Charles Murray, Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960–2012 (New York: Crow...
Nice and good are different. Being nice involves immediate actions and immediate consequences—you give water to the thirsty and comfort to the afflicted right here, right now. Being good involves livi...
Henceforth, federal, state, and local governments shall make no law nor establish any program that transfers general tax revenues to some citizens and not to others, whether those transfers consist of...
I have been drawn to Milton Friedman’s argument for a negative income tax (NIT) that entirely replaces the existing system of income transfers and social services. The quid pro quo would be that the g...
I propose another explanation: The reason so many Americans have become alienated from government since the poll of 1964 is that government really has become more incompetent and really has become ali...
There’s a lot to like about day-to-day life in the advanced welfare states of western Europe. They are great places to visit. But the view of life that has taken root in those same countries is proble...
If I’m wrong, and you find yourself in an organization where sucking up is in fact a good way to get ahead, look for a new job. It’s not a quality organization after all, no matter how glittering its...
In The Price of Admission, journalist Daniel Golden documents the ways in which elite schools manage to find room for the children of alums, big donors, celebrities, athletes, the elite college’s own...
In the decades ahead, a life well-lived will often have to be one that does not involve a job traditionally defined. A universal basic income will be an essential part of the transition to a world unl...
Inequality of wealth grounded in unequal abilities is different. For most of us, the luck of the draw cuts several ways: one person is not handsome, but is smart; another is not as smart, but is indus...
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