Defining and defending the American economic system.
Defining and defending the American economic system.
In November 2021, my book There’s No Free Lunch: 250 Economic Truths was released. The book pulled timeless truths and wisdom from great economic masters and then added my own commentary to the current context. The objective was always simple: Root our understanding of economics in “first principles” — and break away from the Right’s multigenerational dependence on instinct and impulse. I have never been concerned that America’s knee-jerk fondness for the merits of free enterprise would disappear, only that it has become increasingly inadequate to win the battle for the hearts and minds of mankind.
At the core of our debate over economic policy is a debate about a vision for society and the very nature of the human person. A right-wing defense of free enterprise content with arguments for efficiency not only fails to animate those attracted to the utopian promises of progressivism, but it opens the door to “new Right” temptations that wrongly pit freedom against virtue.
I have taken the work of the book a step further and am pleased to announce the launch of a new digital video series, No Free Lunch, which will be released here on National Review Online, where we bring the debate back to “first things” — emphatically arguing that only by beginning our study of economics with the human person can we obtain a properly ordered vision for a market economy. Only in understanding that liberty and virtue are not in a trade-off, but rather, are an indispensable combination where the loss of one assures the loss of the other, can we advance the cause of human flourishing.
Over six episodes, our “talk show” style series invites renowned economists, policy-makers, educators, ministers, and public intellectuals into the cause. The first episode drops November 28, with two episodes airing every week until Christmas. The discussions are lively; the arguments are cogent; and the passion is real. A free and virtuous society cannot be defended without the right first principles. In No Free Lunch, we begin this rediscovery. I invite you to tune in at https://www.nationalreview.com/nofreelunch/.