FEEcast

Did you know the word “liberalism” used to mean the opposite of what it does now? In this episode, the FEEcast gang discuss how that happened as well as the meanings of the words “progressivism” and “socialism.” They also explore socialism in the real world. What has it done for the countries that came closest to implementing it? Do the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, etc) count as socialist successes? Richard Lorenc, Brittany Hunter, Dan Sanchez, and Anna Jane Parrill discuss these topics and more.

Show Notes:

• “The Epic Triumph of Liberalism and Its Tragic Betrayal” by Dan Sanchez
• “The Swedish Case for Limited Government” by Daniel J. Mitchell
• “Middle-of-the-Road Policy Leads to Socialism”: Chapter 2 in Planning for Freedom by Ludwig von Mises
• https://fee.org/resources/planning-for-freedom/
• https://fee.org/articles/mises-knew-the-true-meaning-of-liberalism/
• https://fee.org/articles/how-believing-in-socialism-can-make-you-miserable/

In this episode, FEEcast has its first guest! We welcome Sean Malone, Director of Media at FEE and creator of the hit YouTube video “What’s Wrong with Wakanda.” Sean and crew discuss what superheroes can teach us about economics, politics, and life itself.

Black Panther’s King T’Challa reigns over a sci fi paradise completely isolated from the rest of the world. But without trade, could a small country rise to prosperity, even if it was rich in a resources as wondrous as the fictional vibranium?

And in Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos wants to solve overpopulation by wiping out half of all life in the universe. Many internet commenters are strangely sympathetic toward the supervillain’s scheme (one writer conceded it was “technically genocide”). But does this betray backward economic reasoning (not to mention some serious ethical problems)?

Explore the economics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with FEEcast!

Show Notes:

• What’s Wrong with Wakanda, FEE on YouTube
• A Lot of People Agree with a Supervillain about Population | FEE.org
• Tons of 'Avengers: Infinity War' Fans Think Thanos Might Be Right, Inverse.com

McDonald’s in North Korea? Chinese dresses in Utah? Are such cross-cultural remixes cause for offense or celebration? Is militarism or trade the best answer to tyranny? Is cultural emulation a form of appropriation or appreciation? These questions and more are considered in this lively discussion with the whole FEEcast gang: Richard Lorenc, Brittany Hunter, Dan Sanchez, and Marianne March.

Show Notes:

• McDonalds on streets of North Korea: Kim Jong-un wants USA to invest in Pyongyang
• Conscience on the Battlefield | Leonard E. Read
• Want Peace? Promote Free Trade | Julian Adorney
• In North Korea, Black Markets Are Saving Lives | Richard Mason
• Venezuela Proves There is No Political Freedom Without Economic Freedom
• Chinese prom dress draws rage, but Utah student said she meant no harm
• Cultural Appropriation Is Love | TJ Brown
• Cultural Appropriation Is Intellectual Property on Stilts | Pierre-Guy Veer
• How Motown Smashed the Cultural Border | Sean Malone
• What's Wrong With Wakanda?

There’s a bomb that keeps ticking but never goes boom: the population bomb. For centuries, pessimists have predicted that population growth will overwhelm the planet’s resources and lead to an ecological armageddon. Yet, time and again, their doomsday prophecies have proven spectacularly wrong. Not only does the human race keep growing, but living standards keep going up, not down. Why do they keep underestimating humanity? They don’t understand that our ultimate resource is not anything in the ground. So what is it? Watch this episode of FEEcast to find out!

The Foundation for Economic Education proudly presents the inaugural episode of our new weekly show FEEcast, a lively and intelligent exploration of today’s most interesting stories and issues through the clarifying lens of economic thinking. In this episode, Richard Lorenc, Brittany Hunter, Dan Sanchez, and Marianne March discuss taxes (IRS.gov had a tax day meltdown!), wealth (#IdLikeToBeRichEnoughTo is trending on Twitter), and what made human prosperity, after millions of years of stagnation, skyrocket in recent history.

Links from this episode:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/irs-payment-site-fails-on-tax-day-but-you-still-have-to-pay/ar-AAvYXBI?ocid=spartandhp
https://twitter.com/hashtag/IdLikeToBeRichEnoughTo?src=tren
https://fee.org/articles/you-are-richer-than-john-d-rockefeller/
https://fee.org/articles/the-maddison-project-reveals-humanitys-remarkable-economic-progress-in-a-single-chart/
http://oll.libertyfund.org/quote/436