PHILOSOPHERS' CORNER

More Money Matters

We got another listener question, this time from Alicia in Berkley whose question is for Graham Hubbs, the guest on our recent episode, "(Why) Money Matters." Alicia asks about the government's ability to print money and its value and Graham answers.

#FrancisOnFilm: Downton Abbey

As a Downton Abbey neophyte, I cannot comment on whether the movie satisfactorily resolves the loose ends from the series, but I can say that it reveals social tensions rather than resolving them. Class is both idealized and undermined, and outsiders are both heralded and ultimately absorbed.

Radical Ideas about Markets

Is the market the key to freedom and prosperity? Don’t markets necessarily lead to economic inequality? Is it possible to make markets work better for everyone? This week we’re exploring Radical-market Solutions for Our New Gilded Age.

Repugnant Markets

There are many things that just shouldn’t be for sale at any price—human beings chief among them. You can’t legitimately sell what you don’t own in the first place. But there are many things that we do own the buying and selling of which are considered in some way abhorrent or repugnant and are therefore banned.

Are Bosses Like Dictators?

Do bosses operate like mini-monarchs of the workplace? In what ways does your boss have arbitrary, excessive power over your life? Why do we demand democracy in the political sphere, and yet give it up so quickly in the economic?