Reason magazine - July 2023

In this issue

ADAM SMITH UNDERSTOOD THAT WE NEED EACH OTHER: The thinker’s views of human sympathy, beneficence, justice, and the division of labor still resonate. - VERNON SMITH

ADAM SMITH WASN’T A PROGRESSIVE: Stop quoting him out of context on taxation, education, and monopoly. - DAVID FRIEDMAN

MARKETPLACES FIND A WAY: Though history hasn’t always been kind, butchers, brewers, and bakers still thrive at urban markets. - M. NOLAN GRAY

POPPY SEEDS TRIGGER CHILD NEGLECT INVESTIGATIONS

BEFORE KATE L. gave birth to a baby girl last September, a nurse at New Jersey’s Hackensack University Medical Center collected a urine sample from the soon-to-be mother.

2 mins

DON'T 'PAUSE' A.I. RESEARCH

HUMAN BEINGS ARE terrible at foresight— especially apocalyptic foresight. The track record of previous doomsayers is worth recalling as we contemplate warnings from critics of artificial intelligence (A.I.) research.

3 mins

IS ENCOURAGING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION PROTECTED BY THE CONSTITUTION?

FEDERAL LAW PROHIBITS encouraging or inducing unlawful immigration for private financial gain. In March, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case, United States v. Hansen, that asks whether that law unconstitutionally abridges freedom of speech.

1 min

'Excited Delirium' is No Excuse for Police Abuse

A small change in wording by medical examiners could have a big impact on how deaths in police custody are reported. In March, the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) said “excited delirium” should not be cited as a cause of death.

2 mins

TRUMP'S NEW YORK INDICTMENT IS JUST THE BEGINNING

WHEN FORMER PRESIDENT Donald Trump arrived at a Manhattan courthouse on April 4, crowds of people and rows of TV cameras were there to witness an unprecedented moment: the first-ever arraignment of a former U.S. president. How quickly can something this important be relegated to the footnotes of American presidential history? We may be about to find out.

4 mins

BOMBING MEXICAN CARTELS WON'T STOP FENTANYL

AMERICANS CONTINUE TO overdose on illicit fentanyl despite increased seizures of the drug coming north from Mexico.

3 mins

THE GREAT EGG SHOCK

AS INFLATION RAISED prices on all manner of goods throughout 2022, eggs earned special attention. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the average price of a dozen eggs in urban areas rose from $1.92 in January 2022 to $4.82 in January 2023.

1 min

THE NEW RIGHT ISN'T SO NEW

IN THE CLOSING weeks of 1969, a debate broke out in the pages of National Review about how American conservatives should respond to the threat posed by the New Left—the expanded universe of socialists, civil rights activists, anti-war protesters, feminists, environmentalists, and other lefty radicals then making political waves. Fifteen months earlier, police and demonstrators had met in a bloody clash outside the Democratic National Convention.

5 mins

Adam Smith Understood That We Need Each Other

THE THINKER’S VIEWS OF HUMAN SYMPATHY, BENEFICENCE, JUSTICE, AND THE DIVISION OF LABOR STILL RESONATE.

10+ mins

Adam Smith Wasn't a Progressive

Stop quoting him out of context on taxation, education, and monopoly.

10+ mins

Adam Smith's Quiet Christianity

THE SCOTTISH THINKER’S FAMOUS FRIENDSHIP WITH DAVID HUME DEMONSTRATES HIS LIBERALISM, NOT HIS ATHEISM.

8 mins

Marketplaces Find a Way

THOUGH HISTORY HASN’T ALWAYS BEEN KIND, BUTCHERS, BREWERS, AND BAKERS STILL THRIVE AT URBAN MARKETS.

8 mins

Adam Smith's Sly American Proposal

SOMETIMES A PROPOSAL IS A LESSON IN DISGUISE.

10 mins

An Interview With Adam Smith No, not that Adam Smith.

On the occasion of his 300th birthday, Adam Smith—the Scottish Enlightenment luminary and so-called father of capitalism— was not available for comment, despite attempts to contact him via Ouija board and seance.

7 mins

GADGETS AND GIZMOS THAT INSPIRED ADAM SMITH

MEDITATIONS ON THE DANGEROUS, ALLURING BEAUTY OF INTRICATE SYSTEMS

6 mins

Flo Crivello Says A.I. Will Be Bigger Than the Internet

Flo Crivello is the founder and CEO of Lindy, a software company that has created an executive assistant powered by artificial intelligence (A.I.). Lindy can take care of your calendar, perform basic email correspondence, book travel, and take notes during meetings. The long-run goal is to automate as much work as possible and free up time for tasks that only humans can do.

2 mins

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