Capitolism

Every Wednesday, Scott Lincicome deciphers and explains how otherwise incomprehensible economic policies affect everyday Americans.

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Japanic! at the Steelco

U.S. Steel gives American protectionists just what they wanted … good and hard.

A Great Year for Free Market Capitalism in Film

Five movies that captured the thrill and agony of markets, dynamism, risk, and competition.

Washington Has Lost the (Updated) Script on China

Xi Jinping’s China is not nearly the unstoppable economic powerhouse that many predicted.

Offshore Headwinds

Economic realities can hurt. Government realities can make them fatal.

Eating Better (a Lot Better) Than Kings

How we arrived at this delicious state of affairs.

Of Course Thanksgiving Is the Best Holiday

Rigorous analysis reveals the undeniable superiority of stuffing, football, and gratitude.

A Clear-Eyed Look at Our Demographic Future

An aging U.S. population presents real, but manageable, challenges—if we’re willing to act.

The New Right Gets Mugged by an Old Reality

Economic nationalists champion interventionism, but they’re waking up to a harsh fact: Political opponents can wield it too.

The System Keeps Working (and the Alternative Is Predictably Failing)

‘Weaponizing globalization’ is a lot harder than it sounds.

The ‘Race-to-the-Bottom’ Myth Needs to Die

Globalization helps the world’s least developed countries.

Could Today’s Katalin Karikó Come to America?

The U.S. immigration system makes it too costly and time consuming for highly skilled immigrants to live and work here.

Americans’ Grim Views of the Decent U.S. Economy Are Perfectly Understandable

High prices for food and gas and elevated interest rates are more visible than more encouraging big-picture indicators.

The UAW (and Bidenomics) vs. Economic Reality

How policy fuels a needless conflict that may have no long-term winners.

The Farm Bill Is a Case Study in What’s Wrong With Washington

Just because legislation is bipartisan doesn’t make it good.

What Skeptics Get Wrong About ‘Globalization’

Spoiler: almost everything.

Trump’s Global Tariff Idea Is Obviously Terrible. Biden Helped Make It Possible.

The president has fought to maintain his predecessor’s policies.