It has become a widely accepted tenet of modern economics that markets are flawed and need fixing by experts to engineer desired outcomes. At the Winter Games in PyeongChang, which just concluded, the International Olympic Committee appeared to take this conviction to extremes, trying to fill stands through highly restricted, targeted and convoluted ticket sales. The process arguably produced more empty seats than the bitter cold, lack of interest, or fear of North Korea did. Organizers of the 2

As South Korea basks in the afterglow of its second successful Olympic Games, it is important to note that another, equally special event is taking place soon after: the Paralympics. The first official Paralympics were held in Rome in 1960 with about 400 athletes competing from 23 countries in Summer Games such as track and field. The original idea behind the Paralympics was to honor and commemorate war veterans who had been wounded in combat. Unknown to most Koreans, the 1988 Seoul Olympics wer

China’s nearly 30 year experiment with time-limited government is officially coming to an end. The Chinese Communist Party has suggested amending China’s constitution to allow President Xi Jinping to serve more than two five-year terms. Considering that the party rules the country, and Xi rules the party, that means two things: The constitution will be amended. And Xi is going to be president for life, much like Mao Zedong or Deng Xiaoping.　From the standpoint of communism, this result isn’t ter

The murder of 17 students and teachers in Parkland, Florida, should cause all of us to ask, how many people must die before this country finally adopts meaningful gun control laws.　This, of course, is just the latest of so many instances of gun violence. They all share one feature in common: a disturbed man with a military-style semiautomatic weapon killing a large number of people in minutes.　Action to decrease gun violence is long overdue. Each year, more than 30,000 people in the United State

Amazon recently received patents for an “ultrasonic bracelet” that tracks workers’ movements. Pitched as a labor-saving device, they monitor how efficiently workers fill orders as well as giving them positive “haptic feedback” -- a little vibration -- as they reach for the correct bins, reducing unnecessary motion.　If this sounds a bit like planning to turn humans into robots, you are not alone; the news prompted a minor hysteria. However frightening, though, it’s hardly new. In fact, several lo

Faced with an unholy tonnage of chip bags, soda bottles, takeout containers and other disposable plastic items flowing into our landfills and our waters, winding up in wildlife, drinking water and food, policymakers in California have tried reining in plastic waste bit by bit. For example, more than 100 cities have adopted restrictions on polystyrene takeout containers, and the state has banned single-use plastic grocery bags.　Considering the magnitude of the problem, however, this item-by-item,

The Russian presidential election is such a formality that President Vladimir Putin won’t even be filmed for his own TV spots. One thing, though, Putin is keen to ensure before the election: that Russians’ real disposable incomes as measured by official statistics don’t decline. So the State Statistical Service has made sure of it.On Monday, the government agency reported that in January, the disposable income measure was unchanged from January 2017. To produce that result, it had to disregard a

Moviegoers have been going crazy over “Black Panther,” the new Marvel comic book superhero film. In addition to being a fun romp, the movie holds special emotional significance for many -- not just because of its mostly black cast, but because of its setting, Wakanda. A fictional country located somewhere in Africa, Wakanda avoided colonization by foreign powers, and is now wealthy and highly developed. That image speaks powerfully to many in the global African diaspora, and to many Africans as

What are the limits of inequality? In a world with virtual reality, history might be an unreliable guide.　Time was you could imagine a peasant revolt: If the poorest were starving, they wouldn’t wait around patiently for political change. Riots would disrupt the status quo. If things were really bad, the army might join in. Self-preservation would then compel elites to respond by redistributing wealth, rather than continuing to hoard resources. For a while, society would be more equal.　In the de

How do you like your cup of cancer in the morning? I take mine with fake sugar and skim milk. Lame, I know. But there’s no accounting for taste in carcinogens. Or, in this case, coffee.　You’ve probably seen the bemused headlines: “Coffee in California may soon come with a spoonful of cancer warnings.” There’s wacky California, doing its liberalism-through-regulation schtick again.　At issue is a lawsuit brought by the Council for Education and Research on Toxics against coffee purveyors such as S