Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe

“As all of this has unfolded in the last three weeks — the surprise attack during negotiations, the violent deaths of Iranian civilians as a result of US and Israeli bombs, and the credible threats of escalations that would significantly intensify civilian deaths — anyone who has voiced any concern about the ethics of any of this has been either dismissed by the administration and its supporters as a naïve utopian pacifist or demonized as a serious internal impediment to an operation that will finally bring about the kind of lasting regional peace that virtually everyone claims to desire. But ethics matter, especially in war. War is no trivial subject. It’s violence on the widest scale. At their best, wars can throw off the worst tyrannies and liberate the oppressed. But they can also bring about the worst atrocities.” (03/25/26)

https://mises.org/mises-wire/immorality-trumps-war-iran-matters

Source: EconLog
by Dennis C Rasmussen

“Much of Book 3 is dedicated to a historical account of how and why the feudal order that prevailed throughout Europe for many centuries eventually gave way to a liberal, commercial order—that is, how a world dominated by hierarchy, dependence, and intrastate conflict was superseded by one in which the rule of law reigned and people enjoyed comparative freedom and safety. Smith’s account of how the feudal lords squandered their immense power for the sake of frivolous luxuries has become a famous one.” 903/25/26)

https://www.econlib.org/library/columns/y2026/rasmussen-wn250-3

Source: The Daily Economy
by Satya Marar

“Two years after the European Union (EU)’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) took effect, the results have been mixed to negative. Promises about certainty, lower enforcement costs, and a more innovative and competitive digital ecosystem haven’t materialized. Rather than learn from Europe’s mistakes, Californian policymakers and federal proponents of Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)’s American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) would import similar ideas to ostensibly help small businesses and hold tech giants accountable. The EU’s experience shows that DMA-style proposals aren’t just unlikely to achieve these goals. They’re also likely to harm consumers, competition, and innovation.” (03/25/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-eus-digital-markets-act-failed-why-are-us-politicians-copying-it/

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Martin Di Caro

“This is a story of the unintended consequences of a Pyrrhic victory celebrated 35 years ago as a history-making triumph. As the U.S. fights its latest war in the Persian Gulf — this time against Iran, the country that benefited most from Saddam Hussein’s demise — it’s a good moment to reflect on Operation Desert Storm. That intervention now appears to have been an avoidable war that set the United States on a disastrous course from which it has failed to extricate itself. What seemed like a clean victory in 1991 has turned into a strategic quagmire.” (03/25/26)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/persian-gulf-war-iran/

Source: Grist
by Jake Bittle & Rebecca Egan McCarthy

“The government is paying TotalEnergies to halt a wind farm it isn’t building, in exchange for fossil fuel investments it’s already making.” (03/25/26)

https://grist.org/politics/trump-interior-offshore-wind-total/