Policy

Policy articles analyzing social and public policy including impacts on economics, open dialog, and social life. Articles on the topic of policy at Brownstone Institute are translated into multiple languages.

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The Nudge: Ethically Dubious and Ineffective

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By going with the grain of how we think and act, the state-employed ‘nudgers’ can covertly shape our behaviour in a direction deemed desirable by the regime of the day – an appealing prospect for any government. The ubiquitous deployment of these behavioural strategies – which frequently rely on inflating emotional distress to change behaviour – raises profound moral questions.

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Public Health Erred on the Side of Catastrophe

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Overreaching public health officials and politicians—and the journalists-in-name-only who served as their mindless, unquestioning megaphones—have fully earned our withering condemnation. Indeed, holding them accountable is essential to sparing ourselves and future generations from repeating this dystopian chapter of human history.

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The CDC Discovers Actual Public Health, Just in Time

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The CDC nowhere admits this much less apologizes for it. Two years in, the CDC seems to have rediscovered the traditional practice of public health, and has justified this new wisdom based on changed conditions, while never even bothering to claim that its previous measures and guidelines achieved anything along the way. 

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The Glorious Flop of New Zealand Virus Control

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New Zealand is the latest in a long list of countries to be hailed as showing the world the “right” way to prevent surges; to keep COVID under control. But as with masks, vaccine passports and “early” lockdowns, zero COVID never had a chance of working — despite the endless media and expert praise.

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A New Age of Barbarism

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The last two years have revealed to us what we would rather not have discovered, namely that freedom and rights, along with enlightened ideals and good science, are extraordinarily fragile. They are only guaranteed by a public that believes in them and is willing to stand up for them. When the cultural consensus in favor of liberty decays, terrible beasts are unleashed on the world. 

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Public Masking: A Symbol of Wealth and Status

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The disparity between Springfield and Northampton illustrates a clear socioeconomic divide among the enforcement of mask mandates. In a nation ruled by political will, rather than just laws, it is fair to say that in Springfield, and in the Springfields all across the country, liberty still thrives. Paper words and empty speeches have little relation to the everyday activity of residents, rendering the so-called mask mandate almost entirely illusory. 

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What Has Happened to My Beloved Canada?

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The shameful part, besides the politicians and Canadian media, has been seeing the Canadian police in action. Are they really Canadian? Or are these “thugs” that have been imported by Trudeau? I really have a hard time believing that the faces that are being hidden behind the black Gestapo-like masks really are Canadian. 

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