Épisodes

  • Perspectives on Peace – From Milorg to El Salvador: Kenneth Boulding’s Lessons on War and Peace

    Perspectives on Peace – From Milorg to El Salvador: Kenneth Boulding’s Lessons on War and Peace
    Dec 10 2025
    On this episode, Chris Coyne speaks with Brigitta Jones, Nathan Goodman, and Karla Segovia about Kenneth Boulding’s insights on war, peace, and the political economy of conflict applied to contemporary questions about military organization and the dynamics of civil conflict.First, Jones discusses her coauthored paper with Coyne, “The Political Economy of Milorg,” which uses Boulding’s concept of Milorg to examine the entanglement of public agencies and private firms in the military sector. She highlights how knowledge problems, incentives, and political processes shape what the military produces and how those decisions affect the broader economy. Goodman and Segovia then join Coyne to discuss their paper, “Unstable Peace in El Salvador,” coauthored with Abby Hall. Drawing on Boulding’s framework, they examine how shifting expectations, beliefs, and “taboo lines” eroded the country’s fragile peace, highlighting how strains such as land concentration, poverty, repression, and escalating violence contributed to the outbreak of civil war.Together, these conversations illustrate how Boulding’s insights illuminate both the functioning of the modern military-industrial landscape and the complex processes through which societies move between peace and war. This is the third episode in a short series of episodes that will feature a collection of authors who contributed to the volume 1, issue 2 of the Markets & Society Journal or to a forthcoming special issue from The Review of Austrian Economics.**This episode was recorded October 27, 2025.Brigitta Jones is a PhD student in Economics at George Mason University. Her research interests include the welfare state of the United States.Dr. Nathan P. Goodman is a Senior Research Fellow and Senior Fellow with the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. His research broadly focuses on political economy, public choice, market process economics, New Institutional Economics, and defense economics.Dr. Karla Segovia is a program manager for Research & Programs and a Research Fellow with the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where she works on the Markets & Society conference and journal. She is also an adjunct professor at Northern Virginia Community College.Show Notes:Kenneth Boulding’s book, Stable Peace (University of Texas Press, 1978)Kenneth Boulding’s book, The Image: Knowledge in Life and Society (University of Michigan Press, 1956).U.S. Congressional Testimony by Kenneth Boulding (1969)If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium
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    46 min
  • Inside the Moral and Political Economy Program at Johns Hopkins University with Burgin, Halliday, and Liu

    Inside the Moral and Political Economy Program at Johns Hopkins University with Burgin, Halliday, and Liu
    Nov 26 2025
    On this episode, Peter Boettke chats with Angus Burgin, Simon Halliday, and Glory Liu to explore their innovative work at the Center for Economy and Society and the creation of a new undergraduate program in Moral and Political Economy. They dive into the revival of political economy as a cross-disciplinary field, the pedagogical innovations shaping the next generation of thinkers, the coming 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, and more.Dr. Angus Burgin is Associate Professor of History and Founding Director of the Program in Moral and Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University. He serves as Co-Executive Editor of the book series, Intellectual History of the Modern Age, and he is the author of The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free Markets since the Depression (Harvard University Press, 2015).Dr. Simon Halliday is Associate Research Professor and Associate Director in the Center for Economy and Society at Johns Hopkins University. He is the co-author (with Sam Bowles) of an intermediate microeconomics textbook, Microeconomics: Competition, Conflict and Coordination (Oxford University Press, 2022).Dr. Glory Liu is Assistant Professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University. She is the author of Adam Smith’s America: How a Scottish Philosopher became an Icon of American Capitalism (Princeton University Press, 2022).Show Notes:John Hopkins University’s BA in Moral + Political EconomyCore EconAdam Smith’s book, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Liberty Fund, 1982)Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s book, Women and Economics (Small, Maynard & Company, 1898)Tim Rogan’s book, The Moral Economists: R. H. Tawney, Karl Polanyi, E. P. Thompson, and the Critique of Capitalism (Princeton University Press, 2018)Warren Samuels’ paper, “Adam Smith and the Economy as a System of Power”**This episode was recorded October 30, 2025.If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium
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    1 h et 1 min
  • Perspectives on Peace – Kenneth Boulding and the Everyday Practice of Peace

    Perspectives on Peace – Kenneth Boulding and the Everyday Practice of Peace
    Nov 12 2025
    On this episode, Chris Coyne speaks with Michael Romero, Mikayla Novak, and Anna Claire Flowers about the enduring influence of Kenneth Boulding on how we understand peace and cooperation. Romero discusses his paper “Markets as a Peace Lab,” coauthored with Virgil Storr, which explains how markets act as spaces where individuals cultivate trust, empathy, and peaceful exchange. Novak joins to discuss her paper “Kenneth Boulding’s The Image: A Cognitive Basis for Peace Entrepreneurship,” connecting Boulding’s insights on human cognition to the creative work of fostering peace. In the final part of the episode, Coyne and Flowers reflect on their coauthored paper “The Family and the Stable Peace,” highlighting how the family serves as a training ground for the habits and relationships that sustain cooperation. Together, these conversations show how Boulding’s vision of peace continues to shape research on economics, society, and human flourishing.This is the second episode in a short series of episodes that will feature a collection of authors who contributed to the volume 1, issue 2 of the Markets & Society Journal or to a forthcoming special issue from The Review of Austrian Economics.Dr. Michael R. Romero is Professor of Economics and Business at Thales College. Previously, he was an associate program director for Academic & Student Programs and a Research Fellow for the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He is an alum of the Mercatus PhD Fellowship.Dr. Mikayla Novak is a Senior Fellow with the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She is a contributing editorial board member of Cosmos + Taxis and recently was the editor of Liberal Emancipation: Explorations in Political and Social Economy (Springer Nature, 2025).Anna Claire Flowers is a PhD student in Economics at George Mason University and is currently a fellow in the Mercatus PhD Fellowship. Her research interests include family economics, in particular the economic significance of family relationships and the economic factors that influence family decision-making.Show Notes:Kenneth Boulding’s book, Stable Peace (University of Texas Press, 1978)Kenneth Boulding’s book, The Image: Knowledge in Life and Society (University of Michigan Press, 1956).Elise Boulding’s book, Cultures of Peace (Syracuse University Press, 2000)Learning for Peace Initiative | United Nations Children’s FundThe Review of Austrian EconomicsF.A. Hayek’s book, The Sensory Order: An Inquiry into the Foundations of Theoretical Psychology (The University of Chicago Press, 1952)Gerald P. O’Driscoll and Mario Rizzo’s book, The Economics of Time and Ignorance (Routledge, 1996)Israel Kirzner’s book, The Meaning of the Market Process: Essays in the Development of Modern Austrian Economics (Routledge, 1992)If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium
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    1 h et 28 min
  • Nina Bandelj — 2023 Markets and Society Conference Keynote

    Nina Bandelj — 2023 Markets and Society Conference Keynote
    Oct 29 2025

    On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, Nina Bandelj delivers a keynote lecture at the 2023 Markets & Society conference on the social life of money for children. Drawing on research about what she calls the “parenting economy,” she shows that parents increasingly treat children as human capital investments, using savings plans, loans, and educational spending to secure their futures. Bandelj argues that the financialization of family life reflects parental pressures and social inequality, calling for children to be seen as a shared public responsibility rather than private investments.

    Dr. Nina Bandelj is Chancellor's Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine and the President of the Sociological Research Association. Her articles have been published in top discipline and specialty journals such as the American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, Social Forces, Theory and Society, and Socio-Economic Review. She has published various books, including Overinvested: The Emotional Economy of Modern Parenting (Princeton University Press, forthcoming), Money Talks: Explaining How Money Really Works (Princeton University Press, 2017) coauthored with Frederick Wherry and Viviana Zelizer), and Socialism Vanquished, Socialism Challenged: Eastern Europe and China, 1989-2009 (Oxford university Press, 2012) coedited with Dorothy Solinger.

    **This lecture was recorded October 22, 2023 at the second annual Markets & Society conference.

    If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

    Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!

    Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgram

    Follow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatus

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    45 min
  • Perspectives on Peace — Peter Boettke on the Life and Legacy of Kenneth E. Boulding

    Perspectives on Peace — Peter Boettke on the Life and Legacy of Kenneth E. Boulding
    Oct 15 2025
    On this episode, Chris Coyne and Peter Boettke explore the life and legacy of economist Kenneth E. Boulding, Boettke's former professor and mentor. Boettke recalls his experiences in Boulding's Great Books in Economics course and their conversations outside of class about peace, economics, and poetry. The conversation outlines Boulding’s path from studying chemistry at Oxford and an unusually early publication in the Economic Journal to his formative time in Chicago with Frank Knight and his later academic years. Coyne and Boettke discuss why no “Boulding school” emerged, how Boulding's ideas can and are still inspiring new research on institutions, civil society, and peace, and more.This is the first episode in a short series of episodes that will feature a collection of authors who contributed to the volume 1, issue 2 of the Markets & Society Journal or to a forthcoming special issue from The Review of Austrian Economics. Dr. Peter Boettke is Director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and a Distinguished University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University. He has published numerous books, including The Historical Path to Liberty and Human Progress (Universidad Francisco Marroquín Press, 2025) coauthored with Rosolino Candela, The Socialist Calculation Debate: Theory, History, and Contemporary Relevance (Cambridge University Press, 2024) coauthored with Rosolino Candela and Tegan Truitt, and The Struggle for a Better World (Mercatus Center, 2021).Show Notes:Kenneth Boulding’s article, “After Samuelson, Who needs Smith?” (History of Political Economy, 1971)James Buchanan’s article, “What Should Economists Do?” (SEJ, 1964)Frank Knight’s article, “The Theory of Investment Once More: Mr. Boulding and the Austrians” (QJE, 1935)Kenneth Boulding’s book, The Image (University of Michigan Press, 1969)Kenneth Boulding's AEA address, "Economics as a Moral Science" (The American Economic Review, 1969)Kenneth Boulding’s book, Stable Peace (University of Texas Press, 1978)Kenneth Boulding’s book, Three Faces of Power (SAGE Publications, 1990)Albert Hirschman’s book, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States (Harvard University Press, 1972)Raghuram Rajan’s book, The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind (Penguin Press, 2020)Center for Research on Conflict ResolutionJournal of Conflict Resolution**This episode was recorded September 10, 2025.If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium
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    1 h et 19 min
  • Chandran Kukathas on Capitalism, Human Nature, and the Meaning of Life

    Chandran Kukathas on Capitalism, Human Nature, and the Meaning of Life
    Oct 1 2025

    On this episode, Chandran Kukathas delivers a lecture at the Mercatus Center on capitalism, human nature, and the meaning of life.

    Kukathas argues that capitalism is less a fixed system than a constantly evolving set of rules and relationships, shaped by our restless desire to transform the world. He shows how politics, rent-seeking, and shifting definitions of capital are woven into its fabric, making it impossible to separate “pure markets” from the social and political contexts in which they operate.

    Kukathas challenges both critics and defenders who treat capitalism as the source of every social ill or success, urging instead a sober recognition of human limits, the diversity of our ends, and the case for modest, freedom-preserving reforms.

    Dr. Chandran Kukathas is Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Political Science at School of Social Sciences at Singapore Management University and a Distinguished Affiliated Fellow at the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center. He is the author of many books, including Dialogues on Immigration and the Open Society (Routledge, 2025) and The Liberal Archipelago: A Theory of Diversity and Freedom (Oxford University Press, 2007).

    Show Notes:

    • Thomas Hobbes’ book, Leviathan
    • G.A. Cohen’s book, Why Not Socialism?
    • Elijah Millgram’s book, The Great Endarkment
    • Alasdair MacIntyre’s book, After Virtue

    **This lecture was recorded August 13, 2025.

    If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

    Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!

    Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgram

    Follow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatus

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    52 min
  • Michael Clemens on the Trillion-Dollar Question of Immigration

    Michael Clemens on the Trillion-Dollar Question of Immigration
    Sep 17 2025

    On this episode, Nathan Goodman is joined by Michael Clemens to discuss why immigration policy matters not just for migrants themselves but for broader economic growth. Drawing on his influential work, including “Economics and Emigration: Trillion-Dollar Bills on the Sidewalk?” (JEP, 2011) and “The Place Premium: Bounding the Price Equivalent of Migration Barriers” (REStat, 2019), Clemens explains how even modest liberalization of migration can create enormous gains, why exchange is positive-sum, and how complementary skills across the workforce drive production. Together they assess the claim that immigration undermines culture and institutions and revisit historical panics ranging from the Chinese Exclusion Act to the Dillingham Commission.

    Dr. Michael Clemens is a professor in the Department of Economics at George Mason University and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He helped build the research program on international migration at the Center for Global Development.

    Show Notes:

    • Samuel Bazzi, et al., “The Confederate Diaspora” (NBER, 2025)
    • Timur Kuran’s book, Freedoms Delayed: Political Legacies of Islamic Law in the Middle East (Cambridge University Press, 2023)
    • Chloe N. East, et al., “The Labor Market Effects of Immigration Enforcement” (Journal of Labor Economics, 2023)
    • Mexican Migration project

    If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

    Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!

    Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgram

    Learn more about Academic & Student Programs

    Follow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatus

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    58 min
  • Chandran Kukathas on "Dialogues on Immigration and the Open Society"

    Chandran Kukathas on "Dialogues on Immigration and the Open Society"
    Sep 3 2025
    On this episode, Peter Boettke chats with political theorist Chandran Kukathas on his latest book, Dialogues on Immigration and the Open Society(Routledge, 2025), which addresses the most important ethical and political questions about immigration and aims to teach by questioning rather than preaching. He urges conceptual clarity about terms like “civilization,” “state,” and “immigration,” and argues that framing debates strictly as “justice” disputes is unhelpful amid deep moral disagreement. Building on his book, Immigration and Freedom, he warns that immigration control often curtails citizens’ freedoms and highlights how restrictive policies can create a hostile climate toward migrants even where overall public support for immigration remains strong.Dr. Chandran Kukathas is Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Political Science at School of Social Sciences at Singapore Management University and a Distinguished Affiliated Fellow at the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center. He is the author of many books, including Immigration and Freedom (Princeton University Press, 2021) and The Liberal Archipelago: A Theory of Diversity and Freedom (Oxford University Press, 2007).Show Notes:F.A. Hayek’s book, New Studies in Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and the History of IdeasF.A. Hayek’s book, Law, Legislation, and Liberty: Volume 19John Rawls’ book, A Theory of JusticeMilton and Rose Friedman’s book, Free to ChooseFree To Choose: The Original 1980 TV SeriesDavid Schmidtz’s book, Elements of JusticeStephen Macedo’s book, Liberal VirtuesMichael Clemens’ paper, “Why Don't Remittances Appear to Affect Growth?” (The Economic Journal, 2018)If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium
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    1 h et 7 min