Amir Iraji



Articles by Amir Iraji

How Tariffs Block Entrepreneurial Discovery and Stall Progress

The standard economic argument against tariffs is that, by eliminating foreign competition, they simply raise prices for consumers. While true, this argument barely scratches the surface of the problem and overlooks a critical reality: tariffs and protectionist policies do far more than just raise prices—they block the entrepreneurial discovery process that is essential for progress.The problem with this perspective is that it is rooted in a static view of competition, drawn from mainstream economic models of perfect competition. This model defines competition as a market with numerous producers selling homogeneous goods, where none have any influence over price. Firms are seen as mere price takers, responding to market conditions rather than actively shaping them. In this framework,

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What Happened to Black Friday Chaos—and How the Market Solved It

Not long ago, Black Friday epitomized consumer frenzy. Crowds trampled one another at store entrances, shelves emptied in minutes, and shoppers battled over discounted goods with an intensity critics often likened to greed, desperation, and degradation. These chaotic scenes became a prime target for critics of capitalism, who accused the system of reducing human dignity to unchecked materialism.Naomi Klein famously described such behavior as the “logical endpoint of consumer capitalism,” arguing that corporations manipulate human desires to turn individuals into mindless buyers. Others claimed that Black Friday chaos stemmed from desperation caused by economic inequality, forcing low-income families to fight for deals they couldn’t otherwise afford. Labor advocates condemned the

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Overpopulation Reconsidered: A Decentralized Approach

Overpopulation has been a concern for a long time, sparking debates about humanity’s future, resource scarcity, and environmental degradation. The temptation to resort to centralized control measures is significant. However, a closer examination reveals two major problems with such an approach.The ethical problemThe violation of individual rights is the first issue. As Murray Rothbard explains in ‘The Ethics Of Liberty,’ individuals have an inherent right to own themselves and their property. Any violation of this right is unethical and unjust. Therefore, no entity, be it an individual or an organization, should have the authority to claim ownership over the entire human population and dictate its size.We’ve seen the devastating effects of ignoring this ethical principle throughout

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