Paradocracy

The deaths of Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner of Staten Island, New York, reveal not merely a growing police state, but also a certain apathy toward impersonal affairs and the lives of others. For most, these protests will remain yesterday's news, a forgotten fixture on local television stations and social media feeds. When it finally becomes personal for you, the time for action will have passed, and it will be too late. Law doesn't justify behavior. It can only artificially rationalize it and similarly administer guilt. In the end, we might want to ask ourselves, "Did man make himself criminal, or was that law's accomplishment? ” This year, articles abound in coverage of police brutality, racism, and discrimination. Social media pages are inundated with shared commentary, videos, and op-eds related to these cases. People across the nation scream for justice in the streets, on the sidewalks, and even on interstate highways, while college student...

By now, the mainstream consumer is all too aware of the collapse in crude oil prices. Crude oil futures continue to slide , reaching five-year lows and generating concerns about a deflationary death spiral. The future price of commodities and the nature of deflationary or credit-contractionary forces have been the topic of great contention and speculation. Without a well-equipped background in economic theory, investors are left playing darts in the dark, while the dartboard remains in the other room. Let's take a ride on the helicopter of heterodoxy to examine this economic scenario from a bird's-eye view. Upon completing this article, the reader will better understand the forces of the modern economy, and he or she will be well-equipped to describe the future of the dollar, how those commodities will be priced in it, and why deflation is the saver's reward for continued cost cutting, efficiency, and overall market-generated prosperity and greater economies of scale. I...