On Fridays, we bring you the week’s best from around the web. This week’s collection includes commentary on the first GOP presidential debate, examples of creative destruction in today’s economy, and more.
“Why Some Bangladeshi Families Thrive on Microloans While Others Struggle (VIDEO)” by Juhi Desai, Jamal Hossain and Syed Zain Al-Mahmood, Wall Street Journal
“When my family fell on hard times, I thought about the skills I have with my hands. Instead of working outside, I thought I should start a business at home.”
“Millennials Can Rescue Cities from Their Leftist Rulers” by Stephen J.K. Walters, National Review
The plain fact is that the nature of firms like Uber and others in the Sharing Economy is disruptive, entrepreneurial, competitive, and non-bureaucratic. It is antithetical to the Soviet-style economic thinking that prevails on the left, and no amount of spin about the need to protect poor consumers or avoid the chaos of markets will alter that truth.
“A ‘Barn-Burner’: Pethokoukis Talks the GOP Debate on CNBC (VIDEO)“ featuring James Pethokoukis, AEI
On Friday morning, James Pethokoukis appeared alongside John Raines, US political analyst at IHS Country, on Worldwide Exchange to discuss the first GOP presidential debate. As he said, “Republicans wanted this [election] to wrap up early, and that is not going to happen.”
“The ‘Netflix Effect’ and Creative Destruction” by Mark Perry, AEIdeas
The success of Netflix is an excellent example of “creative destruction,” a term originated in the 1940s by economist Joseph Schumpeter, who described it as the “process of industrial mutation that incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new structure. This process of creative destruction is the essential fact about capitalism.” In fact, Netflix has been so disruptive to existing industries, that its impact is now being referred to by some as the “Netflix effect.” Here are a few examples of the “Netflix effect” and the industries that have been “Netflixed.”
“‘Polarization’ Is Liberal Code For ‘Just Surrender Already’” by Steven Hayward, The Federalist
Political polarization has become the chief topic—indeed, a near obsession—with the chattering class and “good government” types. Survey data and common-sense perception certainly testify to deep political and cultural divisions among Americans, which contribute to political gridlock in Washington and in many state capitals. But is there anything really new about our polarization? Are we more sharply or deeply divided than we were, say, in 1968, when student protestors virtually hounded Lyndon Johnson out of office with “Hey, hey, LBJ—how many kids did you kill today?”
