Recommended Policy and Economics Periodicals by Dan Klein
The dominant political culture of America is very statist. Time, Newsweek, NY Times, NPR, PBS, and almost everything on NBC, CSB, and ABC (except for John Stossel) generally support or acquiesce in big government. On the liberty-versus-government-control gridiron, they tend to limit discourse to the 40 yard lines. They tend to report news as what Paul Weaver calls stories of "crisis and emergency government response" (News and the Culture of Lying, The Free Press, 1994).
Libertarian political thought and culture naturally faces a tension between appealing to mainstream discourse and speaking frankly. Libertarians often function at the 30 yard lines even though their hearts and minds are much closer to the state’s endzone.
* especially recommended.
Functioning between the state’s 20-30 yard lines:
* Reason. An excellent monthly magazine covering policy and culture. As is generally true of the libertarian press, Reason doesn’t bother with politics in the narrow sense – personalities, scandals, campaigns, and other ephermera. It provides serious, substantive journalism about policy and affairs informed by Hayekian political economy. Because it strives (admirably) to address a larger, more mainstream audience, it refrains from cutting throats and really cutting loose. It is the movement’s outreach magazine.
Cato Journal. A quarterly of good scholarship on policy.
Policy Analysis, Policy Briefs, from Cato. Up-to-date, Washington, DC oriented, stand-alone reports and studies on current policy issues. The range of subjects is vast. Usually authored by people who really know and address the nuts and bolts of policy.
* Regulation. An excellent review of national policy. Strives to feature high-profile researchers and is becoming more highly respected among academics.
Functioning between the state’s 10-20 yard lines:
* Ideas on Liberty. A highly unique monthly. It is not a news forum, but rather an intellectual enterprise that mixes policy analysis with application and development of elemental principles of Smith-Mises-Hayek political economy. Formerly called The Freeman, it is the longstanding monthly of the Foundation for Economic Education, which for 55 years has taught political economy to the "Everyman." Sheldon Richman, a wise and learned generalist, edits the journal unafraid to show that common sense and common decency often have radical libertarian implications. The applications are often quite creative and striking, so the periodical often delivers new insights even to old hands.
* The Independent Review: A Journal of Political Economy. Edited by the great economic historian Robert Higgs, this quarterly artfully straddles the realms of solid policy analysis and serious political-economy scholarship. Carefully edited to serve the general reader, it demonstrates that serious political economy is rooted in analysis of actual policies and institutions. I think it is the best scholarly journal in the discipline of political economy.
Cavorting on the state’s 2 yard line:
* Liberty magazine. An irreverent, often uproarious libertarian take on the American scene. Lampooning rather than catering to the mainstream, Liberty often is the first to come up with the fresh and striking ideas. Bill Bradford, the editor, is a real, if somewhat erratic, talent. (And is difficult to work with!) The monthly draws on a circle of regular contributors, including several accomplished scholars. It has a feel and charm of its own.
Functioning between the state’s 30-39 yard lines:
The following receive mention because they are somewhat better than those at the 40 yard line. Occasionally they even use the word "liberty" and say it is a good thing.
The American Enterprise. Anxious to see the Republicans prevail over the Democrats, this magazine focuses on politics, policy and culture from a small-government conservative perspective. I enjoy paging through it. It is well produced and often features libertarian writers. But sometimes I have to hold my nose at its cultural complaints and way-of-life agenda. Published eight times a year by the American Enterprise Institute.
The Public Interest A quarterly from the "neoconservatives," people who generally recognize that the state is a sham but don’t oppose it consistently. I think they are sort of elitists and think of themselves as custodians of the "national culture" or "national experience". At any rate, this quarterly, mostly in favor of reducing government, is extremely well written and well produced; serious and substantive yet accessible.
Wall Street Journal Op-ed Page. Rather like The American Enterprise or The Public Interest in outlook. (Only the op-ed page rises above the mainstream political culture – the rest of the paper tends to have conventional perspectives.)
Recommended Blogs:
MarginalRevolution. George Mason University Economics Professors Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok sustain a prime look-out on the social science scene, scouting out and summarizing new interesting findings and results. I am not one to read blogs, and maybe I read this one because Cowen and Tabarrok are personal friends of mine. But I read it avidly everyday.
I also read the excellent blog by the Hayekian critic of urban and regional statism Peter Gordon
Another Great Resource:
Concise Encyclopedia of Economics