Brian Callaci is chief economist at the Open Markets Institute and a visiting adjunct assistant professor of economics at John Jay College, City University of New York.
The economist Joseph Stiglitz has long criticized neoliberalism without embracing nationalism or chauvinism. His latest, The Road to Freedom, reclaims the concept for progressive forces but fails to adequately examine unfreedom in the workplace.
Last month, the Biden administration announced it would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, prompting right-wing hysteria about price controls. Yet Biden’s plans don’t go far enough: the state should fund R&D to further cut costs.
For two years, centrists have mocked claims that profiteering is in part to blame for price hikes. But the history of food inflation during World War I, and the riots that halted it, show how capitalists take advantage of consumer expectations to price gouge.