#36 – Bryan Caplan on Causes of Poverty and the Case for Open Borders

Bryan Caplan is Professor of Economics at George Mason University and the author of Open Borders, The Myth of the Rational Voter, The Case Against Education, and Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids.

In our interview, we discuss:

• Causes of poverty
• Charter cities
• The case for open borders
• Democracy — is it overrated? Why do voters keep choosing bad policies? Do democracies last longer, grow faster, and go to war less?
• Stable global totalitarianism
• Should longtermists care more about having more children? Is the cost of subsidising a new life competitive with the cost of saving a life?
• What the philosopher Michael Huemer gets right
• How many kids is Bryan counterfactually responsible for?
• Life lessons from Hairspray and The Room

You can read more about the topics we cover this episode's write-up: hearthisidea.com/episodes/bryan.

If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to get in touch through our website. Consider leaving us a review wherever you're listening to this — it's the best free way to support the show. If you want to support the show more directly, consider leaving a tip.

Thanks for listening!