Today, Victor Davis Hanson offers historical perspective and civic guidance in the wake of the tragic targeted killing of Charlie Kirk; Niall Ferguson shares how his understanding of 9/11 has shifted over time; and Simone D’Amico and coauthors stress the need for responsible management of the space surrounding Earth, and American leadership in space safety and sustainability.
Revitalizing American Institutions
Speaking on Fox Business in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk yesterday on a Utah college campus, Senior Fellow Victor Davis Hanson said that the targeted killing of journalists and political figures has been relatively rare in the United States relative to other countries, but that this shocking event amounts to a “crossing of the Rubicon” moment for the nation. Hanson situates the killing as the latest in a series of brazen acts of political violence in recent years, emphasizing that the lionization of perpetrators in such incidents has encouraged their repetition. Hanson reflects on Kirk’s unique political talents and meteoric rise within Republican Party grassroots organizing over the last decade. “He had a way of captivating the nation’s youth, and now he’s gone. . . . It’s tragic, but it’s also evil.” Considering the path forward for the nation, Hanson stresses the need for citizens to reject violence and vitriolic, ad hominem rhetoric while courageously calling out those who would pursue destruction at the expense of democracy and the free exchange of ideas. Watch here.
Revitalizing History
Writing in The Free Press, Senior Fellow Niall Ferguson chronicles how his understanding of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, has shifted over the twenty-four years since their occurrence. As the editors of The Free Press note in their introduction to the piece, in 2001, “Ferguson wrote that the attack was a result of complex historical trends—post-2000 economic downturn, the rise of American imperialism, and the fragmentation of ethnic pluralism in Western nations.” In his essay today, Ferguson says, “It has taken me all these years to understand that 9/11 really was a clash of civilizations. And it has taken me until this week finally to face the reality that ours is losing.” Ferguson’s sobering appraisal of the aftermath of 9/11 points to the rise of antisemitism in the US and UK, particularly among younger generations but spanning the political far left and far right, as a sign that consensus on fundamental civilizational values has frayed in the West. Ferguson also relates how additional reflection on the perspective of his wife and Hoover Institution colleague, Research Fellow Ayaan Hirsi Ali, has changed his view of the role of “religious zealotry” in motivating 9/11 and subsequent acts of terrorism. Read more here. [Subscription required]
Technology Policy Accelerator
A new Hoover Institution Press essay by Science Fellow Simone D’Amico and coauthors Tycho Bogdanowitsch and Rebecca Wang highlights the space sustainability paradox, where the increasing use of space to support global sustainability goals, like climate monitoring and disaster response, may itself lead to unsustainable conditions, both on Earth and in its orbit. The authors identify gaps in policy and in the technological capabilities necessary for addressing this challenge, and profile the relevant bodies, both national and international, who play a role in managing space traffic. The essay warns that without careful management now, continued proliferation of space traffic and generation of space debris could lead to catastrophic outcomes in which entire orbits are closed off for generations. The authors stress that both technological innovation and policy action are needed to resolve the space sustainability paradox, and that the United States must take the lead both on a national and international basis. Read more here.
Answering Challenges to Advanced Economies
“The best weapon to get competition with big firms that dominate is to allow competition, not to break up the big firms,” argues Research Fellow David R. Henderson in a new piece for Defining Ideas. “Either dominant firms will retain their dominance by remaining on the cutting edge and cutting costs, or they will lose their position to new competition. Either way, we consumers gain.” Henderson examines three major antitrust cases from the 20th and 21st centuries, involving the Aluminum Company of America (or Alcoa), International Business Machines (or IBM), and more recently, Google. Henderson emphasizes the role of competition in disciplining market participants, including firms with apparent monopoly power, and argues that facilitating competition offers a better approach to monopolies than attempting to break them up. In the piece, Henderson applies a bit of logic from his distinguished Hoover colleague in economics, Senior Fellow Thomas Sowell, who said, “I don’t have faith in the market; I have evidence about the market.” Read more here.
For the latest episode of Capitalism and Freedom in the Twenty-First Century, Policy Fellow Jon Hartley and Federal Reserve Board Governor Chris Waller discuss monetary policy at the Fed and the institution’s current policy stance. Prior to his appointment to the Board, Dr. Waller served as executive vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis since 2009. In addition to his experience in the Federal Reserve System, Dr. Waller served as a professor and the Gilbert F. Schaefer Chair of Economics at the University of Notre Dame. On the show, Hartley asks Waller about the 2025 Federal Reserve framework review, quantitative easing, and the size of the Fed balance sheet, as well as the early 2020s inflation and how payments are evolving since the passage of the GENIUS Act. The conversation offers a unique and timely window into the formulation of monetary policy in the United States. Watch or listen here.
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