Tarnell Brown
@eccentricecon.com
1. Classical liberalism was never pacifism; it was about taming power so law and markets could survive, not pretending power doesn’t matter in Ukraine.
www.eccentricecon.com/p/classical-...
www.eccentricecon.com/p/classical-...
Classical Liberalism at the Front Line
Why a tradition built on law, markets, and sovereignty cannot shrug at Russia’s war in Ukraine
www.eccentricecon.com
January 9, 2026 at 11:48 PM
1. Classical liberalism was never pacifism; it was about taming power so law and markets could survive, not pretending power doesn’t matter in Ukraine.
www.eccentricecon.com/p/classical-...
www.eccentricecon.com/p/classical-...
Sometimes one is tempted to say "to Hades with the analysis," and instead simply scream "THIS IS JUST FUCKING WRONG" into the void.
Then one takes a deep breath and explains the institutional incentives as one has a duty to do.
Then one takes a deep breath and explains the institutional incentives as one has a duty to do.
January 8, 2026 at 3:44 AM
Sometimes one is tempted to say "to Hades with the analysis," and instead simply scream "THIS IS JUST FUCKING WRONG" into the void.
Then one takes a deep breath and explains the institutional incentives as one has a duty to do.
Then one takes a deep breath and explains the institutional incentives as one has a duty to do.
Reposted by Tarnell Brown
Recent tragic events further strengthen the case for abolishing ICE. See my proposal for how to do it:
thehill.com/opinion/immi...
thehill.com/opinion/immi...
thehill.com
January 8, 2026 at 2:39 AM
Recent tragic events further strengthen the case for abolishing ICE. See my proposal for how to do it:
thehill.com/opinion/immi...
thehill.com/opinion/immi...
1. An ICE officer shot a woman in the head on a Minneapolis street. DHS calls it self‑defense. The mayor watched the video and called that story bullshit.
www.eccentricecon.com/p/the-americ...
www.eccentricecon.com/p/the-americ...
The American Gestapo Is a Budget Line
ICE calls it self‑defense. The incentives say otherwise.
www.eccentricecon.com
January 7, 2026 at 11:01 PM
1. An ICE officer shot a woman in the head on a Minneapolis street. DHS calls it self‑defense. The mayor watched the video and called that story bullshit.
www.eccentricecon.com/p/the-americ...
www.eccentricecon.com/p/the-americ...
1. Threatening to seize Greenland isn’t strength. It’s how a liberal hegemon starts looking like just another empire—and invites the world to plan for life after U.S. leadership.
www.eccentricecon.com/p/the-greenl...
www.eccentricecon.com/p/the-greenl...
The Greenland Grab: How America Would Trade a Liberal Order for One Island
Washington's Greenland Gambit Would Break the Liberal Order It Claims to Defend
www.eccentricecon.com
January 7, 2026 at 3:31 PM
1. Threatening to seize Greenland isn’t strength. It’s how a liberal hegemon starts looking like just another empire—and invites the world to plan for life after U.S. leadership.
www.eccentricecon.com/p/the-greenl...
www.eccentricecon.com/p/the-greenl...
This is a very important concept to integrate into our thinking. Nothing less than the future of our republic depends on it.
Updated version of my article "Immigration is Not Invasion" now on SSRN. It adds more evidence & addresses recent events, such as claim that fentanyl is WMD and Trump's Venezuela intervention. None of this makes illegal migration or drug smuggling an "invasion" of US: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Immigration is Not Invasion
<div>
In recent years, state governments and the second Trump Administration have increasingly advanced the argument that illegal migration and cross-border dr
papers.ssrn.com
January 5, 2026 at 8:52 PM
This is a very important concept to integrate into our thinking. Nothing less than the future of our republic depends on it.
Reposted by Tarnell Brown
My take on Venezuela attack: Maduro is getting what he deserves, even if for wrong reasons. But Trump's attack is illegal because lacking congressional authorization. And whether beneficial regime change will ultimately occur is far from clear: reason.com/volokh/2026/...
Thoughts on the Capture of Maduro and Trump's Attack on Venezuela
Last night, US forces launched strikes on Venezuela and seized that country's dictator Nicolas Maduro, bringing him back to…
reason.com
January 3, 2026 at 7:27 PM
My take on Venezuela attack: Maduro is getting what he deserves, even if for wrong reasons. But Trump's attack is illegal because lacking congressional authorization. And whether beneficial regime change will ultimately occur is far from clear: reason.com/volokh/2026/...
1. Maduro’s ouster ends a brutal, lawless regime – but that doesn’t mean Washington should “run” Venezuela from the outside.
www.eccentricecon.com/p/regime-cha...
www.eccentricecon.com/p/regime-cha...
Regime Change Without Liberalism
Why classical liberals should cheer Maduro’s capture but fear Trump’s pledge to “run” Venezuela and oversee its corporate reconstruction.
www.eccentricecon.com
January 3, 2026 at 7:24 PM
1. Maduro’s ouster ends a brutal, lawless regime – but that doesn’t mean Washington should “run” Venezuela from the outside.
www.eccentricecon.com/p/regime-cha...
www.eccentricecon.com/p/regime-cha...
1. Milei’s “chainsaw” cut inflation and the budget—but poverty and social pain exploded, and the streets are paying the price.
www.eccentricecon.com/p/argentinas...
www.eccentricecon.com/p/argentinas...
Argentina’s Libertarian Illusion
How Milei’s corruption, expanding security state, and Trump-fueled bailout victory risk discrediting markets and liberty along with his government.
www.eccentricecon.com
January 3, 2026 at 2:41 AM
1. Milei’s “chainsaw” cut inflation and the budget—but poverty and social pain exploded, and the streets are paying the price.
www.eccentricecon.com/p/argentinas...
www.eccentricecon.com/p/argentinas...
1. When a black-box model decides who gets a house key, it is exercising power over people’s lives that no serious classical liberal should shrug off.
www.eccentricecon.com/p/liberty-at...
www.eccentricecon.com/p/liberty-at...
Liberty at the Algorithm’s Edge
How to pursue justice in housing markets when the math won’t let us be perfectly fair
www.eccentricecon.com
December 26, 2025 at 5:34 AM
1. When a black-box model decides who gets a house key, it is exercising power over people’s lives that no serious classical liberal should shrug off.
www.eccentricecon.com/p/liberty-at...
www.eccentricecon.com/p/liberty-at...
1. Immigration restrictions are the new color bar: a costly way for insiders to feel protected while the whole economy shrinks.
open.substack.com/pub/eccentri...
open.substack.com/pub/eccentri...
Immigration and the New Color Bar
How Becker and Hutt expose the economic self-sabotage behind modern exclusion.
open.substack.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:46 PM
1. Immigration restrictions are the new color bar: a costly way for insiders to feel protected while the whole economy shrinks.
open.substack.com/pub/eccentri...
open.substack.com/pub/eccentri...
Please subscribe. I have no clue yet how to differentiate between what should be free vs paid content, but in any case, more subscribers equals more inspiration.
Meanderings of an Eccentric Economist
www.eccentricecon.com?r=13lp5g&utm...
Meanderings of an Eccentric Economist
www.eccentricecon.com?r=13lp5g&utm...
Meanderings of an Eccentric Economist | Tarnell Brown | Substack
Classical liberalism with a saucy twist. Click to read Meanderings of an Eccentric Economist, by Tarnell Brown, a Substack publication. Launched 12 hours ago.
www.eccentricecon.com
December 20, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Please subscribe. I have no clue yet how to differentiate between what should be free vs paid content, but in any case, more subscribers equals more inspiration.
Meanderings of an Eccentric Economist
www.eccentricecon.com?r=13lp5g&utm...
Meanderings of an Eccentric Economist
www.eccentricecon.com?r=13lp5g&utm...
1. Fentanyl isn’t an exogenous “weapon of mass destruction”; it’s the predictable end product of a century of prohibition that rewards ever‑more potent, compact drugs.
www.eccentricecon.com/p/fentanyl-i...
www.eccentricecon.com/p/fentanyl-i...
Fentanyl Isn’t a Weapon of Mass Destruction. The Drug War Is.
How a Century of Prohibition Turned a Manageable Drug Problem into a Fentanyl-Fueled Mass-Casualty Event
www.eccentricecon.com
December 19, 2025 at 5:21 PM
1. Fentanyl isn’t an exogenous “weapon of mass destruction”; it’s the predictable end product of a century of prohibition that rewards ever‑more potent, compact drugs.
www.eccentricecon.com/p/fentanyl-i...
www.eccentricecon.com/p/fentanyl-i...
My take on Trump's inane designation of fentanyl as a WMD (please share and subscribe to the Substack):
www.eccentricecon.com/p/fentanyl-i...
www.eccentricecon.com/p/fentanyl-i...
Fentanyl Isn’t a Weapon of Mass Destruction. The Drug War Is.
How a Century of Prohibition Turned a Manageable Drug Problem into a Fentanyl-Fueled Mass-Casualty Event
www.eccentricecon.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:17 PM
My take on Trump's inane designation of fentanyl as a WMD (please share and subscribe to the Substack):
www.eccentricecon.com/p/fentanyl-i...
www.eccentricecon.com/p/fentanyl-i...
This Liberty Matters series from The Online Library of Liberty looks at the unique challenges that women face during times of war. No, I was not a contributor, but Christy Horpedahl thought I might find it interesting. She was correct.
oll.libertyfund.org/publications...
oll.libertyfund.org/publications...
Women at War | Online Library of Liberty
Traditionally war was thought of as a man’s domain. The authors in this series know better.
oll.libertyfund.org
September 22, 2025 at 9:19 PM
This Liberty Matters series from The Online Library of Liberty looks at the unique challenges that women face during times of war. No, I was not a contributor, but Christy Horpedahl thought I might find it interesting. She was correct.
oll.libertyfund.org/publications...
oll.libertyfund.org/publications...
FCC Chair Brendan Carr
September 19, 2025 at 5:24 PM
FCC Chair Brendan Carr
My latest on EconLib, in which I detail the failure of price controls in Rome under the reign of Diocletian, in order to demonstrate that they have never worked.
www.econlib.org/diocletian-t...
www.econlib.org/diocletian-t...
Diocletian, the Roman Empire, and Forever Failing Price Controls - Econlib
The Roman Empire was in trouble. During the fifty-plus years known as the Crisis of the Third Century (235-284 AD), the throne of Rome changed some 26 times, with the Roman Army engaging in a steady d...
www.econlib.org
August 1, 2025 at 2:09 PM
My latest on EconLib, in which I detail the failure of price controls in Rome under the reign of Diocletian, in order to demonstrate that they have never worked.
www.econlib.org/diocletian-t...
www.econlib.org/diocletian-t...
I don't always proofread before sending (I really gotta start doing that), but you catch the drift
July 9, 2025 at 5:19 PM
I don't always proofread before sending (I really gotta start doing that), but you catch the drift
Self-awareness, tragically, is hardly a common trait
July 6, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Self-awareness, tragically, is hardly a common trait
