Thanks to You

As South Park's Jimmy Valmer puts it, "What a terrific audience."

If I were stranded on a desert island, would I keep writing? As a chronic daydreamer, I ask myself this question several times per year. My standard answer: While I wouldn’t completely quit writing, my output would fall at least 80%. Probably more like 90%. After all, I’ve never felt motivated to keep a diary. I write because I have so many ideas that I yearn to communicate to others.

When I first became a professor, the “others” were primarily referees at academic journals. I was painfully aware that roughly twenty of these referees stood between me and a Dream Job for Life. While I never stooped to “Just tell the referees what they want to hear,” I spent years obsessing over, “How can I get the referees to listen?” With rare exceptions, referees made my papers worse; instead of trying to improve the idea or exposition, each focused on their pet peeves.

Once my Dream Job for Life was secure, I started doing more meaningful work aimed at better audiences. Most notably:

• Big Think books, written not only for research specialists, but broad-minded academics, journalists, curious laymen, and good undergraduates

• Op-eds and magazine articles, written for intellectually active laymen

• Blog posts, written for intellectual enthusiasts

The Big Think books have given me my greatest sense of accomplishment, but they’re a struggle to create. While writing academic articles, I kept fretting, “What will the referees let me say?” While writing Big Think books, in contrast, I keep telling myself, “This must be the best book ever written on this topic.” Sure, I’m judging my own case, but I’m not lenient. I often struggle to write half a page in a day, because when sentences come to mind, my default reaction is: “That sentence isn’t good enough for the best book ever written on this topic.”

The op-eds and magazine articles, usually written to publicize the Big Think Books, are pretty easy to compose, but unsatisfying. The typical reader of such pieces may be intellectually active, but I can only assume the vaguest background knowledge. So I spend much of my word count trying to teach the basics without boring the audience.

The blog posts, finally, are the most fun. Why? Because I can quickly make an original point. When I blog, I assume that readers already understand the basics of economics, philosophy, political science, and history. Or to be more precise, I assume either that (a) readers already understand the basics, or (b) are motivated enough to self-remediate any critical gaps in their knowledge. I also assume that readers already know the basics of my outlook, so I don’t have to constantly repeat repeat repeat myself. Finally, I assume that readers already appreciate me, at least to the extent of, “You’re often wrong, but reliably interesting.” So rather than spend precious time convincing readers that I’m worth reading, I can immediately try to convince them that the thesis of my latest post is important and correct.

Jimmy!

If, like most bloggers, I focused on current events, my short-run satisfaction would be marred by my sense that my work was disposable. By and large, though, my blog posts focus on questions of lasting importance. Which is why I’ve been able to publish seven books of collected blog essays, with the eighth (and final?) volume releasing soon.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’d like to say that I owe almost all of this to you, my dear readers. You’re the people I wake up thinking about. You’re the people I hope to excite on a daily basis. You’re my sounding board, and my confidants. I owe you, big time.

Bet On It began because the Salem Center for Policy, under the leadership of Carlos Carvalho, offered three years of extremely generous support. Since those three years are over, and Carlos has since moved on to become president of UATX, 100% of the backing for this blog now comes from my premium subscribers. If you’re already one of them, I’m truly touched by your commitment.

Going forward, my plan is to keep all of my posts gratis. Bet On It will never become one of those newsletters that guilts readers into contributing. Like I said, I owe you. But if you’re feeling grateful for my work and have yet to upgrade your subscription, now would be an excellent time to show your support. Just click “Upgrade to Paid” and you should be basking in the warm glow of giving in under a minute.

What’s on the horizon? My magnum opus, Unbeatable: The Brutally Honest Case for Free Markets, is now under review with University of Chicago Press. I just wrote and storyboarded the first chapter of Blockade: The Science and Ethics of Trade — co-authored with Don Boudreaux and illustrated by Zach Weinersmith. After that’s done, I’ll finish the long-awaited Poverty: Who To Blame. I’ve repeatedly announced that I will never retire, and my commitment to that plan is currently stronger than ever. My queue of ideas is literally hundreds of entries long, so if my imagination dries up today, I’ve still got a lifetime’s worth of work to finish up.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all, thanks for your support, and I hope to meet you at Capla-Con 2026!