Bad ideas deserve better criticism.
OK Stalin is a publication about economics, politics, power, and the comforting stories people tell themselves when reality becomes inconvenient.
The name is a joke. The subject is not.
History is full of policies that began with noble intentions, ignored basic incentives, concentrated power, and ended by hurting the very people they were supposed to protect. Pointing this out does not make someone cruel. Refusing to point it out does not make someone compassionate.
We believe that prices carry information, incentives shape behaviour, trade-offs cannot be abolished by decree, and scarcity does not disappear because acknowledging it feels unpleasant.
We also believe that markets are tools, not gods. Profit is not proof of virtue. Wealth does not make a person wise. Corporations can exploit power just as governments can, and private institutions deserve scrutiny whenever they become coercive, dishonest, or protected from competition.
The choice is not between blind faith in the state and blind faith in business.
It is between thinking clearly and repeating slogans.
Our principles
We care about outcomes more than intentions.
We distrust concentrated power, whether it belongs to a government, a corporation, a political party, or an ideological movement.
We believe adults should generally be free to make their own choices, provided they accept responsibility for the consequences and respect the rights of others.
We believe compassion requires honesty. A policy does not become effective because its supporters mean well, and criticism does not become immoral because the facts are uncomfortable.
We believe disagreement is not violence, offence is not oppression, and satire is not a crime against humanity.
Most importantly, we believe no idea should be protected from examination by moral intimidation.
What you will find here
You will find short essays, political commentary, economic explanations, historical reminders, and occasional acts of ideological vandalism.
Some articles will defend markets. Others will criticise businesses that demand the benefits of capitalism while hiding from competition and responsibility.
Some will examine socialism, communism, regulation, taxation, inflation, housing, labour, welfare, and the endless human temptation to solve complex problems by giving more authority to people who promise simple answers.
The goal is not to make every reader agree.
The goal is to make comfortable arguments slightly less comfortable.
No five-year plan required.