Here at the Spherical Model, the world’s smallest think
tank, we don’t do a lot of primary research.
What I hope to do is educate, so that more people are
equipped with the ideas and principles that lead us to political freedom,
economic free market prosperity, and thriving civilization—as alternatives to
the historically more common tyranny, poverty, and savagery.
The Spherical Model framework is original, and the opinions
are mainly mine. But there are many others interested in freedom, prosperity,
and civilization and how we get there.
I thought it might be useful today to share some of the many
resources I frequent, in no particular order.
Books
My list keeps growing. There are many that add good
information on specific issues or areas of interest. But these few are
essential for economics, as well as for understanding the interrelationships of
the political, economic, and social spheres:
·
The Road
to Serfdom—Friedrich Hayek
·
Basic
Economics—Thomas Sowell
·
Economics
in One Lesson—Henry Hazlitt
·
Liberal
Fascism—Jonah Goldberg
·
The
5000-Year Leap—W. Cleon Skousen
Organizations and Education
These are some of the regular places I turn to, or tune in
to:
·
Hillsdale College online courses—These are free,
and equivalent to the courses provided to students on campus, if you do the
reading and work with it. Or you can just enjoy the lectures and take the
quizzes (or not). They just redid their original Constitution class, and I’m
looking forward to that. Others include Western Heritage, American Heritage,
Economics, Great Books, The Presidency and the Constitution, The Federalist
Papers, Winston Churchill, C. S. Lewis, Athens and Sparta, Public Policy, US
Supreme Court, and Theology. Each course has 8-10 or so lectures.
· The Heritage Foundation—This organization has
been reliably conservative for decades, some recent leadership changes
notwithstanding. They offer news sources, such as the Daily Signal, There’s an activist group called the Sentinels, with a weekly
phonecall about current legislative action and online and local support. And
they do research and policy work.
·
Hoover Institution—The organization has been around a long
time, related to Stanford University, in favor of free market economic policies
and prosperity, and other geopolitical issues. Their Uncommon Knowledge, an interview program with authors and
experts, is a favorite source. I don’t agree with every interviewee, but it’s a
good way to get clarity about their viewpoints.
·
The Witherspoon Institute—This organization does research and
education related to the “moral foundations of free and democratic societies.”
They’ve come to my attention because of Ryan T. Anderson, their public
discourse editor, who is the William E. Simon Fellow at the Heritage
Foundation, and is one of the clearest voices writing today in defense of
marriage. This is scholarly information, and often aimed at advanced college
students or professors. But they attempt to write in a way that is accessible,
reasonable, and moral.
·
The Ludwig von Mises Institute—This is an organization based on the
Austrian school of economics, emphasizing free market policies.
·
Wallbuilders—David Barton is the force behind this
organization. They teach history, mainly American history, with the perspective
that looks at the necessity of a moral people in maintaining our Constitution.
This organization is especially helpful for homeschoolers, which is how I
became familiar with it.
·
Texas Home School Coalition—Speaking of homeschooling, THSC is a
good resource on education and parental rights issues. While I’m not still
homeschooling, I still get their newsletters and rely on them heavily for
information during the Texas legislative session.
·
Prager University—A collection of 5-minute videos on a wide
array of topics, mainly explaining the conservative (classical liberal) viewpoint.
They’re free, and easy to share. And you can login and take a short quiz to test
your understanding.
News and Commentary Voices
I don’t spend much time going to main stream media sources.
I prefer an admitted bias from someone seeking truth, rather than a claim of
unbiased news from sources that are clearly skewed. Still, it’s a good idea to
get a variety of views. Often when I use a MSM news source, it is to get more
information about an issue I hear about on radio top-of-the-hour news
headlines, or stories linked by friends or various sources. This list isn’t
exhaustive, or even always views I endorse. And this list changes from time to
time. Some I turn to daily or weekly, others only occasionally.
·
Ben Shapiro and The Daily Wire—the website
includes pieces by various writers, but I mainly tune in for Ben Shapiro’s
commentary and podcast
·
Thomas Sowell—economist; he has retired from his
regular column, but he still writes books and does occasional pieces or
interviews
·
PJ Media—I used to watch their videos, but
funding for those ended a year or so ago. I still appreciate, when I find them,
Andrew Klavan, Victor Davis Hanson, and others.
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