Author Archives: You Study Politics, Right?

About You Study Politics, Right?

Graduate student in political science at Duke University.

Net Neutrality: Why You Should Care

What is net neutrality? It’s the idea that Internet service providers (ISPs) should treat all traffic equally, not giving preferential treatment to certain users, types of data, or equipment. With FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski on the way out, nominee Tom Wheeler … Continue reading

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Great Gatsby, Copyright, and the Public Domain

Is the Great Gatsby in the public domain? The book was written in 1925 and Fitzgerald passed away in 1940. Copyright generally expires 70 years after the author’s death, so you could be forgiven for thinking the answer is “yes.” If … Continue reading

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Internet Sales Tax FAQ

We’ve got a week of Internet politics-related topics queued up for you this week. Today we’ll take a look at the prospect of an internet sales tax. Later in the week we’ll discuss why The Great Gatsby still isn’t in the public … Continue reading

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Micro-Institutions Everywhere: Gypsy Law

Forthcoming from Peter Leeson (who previously brought us an analysis of pirate democracy), a new paper on self-governance among Gypsies (via Mike Munger): Gypsies are nomads. They’re often separated from one another, which precludes direct monitoring. Further, Gypsies’ locations are … Continue reading

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Risk, Overreaction, and Control

How many people died because of the September 11 attacks? The answer depends on what you are trying to measure. The official estimate is around 3,000 deaths as a direct result of hijacked aircraft and at the World Trade Center, … Continue reading

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Python for Political Scientists, Spring 2013 Recap

This spring Josh Cutler‘s Python course was back by popular demand. (This time it was known as “Computational Political Economy” but I like the less formal title.) I participated this time around as a teaching assistant rather than student, and … Continue reading

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Micro-Institutions Everywhere: 8-Hour Sleep

For much of European history it was common to sleep in two chunks of about four hours each, separated by a one- to two-hour period of waking activity: [Historian Roger] Ekirch found that references to the first and second sleep … Continue reading

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Micro-Institutions Everywhere: The Five-Day Work Week

When it came about in the early 20th century, the five-day workweek was a triumph. Labor unions bargained collectively to get workers another day off, doubling their free time to enjoy the country’s booming prosperity. Now, though, it is an anachronistic … Continue reading

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Dollar Bills and US State Borders

A number of proposals (not all serious) have been floating around lately to redraw the borders of the US. According to this list nearly every US state has groups wanting to partition it somehow. One idea was fifty states with … Continue reading

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The Aesthetic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy

On episode 18 of the Loopcast, Sina and his guest discuss fashion and national security. Around 23:00 comes the money quote: “There’s a lot of black hair dye involved being a dictator.” Here’s the logic: [I]n a democracy, your hair … Continue reading

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