From 2014 to 2017, I published end-of-the year “My Year in Writing” posts. After a four-year hiatus, I’m resuming this tradition on this last day of 2022.
2022 was my most prolific year as a writer yet. Below are 91 articles I published this past year, curated by theme. (These do not include “quote-only” Substack posts I also published.)
In 2022, I co-authored several pieces with younger colleagues (mostly apprentices in my “Hazlitt Project” program at the Foundation for Economic Education). I’ve found co-authoring is an effective way to train writers.
Forcing People to Accept Bitcoin Would Be an Attack on Property Rights and Monetary Freedom | February 03, 2022 | Co-authored by Luis Morales.
Equality of Opportunity, Not Outcome, Is What Made America Awesome | April 03, 2022 | Co-authored by Hannah Frankman
Big Tech and Free Speech: How Both the Left and the Right Are Wrong | April 05, 2022 | Co-authored by Liam McCollum
Individualism: A Deeply American Philosophy | July 02, 2022 | Co-authored by Patrick Carroll
The Deadly Sins of Politics | November 01, 2022 | Co-authored by Axel Weber
In late March, I began writing articles every week for the FEE Daily email newsletter, cross-posting each article on FEE.org. Here are the first two:
What John Galt Would Say to Will Smith | March 28, 2022
Suffering from Apocalypse Fatigue? Here's How to Fight It | March 31, 2022
After news first broke of Elon Musk’s bid to buy Twitter, I covered the story for the Daily twice:
Elon Musk's Threat to the “Current Thing” Monoculture | April 15, 2022
The Economics of Elon Musk’s Twitter Deal | April 26, 2022
A later piece that further explores public discourse is:
How Bush “Misspoke the Truth” about War and Disinformation | May 20, 2022
After the topic of mask mandates became timely again, I covered it three times:
How Mask Mandates Make a Mess of Things—Literally | April 16, 2022
Why the Feds Are Clinging to Their Mask Mandate | April 21, 2022
Employers May Want to Stop Humiliating “the Help” with Mask Requirements | May 04, 2022
I wrote several articles explaining inflation, which became an especially hot topic in the spring and summer.
Is the Inflationary Bubble Set to Pop? | April 13, 2022
Is Inflation Boosting Teen Employment? | May 09, 2022
The Bezos-Biden Inflation Debate, Explained | May 17, 2022
There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Cost-Plus Lunch | June 13, 2022
Then, when recession fears started cresting, I used it as a teachable moment to explain the Austrian theory of the business cycle. My predictions and warnings in these pieces are looking pretty prescient today.
Markets Are Yelling Mayday | May 12, 2022
Markets Must Have Their Day of Reckoning | June 15, 2022
Biden and Powell Are in Denial—A Recession Is Indeed “Inevitable” | June 17, 2022
Other “big picture” economy pieces I wrote include:
The Shanghai Lockdown and the “Supply Chain” Fallacy | April 08, 2022
Will ESG Reform Capitalism—or Destroy It? | July 07, 2022
In May, I started a “Superhero Studies” Substack where I connect superhero stories with real-life lessons. I began with a series of six posts exploring Superman origin stories:
Superman's Apocalyptic Origin May 18, 2022
How Superman's Father Saved the World May 19, 2022
Saving the World in the Superman Movie of 1978 May 22, 2022
What Superman Inherited from his Father May 23, 2022
Superman's "Ark of Space" May 24, 2022
Curious Mementos May 30, 2022
In May, I also wrote two pieces on the Uvalde massacre for the FEE Daily:
The Devil Went Down to Texas: The Utter Evil of the Uvalde Massacre | May 25, 2022
How Bureaucracy May Have Cost Lives in Uvalde | May 31, 2022
In the summer and fall, I wrote a series of articles exploring Leonard Read’s “methodology of freedom”:
Are We Living Under a Kakistocracy: Government by the Worst? | July 21, 2022
When Meddlers Run Amok | August 18, 2022
How a Tiny Minority Can Lead the World Toward Liberty | August 25, 2022
Keysmiths for Liberty | September 08, 2022
What Thought-Leaders Can Learn from St. Augustine | October 13, 2022
A Legacy of Light (To be published in a newsletter for FEE donors.)
This month, I also wrote two short posts on the above topic on Subtack:
Leonard Read's Three Levels of Libertarian Leadership | December 15, 2022
Liberty Needs a Self-Study Movement | December 19, 2022
I also explored the wisdom of Henry Hazlitt in these three posts:
Why Freedom Needs a Philosophy | August 04, 2022
The Five Virtues of a Good Writer | October 06, 2022
The Education of Henry Hazlitt | December 22, 2022
And in this article, I explored the wisdom of Read, Hazlitt, and Bastiat:
How to Create Like a Bastiat | September 22, 2022
I followed that up by exploring how the above wisdom applies to The Hazlitt Project, an apprenticeship program I started at FEE in 2021.
Building a Bastiat Brigade | September 29, 2022
During the fall and winter, I challenged the Hazlitt Project fellows to publish on Substack every single day. To model this for them, I started doing so myself. My first posts were on my new self-improvement Substack “Civilize Thyself.” Many of my posts there were written to support the “skills training” component of the Hazlitt Project. Here are my more substantial posts, organized by sub-topic:
Emotional Psychology
The Paradox of Pleasure | September 23, 2022
Emotional Distress Is Not a Curse to Be Lifted, But a Warning to Be Heeded | September 29, 2022
Writing and the Creative Process
Write Your Way Into a Great Day | September 24, 2022
Stop Trying to Cram the Entire Creative Process Into One Sitting | September 27, 2022
How to Use GTD for Your Creative Process | September 28, 2022
Bread for My Journey | October 3, 2022
How Morning Blogging Can Be a Keystone Habit | October 6, 2022
Writers, Do This Before You Outline | November 10, 2022
How You Can Make Twitter Less Toxic | November 30, 2022
Productivity
A Checklist for Making Checklists | November 6, 2022
Pave Your Path to Inbox Zero | November 29, 2022
The Value of an Upcoming Calendar Review | September 26, 2022
How to Handle Discretionary Time | October 4, 2022
Habit Formation
Be Precise In Your Resolutions | September 25, 2022
One Way to Break Your Addiction to "Checking" | September 30, 2022
Make Every Space Sacred Ground | November 2, 2022
You Actually Can 'Get Up on the Wrong Side of the Bed' | November 26, 2022
How to Ease Into a Hard New Habit | November 28, 2022
How to Make Habit Formation Both Easy and Challenging | December 1, 2022
Either Get Busy Sleeping or Get Busy Rising | December 3, 2022
In October, I resumed posting on Superhero Studies. Four recent posts discuss Superman in cinema:
A Deleted Scene Included in the 1984 TV Premiere of Superman II Made It a Much Darker Movie | October 1, 2022
How Two Scenes in Superman II Defined Heroism and Evil | October 8, 2022
Two Quotes on Christopher Reeve's Portrayal of Superman | October 2, 2022
Henry Cavill on the Essence of Superman | November 5, 2022
I wrote several essays exploring the works of my favorite superhero writer Grant Morrison. This post introduces Morrison the man:
How Grant Morrison Learned to Stop Worrying about the Bomb | October 22, 2022
Three essays explore my favorite story by Morrison, All-Star Superman:
Which Way, Mortal Man? | October 9, 2022
A More Perfect Superman | October 15, 2022
Superman as Savior | October 16, 2022
This essay goes back to Superman’s origins in the 1930s:
On the Evolution of Superman | October 23, 2022
And these three essays build from that to explore a fascinating scene in Grant Morrison’s Final Crisis:
Behold the Super-Hominid | October 30, 2022
Dawn of the Dynamic | December 10, 2022
The Gift of Prometheus | December 17, 2022
I also started a liberty-themed Substack called “Letters on Liberty,” which I just today renamed to “Liberty Letters.” Here are a couple of early posts:
Call-Out Culture and Cancel Culture | October 12, 2022
Call-Out Culture as Indoctrination | October 13, 2022
Also on Liberty Letters, I published a series of posts on the political philosophy of John Locke and its influence on the American founders. These posts were written in part to support the “Lockean civics” unit of the “freedom philosophy” curriculum that the Hazlitt fellows were studying.
Here are some shorter ones:
When the American People Seceded from the British People | October 19, 2022
The Ideas that Built America | October 17, 2022
From Limited to Omnipotent Government | October 10, 2022
On Tyranny and Despotism | November 1, 2022
And here are the longer ones that were cross-posted to FEE.org:
The Most Dangerous Man in the World | October 19, 2022
What the American Founders Meant by Equality | November 03, 2022
What Are Rights? This Is What the American Founders Believed | November 10, 2022
Why Absolutism Is Absolutely Illegitimate | November 17, 2022
The Three Traits of Tyranny | December 01, 2022
The Iron Law of Kleptocracy | December 29, 2022
And this year, I wrote the following holiday-themed articles. The first two were published on FEE. The two Christmas articles were published on yet another Substack I started, How Children Thrive.
What Has Government Done to the Fourth of July? | July 01, 2022
Why Libertarians Should Give Thanks, Especially in Times Like These | November 24, 2022
When Linus Told Charlie Brown What Christmas Is All About | December 24, 2022
Unto You Is Born a Savior | December 25, 2022
Hopefully in 2023, I’ll write more than 100 articles.
Happy new year dear reader, and thank you for exploring these ideas with me!