Koch Center for Leadership and Ethics at Emporia State University

As American journalism shifts and contracts in response to economic and technological forces, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that there is still a lot of great journalism taking place. There's also a lot of not-so-great journalism. Let's look at the ethics behind the best and the worst and then explore whether we have enough journalism to keep democracy safe.

Popular discussions about income inequality often make politically appealing yet empirically weak claims. Those on the left emphasize the impact of deregulation, tax cuts, and globalization on inequality. Yet these policies have a weak empirical relationship with income inequality. Those on the right tend to dismiss concerns about inequality and refocus attention on income mobility. They also confuse genuine concern about the consequences of inequality with envy; they downplay the effect rising inequality has on social polarization. This lecture will explain where the left and right went wrong and offer an alternative explanation focused on the evolution of legal and political institutions.

Kansas and North Carolina have each garnered attention for their tax reforms earlier this decade. Kansas became the example of tax cuts gone wrong, with deficits and budget crises resulting in policy reversals. The lesson from North Carolina is the opposite: a strategy of tax reform and spending restraint that, coupled with strong and focused leadership, has resulted in economic growth and more money in the pockets of working North Carolinians. The state has reduced tax rates in four of the last six years while building its savings for a Rainy Day to $2 billion this summer. What are the institutional, policy, and economic factors that contributed to these divergent outcomes? What can Kansans learn from this successful model? Can North Carolina sustain its success? Joe Coletti will provide perspective.

Primitive socialism was a concept put forward by Marx and Engels who argued that the basal condition of humanity in foraging communities was that of a socialist utopia. The narrative of a long history of egalitarian, altruistic hunter-gatherers is incredibly attractive to aspirational socialists. Dr. Dozier argue that this portrayal of human prehistory is romanticized and unsupported by archaeological and anthropological evidence. The myth of primitive socialism, however, has continued past Marx and Engles, due to its simple and attractive narrative consistent with the Noble Savage myth.

Dr. Livingston speaks about what it means to be an honorable entrepreneur and how the practice of honorable entrepreneurship promotes freedom and fosters general human flourishing.

Pride and Profit: The Intersection of Jane Austen and Adam Smith explores the ways in which Austen's novels reflect Smith's ideas. More than this, the novels provide colorful illustrations of Smith's ideas on self-command, prudence, benevolence, justice, impartiality as well as vanity, pride and greed. Jane Austen channels Adam Smith in her stories and characters, and more importantly, embellishes, refines and explains Smith. Our understanding of Smith is improved and expanded by reading Jane Austen because she brings his insights to life and adds insights of her own.

A peculiar social order exists in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, where the drug factions that control them permit humanitarian activity which curbs drug use and faction affiliation. Dr. Rodet will discuss how these factions, in the absence of a government presence, fosters legitimacy by the residents. By allowing humanitarian organizations to operate in the favelas, factions are able to obtain cooperation from the residents. Legitimization among residents improves faction profits, while residents benefit from extra legal ‘law and order', public services and public goods that are not provided by the government.

Dr. Jeanie Theis will discuss the use of evidence-based reforms in improving the criminal justice system. She will discuss the gap between what the data says works and what we in fact do in the criminal justice system.

T. R. M. Howard: Doctor, Entrepreneur, Civil Rights Pioneer tells the remarkable story of one of the early leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. A renaissance man, T. R. M. Howard (1908-1976) was a respected surgeon, important black community leader, and successful businessman. Howard's story reveals the importance of the black middle class, their endurance and entrepreneurship in the midst of Jim Crow, and their critical role in the early Civil Rights Movement

On Thursday, October 24, 2019, Dr. Alexei Marcoux presented “Why Entrepreneurship Theory Matters: Economically, Politically, & Morally” at Emporia State University. There is a great deal of agreement that entrepreneurship is important, but much less agreement about what it is. Dr. Marcoux argues that the question, “What is entrepreneurship?”, is more than mere semantics. The question draws us to the important intersection of our economics, politics, and morals.

On Thursday, September 12, 2019, Mr. Jack L. White presented, “Free Speech: Context Of Consciousness In Democracy”, at Emporia State University. Mr. White is a Partner at FH+H. His litigation and appellate expertise spans the range of state and federal venues in several states through the United States Supreme Court.

Women living and working in the United States historically encountered a set of economic rights and opportunities that was severely limited relative to those of their male peers. The practice of treating men and women differently under the law began before the time of the American founding with a legal tradition that prevented married women from owning and making economic decisions independently of their husbands. These gender differences in law continued well into the 20th century, including in the form of labor regulations that applied exclusively to working women. In this talk, Jayme Lemke will explore the historical context and enduring impact of restrictions on women's property rights and job market opportunities, including discussion of how these limitations shaped women's lives in American history, the economic and political motivations that contributed to improvements in women's economic rights over time, and why this history matters for all of us today.

Dr. Scott Beaulier (North Dakota State University) delivers his Governance, Law, and Economics lecture: "Africa's Escape from Poverty". The lecture is also available on our YouTube channel for those looking to see the slides.