Jim Powell
Encyclopedia
Jim Powell is Senior Fellow at a libertarian
think tank
, the Cato Institute
in Washington, D.C.
, with which he has been associated since 1988. He has also done work for the Manhattan Institute
, the Institute for Humane Studies
, Citizens for a Sound Economy
, the National Right to Work Committee and Americans for Free Choice in Medicine.
Powell is an author on the history of liberty. He wrote three books that reported findings about the unintended consequence
s of major presidential policies. Altogether he has written eight books and is perhaps best-known for FDR's Folly which has been praised by Nobel Laureates Milton Friedman
and James M. Buchanan
, Harvard historian David Landes
and historian Thomas Fleming
. Powell's books have been translated into Japanese
.
He has contributed several hundred articles for an unusually broad array of publications. He has given talks internationally as well as at Harvard, Stanford and other universities across the United States.
and grew up on Long Island
. His father, Frank Coburn Powell, was a partner in a company that principally manufactured high quality phonograph turntables and cartridges. His mother, Madeline Shields Powell, was a catalog librarian. Both were from Indianapolis. Powell graduated from East Woods School (Oyster Bay, New York) and Millbrook School (Millbrook, New York
) before entering the University of Chicago
where he earned a B.A. in history. His professors included William H. McNeill (The Rise of the West), Donald F. Lach (Asia in the Making of Europe) and Earl J. Hamilton (War and Prices in Spain). As an editor of the student quarterly New Individualist Review, Powell helped publish articles by future Nobel Laureates F.A. Hayek, Milton Friedman
and George J. Stigler. Other contributors included Ludwig von Mises
, Murray Rothbard
and Yale Brozen. Powell worked as a researcher for future Nobel Laureate Ronald H. Coase.
Powell started his career as a direct response advertising copywriter, doing the bulk of his work for financial services companies like J.P. Morgan, Merrill Lynch
and GE Capital
. In 1976, he began freelancing for Barron's, then for other business publications, then publications in the art market and general-interest magazines. Writing for travel magazines took him to China
, Hong Kong
, Japan
, Korea
, Taiwan
, India
, Belgium
, Switzerland
and Dubai
.
Powell's early books were about the art market, commercial real estate and Japanese finance. By the late 1980s, Powell began to author books on liberty.
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
, the Cato Institute
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, with which he has been associated since 1988. He has also done work for the Manhattan Institute
Manhattan Institute
The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research is a conservative, market-oriented think tank established in New York City in 1978 by Antony Fisher and William J...
, the Institute for Humane Studies
Institute for Humane Studies
The Institute for Humane Studies is a classical liberal non-profit organization whose stated mission is “to support the achievement of a freer society by discovering and facilitating the development of talented students, scholars, and other intellectuals who share an interest in liberty and in...
, Citizens for a Sound Economy
Citizens for a Sound Economy
Citizens for a Sound Economy was a conservative political group operating in the United States, whose self-described mission was "to fight for less government, lower taxes, and less regulation." In 2004, Citizens for a Sound Economy split into two new organizations, with Citizens for a Sound...
, the National Right to Work Committee and Americans for Free Choice in Medicine.
Powell is an author on the history of liberty. He wrote three books that reported findings about the unintended consequence
Unintended consequence
In the social sciences, unintended consequences are outcomes that are not the outcomes intended by a purposeful action. The concept has long existed but was named and popularised in the 20th century by American sociologist Robert K. Merton...
s of major presidential policies. Altogether he has written eight books and is perhaps best-known for FDR's Folly which has been praised by Nobel Laureates Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
and James M. Buchanan
James M. Buchanan
James McGill Buchanan, Jr. is an American economist known for his work on public choice theory, for which he received the 1986 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Buchanan's work initiated research on how politicians' self-interest and non-economic forces affect government economic policy...
, Harvard historian David Landes
David Landes
David S. Landes is a professor emeritus of economics at Harvard University and retired professor of history at George Washington University. He is the author of Revolution in Time, The Unbound Prometheus, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, and Dynasties...
and historian Thomas Fleming
Thomas Fleming (historian)
Thomas James Fleming is an American military historian and historical novelist.-Biography:Thomas Fleming was born in 1927 in Jersey City, New Jersey. He is a historian and novelist with a special interest in the American Revolution....
. Powell's books have been translated into Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
.
He has contributed several hundred articles for an unusually broad array of publications. He has given talks internationally as well as at Harvard, Stanford and other universities across the United States.
Biography
Powell was born in Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
and grew up on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. His father, Frank Coburn Powell, was a partner in a company that principally manufactured high quality phonograph turntables and cartridges. His mother, Madeline Shields Powell, was a catalog librarian. Both were from Indianapolis. Powell graduated from East Woods School (Oyster Bay, New York) and Millbrook School (Millbrook, New York
Millbrook, New York
Millbrook is a village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. It is often said to be a "low-key version of the Hamptons" and one of the wealthiest towns in New York State. Millbrook's estimated town population was 1,551 in 2008. Millbrook is located in the Hudson Valley, an hour and thirty...
) before entering the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
where he earned a B.A. in history. His professors included William H. McNeill (The Rise of the West), Donald F. Lach (Asia in the Making of Europe) and Earl J. Hamilton (War and Prices in Spain). As an editor of the student quarterly New Individualist Review, Powell helped publish articles by future Nobel Laureates F.A. Hayek, Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
and George J. Stigler. Other contributors included Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises was an Austrian economist, philosopher, and classical liberal who had a significant influence on the modern Libertarian movement and the "Austrian School" of economic thought.-Biography:-Early life:...
, Murray Rothbard
Murray Rothbard
Murray Newton Rothbard was an American author and economist of the Austrian School who helped define capitalist libertarianism and popularized a form of free-market anarchism he termed "anarcho-capitalism." Rothbard wrote over twenty books and is considered a centrally important figure in the...
and Yale Brozen. Powell worked as a researcher for future Nobel Laureate Ronald H. Coase.
Powell started his career as a direct response advertising copywriter, doing the bulk of his work for financial services companies like J.P. Morgan, Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
and GE Capital
GE Capital
GE Capital is the financial services unit of General Electric, one of five major units. Its various divisions include GE Capital Aviation Services, GE Capital Real Estate, GE Energy Financial Services and GE Money....
. In 1976, he began freelancing for Barron's, then for other business publications, then publications in the art market and general-interest magazines. Writing for travel magazines took him to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
.
Powell's early books were about the art market, commercial real estate and Japanese finance. By the late 1980s, Powell began to author books on liberty.
Books
- Greatest Emancipations, How the West Abolished Slavery (2008) ISBN 0230605923
- Bully Boy: The Truth about Theodore Roosevelt's Legacy (2006) ISBN 0307237222
- Wilson's War: How Woodrow Wilson's Great Blunder Led to Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, and World War II (2005) ISBN 1400082366
- FDR's Folly: How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression (2003) ISBN 0761501657
- The Triumph of Liberty: A 2,000-Year History Told through the Lives of Freedom's Greatest Champions (2000) ISBN 068485967X
- Gnomes of Tokyo (1988) ISBN 039608964X
- Risk, Ruin and Riches: Inside the World of Big-Time Real Estate (1986) ISBN 0025985302
- An Investor's Guide to Under-Valued Art and Antiques (1983) ISBN 0399126929