Making loans and fighting poverty are normally two of the least glamorous pursuits around, but put the two together and you have an economic innovation that has become not just popular but downright chic. The innovation - microfinance - involves making small loans to poor entrepreneurs, usually in developing countries.

All things being equal, letting people make decisions for themselves will produce smarter outcomes, collectively, than relying on government planners.

Congressional Republicans themselves have vehemently defended the idea that preexisting conditions should not be used to deny people insurance.

If army ants are wandering around and they get lost, they start to follow a simple rule:Just do what the ant in front of you does. The ants eventually end up in a circle. There's this famous example of one that was 1,200 feet long and lasted for two days; the ants just kept marching around and around in a circle until they died.

If private-equity firms are as good at remaking companies as they claim, they don't need tax loopholes to make money.

Technological innovation has dramatically lowered the cost of computing, making it possible for large numbers of consumers to own powerful new technologies at reasonably low prices.

Real politics is messy and morally ambiguous and doesn't make for a compelling thriller.