The Moral Case for Capitalism

Today, Orin Kerr explores the possible legal quandaries of a new program allowing US companies hit with cyberattacks to retaliate against the hackers. Steven Davis and Ross Levine discuss the moral justification for capitalism, citing examples throughout history. And Valerie Ramey highlights the long-term debt risks associated with poorly executed fiscal stimulus programs.

Revitalizing American Institutions

Trump Administration Announces New “Hacking Back” Program

In The Volokh Conspiracy, Senior Fellow Orin S. Kerr explores legal issues presented by a new program that allows US firms targeted by overseas cyberattacks to retaliate. He asks whether a presidential blessing is enough to make offensive cyber operations by private companies, however justified they may be, authorized under the law. He asks if participating firms could be sued for damages and offers his idea on what would make the program more ironclad. “The way to have legal hacking back, I think, is to have the government go to a judge and get a warrant authorizing the search of the computer to be hacked and the seizure of data there,” he writes. Read more here.

The Economy

An Economic and Moral Case for Capitalism

On the latest episode of Economics, Applied, Senior Fellows Steven J. Davis and Ross Levine discuss how the rule of law and competition foster prosperity and freedom in a system of market-based capitalism. They highlight the moral dimensions of the case for capitalism and its limits.

The Big Idea: In his recent work, Levine points out that the presence of a capitalist system usually accompanies greater human freedom, institutions such as the rule of law, and the offering of incentives to induce more productive, complementary social behavior. But cronyism, an-all powerful state, or widespread corruption can impact the value of the system. Watch or listen here.

How Economic Stimulus Became a Debt Problem

In a lecture from the 2025 Hoover Institution Summer Policy Boot Camp, Senior Fellow Valerie Ramey presents her research on the impact of Keynesian fiscal stimulus.

The Big Idea: Ramey finds that the positive impact of Keynesian stimulus packages depends on what the money is spent on. If it’s not used wisely, the debt incurred can haunt the economy well after economic bad times are gone. Watch here.

Revitalizing History

Hoover Acquires Papers of UN Worker in Poland Before Descent of Iron Curtain

Hoover’s Library & Archives has acquired a compelling archive detailing early postwar Poland from the perspective of an American UN worker shortly before the descent of the Iron Curtain. John S. Widdicombe was born in 1907 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He attended the University of Virginia and later the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. During World War II, he served in Europe with the 140th Infantry Regiment as a staff sergeant. After the war, he was appointed director of the International Refugee Organization (IRO), a temporary UN agency established in 1946 to oversee the repatriation of Europeans displaced by the war, with an office in Warsaw. Through photographs, IRO memoranda and reports, correspondence, and handwritten notes, these materials offer a stark view of postwar Europe’s immense logistical and political challenges and represent an important resource for researchers studying the devastation of postwar Poland. Read more here.

Luke Nichter: Don’t Assume They Got It Right

In The Pathway Review, Griffin Fellow Luke Nichter speaks about his latest book, The Year That Broke Politics, as well as what it means to study applied history, his decision to focus on the JFK–Watergate years, and how he fought in court to unseal new records from the Watergate scandal. “Most historians would agree that history does not repeat itself. Some people say it rhymes. I’m not even sure it does that. But history can still be useful. It can be a companion for understanding the present,” Nichter says in the interview. Read more here.