I learned to appreciate the American free enterprise system by quitting a job in Spain.At age 19, I dropped out of school to pursue a career as a French horn player. After a few twists and turns, I wound up in the Barcelona Symphony, which was a Spanish...

Attempts at austerity and deleveraging in Europe have converted an economic problem into a political dilemma, with leftist governments rising against Germany's austerity-laced rescue packages. Germany now faces a tough economic decision that will involve choosing between a breakup of the current euro system and a movement toward a common fiscal policy in Europe.

The negative reaction to a French proposal to raise the retirement age emphasizes that France is unlikely to escape Europe's new age of austerity and the fundamentally flawed European social welfare state model.

The glorious revolution that swept through Russia 20 years ago ushered in a new political system, changing the country's economic foundation while creating a new state: post-imperial Russia. Where did it all go? What happened to the noble fervor, the moral clarity, the thirst for truth, the heroism?

If past performance is any guide, one has to wonder whether this will be yet another doleful instance of domestic political constraints, especially in Germany and France, resulting in a "too little too late" European policy response to an ever deepening crisis.

In his book, France in Crisis, Timothy Smith says the current French social system is an ineffective way to fulfill the French people's hope for social justice and solidarity.

I am deeply moved and honored more than I can say by this award from my esteemed colleagues and friends at AEI, and especially because of its association with the name and memory of Irving Kristol, a man for all seasons. Irving Kristol was my teacher, editor, mentor, patron, and...

An escalation of the European debt crisis would pose a real threat to the U.S. economic recovery.