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Don't Be a Feminist: Essays on Genuine Justice
Bryan Caplan, Professor of Economics at George Mason University, and New York Times Bestselling author of Open Borders, The Myth of the Rational Voter, Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids, and The Case Against Education, blogged for EconLog from 2005-2022. His latest book combines an all-new piece, “Don’t Be a A Letter to My Daughter,” with the very best of his EconLog writings on the virtue – and perversion – of justice.
In the title essay, Caplan challenges the conventional view that we treat women less fairly than men. Men predominate at the bottom as well as the top of society. Performance gaps, not unfairness, are the best explanation. Feminism succeeds because it is society cares more when women suffer. Much more.
Later essays debunk the “woke” movement as an Orwellian program of uniformity and exclusion. The alternative is the Beckerian view that free markets foster genuine justice by rewarding employers who put bigotry aside. That is why even xenophobic employers often hire illegal immigrants. Blaming all men, whites, or immigrants for the sins of some is emotionally appealing but economically absurd.
In the title essay, Caplan challenges the conventional view that we treat women less fairly than men. Men predominate at the bottom as well as the top of society. Performance gaps, not unfairness, are the best explanation. Feminism succeeds because it is society cares more when women suffer. Much more.
Later essays debunk the “woke” movement as an Orwellian program of uniformity and exclusion. The alternative is the Beckerian view that free markets foster genuine justice by rewarding employers who put bigotry aside. That is why even xenophobic employers often hire illegal immigrants. Blaming all men, whites, or immigrants for the sins of some is emotionally appealing but economically absurd.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 4, 2022
23 people are currently reading
224 people want to read
About the author
Bryan Caplan
24 books376 followersBryan Caplan is a professor of economics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He received his B.S. in economics from University of California, Berkeley and his Ph.D. from Princeton University. His professional work has been devoted to the philosophies of libertarianism and free-market capitalism and anarchism. (He is the author of the Anarchist Theory FAQ.) He has published in American Economic Review, Public Choice, and the Journal of Law and Economics, among others. He is a blogger at the EconLog blog along with Arnold Kling, and occasionally has been a guest blogger at Marginal Revolution with two of his colleagues at George Mason, Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok. He is an adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C.
Currently, his primary research interest is public economics. He has criticized the assumptions of rational voters that form the basis of public choice theory, but generally agrees with their conclusions based on his own model of "rational irrationality." Caplan has long disputed the efficacy of popular voter models, in a series of exchanges with Donald Wittman published by the Econ Journal Watch. Caplan outlined several major objections to popular political science and the economics sub-discipline public choice. Caplan later expanded upon this theme in his book The Myth of the Rational Voter (Princeton University Press 2007), in which he responded to the arguments put forward by Wittman in his The Myth of Democratic Failure.
He maintains a website that includes a "Museum of Communism" section, that "provides historical, economic, and philosophical analysis of the political movement known as Communism", to draw attention to human rights violations of which, despite often exceeding those of Nazi Germany, there is little public knowledge. Caplan has also written an online graphic novel called Amore Infernale.
Currently, his primary research interest is public economics. He has criticized the assumptions of rational voters that form the basis of public choice theory, but generally agrees with their conclusions based on his own model of "rational irrationality." Caplan has long disputed the efficacy of popular voter models, in a series of exchanges with Donald Wittman published by the Econ Journal Watch. Caplan outlined several major objections to popular political science and the economics sub-discipline public choice. Caplan later expanded upon this theme in his book The Myth of the Rational Voter (Princeton University Press 2007), in which he responded to the arguments put forward by Wittman in his The Myth of Democratic Failure.
He maintains a website that includes a "Museum of Communism" section, that "provides historical, economic, and philosophical analysis of the political movement known as Communism", to draw attention to human rights violations of which, despite often exceeding those of Nazi Germany, there is little public knowledge. Caplan has also written an online graphic novel called Amore Infernale.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 24, 2022
Bryan Caplan is an American economist known for his contrarian views. This book is mainly a collection of pithy blog posts written over the last several years vaguely relating to the ideas of the "social justice" movement (which the author is generally against), plus one longer essay on feminism.
Well, Bryan Caplan did convince me to stop calling myself a feminist, and to appreciate that maybe women and girls aren't as badly off as I thought!
The rest of the book was more forgettable - partly because I already agree with many of Professor Caplan's views. But there were some witty lines and interesting ways of looking at things. I also like the cover art. I bought this as a paperback soon after it was published, and I'm glad I did.
Well, Bryan Caplan did convince me to stop calling myself a feminist, and to appreciate that maybe women and girls aren't as badly off as I thought!
The rest of the book was more forgettable - partly because I already agree with many of Professor Caplan's views. But there were some witty lines and interesting ways of looking at things. I also like the cover art. I bought this as a paperback soon after it was published, and I'm glad I did.
December 21, 2022
One new essay (a good article to his own daughter re: why not to be a Feminist, from the perspective of better ways to accomplish the goals of equality, a good life, etc.), combined with ~50 previous blog posts and other essays (usually fairly short, 1-2 pages) covering a variety of topics, mostly from an economists and centrist-libertarian angle. One thing even his critics would probably give him -- he's consistent, applying the same principles to almost every situation, and the areas where I disagree with him the most are also consistent (ignoring the political effects of immigration, and assuming that incremental people do in fact ~almost always have positive net value, even in a political system with universal voting, a high degree of public support, limited rights of private property, etc.)
I'd probably read just the first essay and skip the rest/read them selectively on his blog, rather than reading every one of them (which I did for some reason...sunk cost fallacy applied...). It's a good argument, but I wish it didn't come packaged in a book of mostly filler.
I'd probably read just the first essay and skip the rest/read them selectively on his blog, rather than reading every one of them (which I did for some reason...sunk cost fallacy applied...). It's a good argument, but I wish it didn't come packaged in a book of mostly filler.
March 1, 2024
i just cant believe it! its all straw man.
November 2, 2022
Don’t be fooled by the title. Don’t Be a Feminist, by economics professor Bryan Caplan is not a book about extreme feminism but is a collection of essays that examine issues, including gender inequality, from a fresh angle.
With respect to gender equality, Caplan points out that men greatly outnumber women in jail, that men are more likely to be victims of violent crime than women, and that men, but not women, must register for the draft. (Further, as an economics professor, Caplan must be aware that women consume more health dollars, but unlike car and life insurance, where men pay more, by law, women pay the same rate). Caplan correctly points out that gender inequalities that favor women get little play in academic circles.
In one chapter, Caplan deftly compares the loyalty oaths of the 60s with mandatory university pledges for diversity. Caplan moves beyond academia with far-ranging discussions on immigration, crowd behavior during natural disasters, and even circumcision. In a few chapters, he uses hypothetical dialog to make his point. His imaginary conversation between Socrates and Pericles about war should be required reading for high school students in Israel AND Palestine.
Some chapters, however, left this reviewer wanting. The points Caplan was trying to make were too academic or could have been made more forcefully. However, all chapters are quite short, so the occasional not-so-great chapter doesn’t take much of one’s time.
In conclusion, while the title is misleading and there are some so-so chapters, as a good professor should, Caplan makes the student (aka the reader) think.
With respect to gender equality, Caplan points out that men greatly outnumber women in jail, that men are more likely to be victims of violent crime than women, and that men, but not women, must register for the draft. (Further, as an economics professor, Caplan must be aware that women consume more health dollars, but unlike car and life insurance, where men pay more, by law, women pay the same rate). Caplan correctly points out that gender inequalities that favor women get little play in academic circles.
In one chapter, Caplan deftly compares the loyalty oaths of the 60s with mandatory university pledges for diversity. Caplan moves beyond academia with far-ranging discussions on immigration, crowd behavior during natural disasters, and even circumcision. In a few chapters, he uses hypothetical dialog to make his point. His imaginary conversation between Socrates and Pericles about war should be required reading for high school students in Israel AND Palestine.
Some chapters, however, left this reviewer wanting. The points Caplan was trying to make were too academic or could have been made more forcefully. However, all chapters are quite short, so the occasional not-so-great chapter doesn’t take much of one’s time.
In conclusion, while the title is misleading and there are some so-so chapters, as a good professor should, Caplan makes the student (aka the reader) think.
August 9, 2023
[Imported automatically from my blog. Some formatting there may not have translated here.]
I guess I'm a Bryan Caplan fanboy. I purchased this book (on dead trees) mostly just to show my support, because I've read nearly all its content over the years on the EconLog blog. He has since moved on to his own Substack, Bet On It. But most of the stuff here seems timeless.
("We are living in the future" aside: I ordered the book from on September 12 of last year, and the back page informs me the book was printed on September 12. Very cool.)
The lead essay here, "Don't Be a Feminist", is apparently new, though. It's an open letter to Caplan's daughter, Valeria. He takes on (for example) the male/female "wage gap" shibboleth, with the standard observation: if you control for relevant variables, most of the "gap" vanishes. Other examples of how women are treated unfairly because of sexism are discussed and debunked. Provocative!
Other than the initial essay, the articles collected here are mostly short and (seemingly) translated mechanically from the original blog posts. Links have been converted to footnotes. At one point (page 211) we're instructed to "prove me wrong in the comments". I noticed a missing-word typo on page 143 ("If you wisely try to get out Dodge…") which was in the original blog post. (Amusingly, it was quoted verbatim by Ilya Somin at the Washington Post, Reason magazine, and the Foundation for Economic Education.) If I notice one, I assume there are more.
Typos are inevitable on a blog. I assume I have accumulated hundreds over the years. I keep noticing them anyway. But… come on, it's a book. That I spent money for.
Caplan's viewpoints are firmly in the libertarian camp. I'm (therefore) very sympathetic. I remain not totally convinced by some of his opinions. He's a fervent backer of open borders; I'm dubious. He is a thoroughgoing pacifist; I suspect that pacifism is an impractical course for a country that doesn't want its citizenry to be dominated and oppressed by less-pacifistic aggressors. On a related matter, he's an ardent anti-nationalist; which is fine in theory, but not much use in navigating the world as it is.
Or I could be wrong. Because I realize that Caplan's arguments are pretty good even when I disagree.
I reported on Caplan's previous blog dumps here and here. His books are also very good; see here, here, and here.
March 18, 2025
Only 33% of men said they were feminists, yet 94% of men agreed that “men and women should be social, political, and economic equals.”
If you're a feminist (which I guess most of my friends are) and wanna understand what seems like a discrepancy in the statement above, then read the 1st essay in the book. It's usually a good exercise to listen to the other side every once in a while.
With that being said, this book is actually not about feminism except for the very first essay and some reference to feminism in the next few essays...so maybe 20-25% of the book is about feminism. The rest is about Bryan's views on various topics like open borders, free markets, libertarianism and so on.
I wasn't sure if I should rate it as a 3-star book or a 4-star one, but since some chapters were thought-provoking, I think 3 stars are not justified (personally for me).
I disagree with a lot of things he says in the book, and I'd have preferred references, especially for the first essay, but this book is mostly philosophical in nature anyway.
If you're a feminist (which I guess most of my friends are) and wanna understand what seems like a discrepancy in the statement above, then read the 1st essay in the book. It's usually a good exercise to listen to the other side every once in a while.
With that being said, this book is actually not about feminism except for the very first essay and some reference to feminism in the next few essays...so maybe 20-25% of the book is about feminism. The rest is about Bryan's views on various topics like open borders, free markets, libertarianism and so on.
I wasn't sure if I should rate it as a 3-star book or a 4-star one, but since some chapters were thought-provoking, I think 3 stars are not justified (personally for me).
I disagree with a lot of things he says in the book, and I'd have preferred references, especially for the first essay, but this book is mostly philosophical in nature anyway.
September 21, 2023
As recommended elsewhere, reading the first essay here should be enough if one is looking for Caplan’s core arguments for why not to be a feminist. The essay is titled “Don’t be a feminist: A letter to my daughter.”
Sometimes he’s a bit harsh, but I generally quite like and agree with his points. A core difficulty I have with this topic is figuring out how to disagree with the feminist movement while still letting especially my female friends know that I care deeply about them and their experiences. Discounting the former doesn’t imply discounting the latter. Some stupid examples being you don’t have to be an EA to care about impact or a rationalist to care about the truth. The former are simply one of the many lenses to look at the latter.
My current plan is to trust actions where I cannot words. Maybe it’s easy to show people you care for them (the way they want you to care for them) rather than tell them you do. I don’t know, let’s see.
Sometimes he’s a bit harsh, but I generally quite like and agree with his points. A core difficulty I have with this topic is figuring out how to disagree with the feminist movement while still letting especially my female friends know that I care deeply about them and their experiences. Discounting the former doesn’t imply discounting the latter. Some stupid examples being you don’t have to be an EA to care about impact or a rationalist to care about the truth. The former are simply one of the many lenses to look at the latter.
My current plan is to trust actions where I cannot words. Maybe it’s easy to show people you care for them (the way they want you to care for them) rather than tell them you do. I don’t know, let’s see.
March 28, 2023
The titles of Caplan's other two recent essay collections are a little corny, but this one is more egregious: given that the contents are varied and thoughtful and mostly not screeds against the foundations of feminism, it's mildly embarassing to display or talk about a book called "Don't Be a Feminist", and I expect more people will be put off from reading it who'd benefit from reading it than readers reeled in by intrigue.
Title aside: this is another few dozen of Bryan's selected EconLog blog posts, this time focused around social issues like discrimination. They're mostly compelling, and always clear.
Title aside: this is another few dozen of Bryan's selected EconLog blog posts, this time focused around social issues like discrimination. They're mostly compelling, and always clear.
December 31, 2022
Lacks overarching structure due to it being a collection of essays, but some of the individual essays are very good.
"Laws against discrimination really are like laws against burning money; a witch-hunt against an offense that, properly measured, barely exists."
"One of the best ways to help impulsive people reach decent long-run outcomes is to give them a lot of strong short-term feedback" <-- need to figure out how to give myself strong short term feedback
"Laws against discrimination really are like laws against burning money; a witch-hunt against an offense that, properly measured, barely exists."
"One of the best ways to help impulsive people reach decent long-run outcomes is to give them a lot of strong short-term feedback" <-- need to figure out how to give myself strong short term feedback
March 4, 2025
Despite the title, only about 25% of this books is about feminism, the rest is about open borders, free markets and various essays of Bryan Caplan. Though those 25% are quite good, especially recommended for those who think you have to be some right-wing, uneducated asshole to oppose feminism, the author shows that this is not necessary the case.
October 8, 2022
The eponymous essay must be essential reading for everyone grappling with the terror of 'Diversity and Inclusion'. Caplan makes some sharp arguments primarily by mentioning that the hardships faced by men - homicides, dangerous jobs etc blunt many of the positions taken by feminists.
February 28, 2023
A week ago, I thought I was a feminist. Now, I'm not so sure
In this collection of essays, Bryan Caplan convincingly argues against many positions that are taken for granted, on the left and the right. It's refreshingly candid and clear, an easy and enjoyable read.
In this collection of essays, Bryan Caplan convincingly argues against many positions that are taken for granted, on the left and the right. It's refreshingly candid and clear, an easy and enjoyable read.
March 9, 2023
refreshing and thought provoking
This is written in a friendly manner that is easy to read. This collection of several essays entertains with each offering an interesting viewpoint. It won’t hurt you. I got some good ideas to ponder.
This is written in a friendly manner that is easy to read. This collection of several essays entertains with each offering an interesting viewpoint. It won’t hurt you. I got some good ideas to ponder.
September 17, 2022
Bryan is one of my favorite thinkers, and I enjoyed this book immensely.
October 24, 2022
The article on feminism was fine, most of the other ones bundled here however were quite irrelevant.
November 27, 2023
Link to review to come.
December 8, 2025
Caplan is one of the few public intellectuals who thinks out of the box. Unfortunately, feminist dogma still dominates, and Caplan does a good job of debunking it.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews