Classical Liberalism’s Impossible Dream
I can understand why someone might embrace classical liberalism. I did so myself more than forty years ago. People become classical liberals for two main reasons, which are interrelated: first, because...
View ArticleWhy the Precautionary Principle Counsels Us to Renounce Statism
Propose that the state be replaced by genuine self-government and immediately people come forth with a litany of objections—your proposal is a pipe dream; it is untried; it would never work; it fails...
View ArticleSame-Sex Marriage and Individual Rights
The United States government was founded on the principle of protecting individual rights. The Declaration of Independence says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created...
View ArticleRobert William Fogel (July 1, 1926 – June 11, 2013)
Robert Fogel died a few days ago. He was a prominent figure in the academic economic history profession for five decades, virtually from the time he burst onto the scene with the publication of a...
View ArticleThe Pro-Liberty Message in Man of Steel
I have pretty low expectations for Superman movies, so I was both impressed and pleasantly surprised to find myself entertained as well as see an important pro-liberty theme embedded in the movie Man...
View ArticleHow John Locke Should Have Saved The Lone Ranger
I had a glimmer of hope for the 2013 film The Lone Ranger when I read that young U.S. attorney John Reid, aka The Lone Ranger, arrives in untamed west Texas with a copy of John Locke’s Two Treatises of...
View ArticleThe Republic of Georgia’s Uncertain Economic Future
Over the past ten years the Republic of Georgia has seen a remarkable amount of economic progress. Twenty-one years ago, Georgia was one of the Soviet republics, and struggled economically after the...
View ArticleObama Administration Says ‘Nein’ to German Homeschooling Family Seeking Asylum
Yes, Virginia. Children are creatures of the state. Late last month a heavily armed SWAT team consisting of police, special agents, and social workers, stormed the home of Dirk and Petra Wunderlich....
View ArticleHappy Birthday, Walter Grinder!
Yesterday was the 75th birthday of Walter Grinder. Several tributes have already appeared. Here is mine. I first came into contact with Walter Grinder while I was a first-year graduate student at the...
View ArticleOn My Libertarian Catholicity
Since the late 1970s, I have been working in some capacity with think tanks and similar organizations that one might view as interested in education, research, and advocacy in the broad area of...
View ArticleMarkets versus Government: Real Alternatives versus Possibilities
One difference between choice in markets versus choice in government is that in markets, people choose among alternatives that already exist, whereas with government, people choose among alternatives...
View ArticleCarpe Diem: Washington’s Foundations Are Showing Cracks
The Washington of the future we’d like to see After 12 years of seemingly inexorable blind faith in an ever more powerful and intrusive government, a spate of recent polls finally shows support...
View ArticleThe Independent Review—Winter Issue Now Available
The winter 2014 issue of The Independent Review is hot off the press! This edition of the Independent Institute’s 160-page scholarly journal includes a stimulating mix of timely topics and enduring...
View ArticleNew Year’s Revolution
Millennials, already disproportionately suffering under the enduring Great Recession, likely have a bleak 2014 in store. Millennials suffer unemployment rates 50% higher than their elders. When you add...
View ArticleCommon Ground
I often find myself disagreeing with Cynthia Tucker, the Progressive journalist and professor, so I was happy to read a recent column of hers, on the farm bill that just passed the House, and find that...
View ArticleAgainst Libertarian Infighting
Like any ideology that has attracted a substantial following, libertarianism has splintered into a variety of sects. Thus, there are hard-core and soft-core libertarians; plumb-line and big-tent...
View ArticleChallenge of Liberty Student Seminars—Application Deadline: March 31
The Challenge of Liberty Student Seminars are returning for another exciting season! Thanks to the generous support of donors, we will hold two seminars for college students — one at the University of...
View ArticleNew Video with Ron Paul: “Defining Liberty: The Future of Freedom”
How can Americans overcome record government spending and debt, escalating healthcare costs, intrusive federal surveillance, endless wars, ongoing economic malaise, high unemployment, failing schools,...
View ArticleThe Concise Case for Free Speech Against Its Enemies
“A liberal society stands on the proposition that we should all take seriously the idea that we might be wrong. This means we must place no one, including ourselves, beyond the reach of criticism; it...
View ArticleMore States Abandoning the Sinking Common Core Ship
“Barbarians at the gate.” That’s what Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal called opponents of Common Core national standards several weeks ago. His remarks are symptomatic of...
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