Some 45 years ago, I discovered four little books in the public library of my hometown of Laredo, Texas. Essays on Liberty, volumes 1–4, consisted of a series of uncompromising, principled libertarian essays by such people as Leonard E. Read, Ludwig von Mises, Henry Hazlitt, Frédéric Bastiat, Bettina Bien Greaves, F.A. Harper, Frank Chodorov, and Clarence Manion. Those four little books changed the course of my life, ultimately motivating me to leave the practice of law to advance liberty. It is that life-changing experience that has guided The Future of Freedom Foundation since our inception 34 years ago. If sound, principled, libertarian perspectives could break through the indoctrination that encased my mind after 18 years of public (i.e., government) schooling, the same thing can happen to others.
Our methodology
Our methodology is based not on converting people to libertarianism but rather on finding libertarians, especially those who, like me when I walked into that public library, don’t yet realize that they are libertarians. We find them by introducing sound, principled, uncompromising perspectives into the marketplace of ideas, with the hope and confidence that they will be discovered by those who are receptive to libertarianism, just like I was 45 years ago. I am more convinced than ever that this can be done only by presenting the case for dismantling, not reforming, the massive infringements on liberty that hold American society in their grip.
The JFK assassination
FFF has long taken the lead in the libertarian movement in the condemnation of the national-security establishment’s assassination of President John F. Kennedy 60 years ago. We have published several books, held several conferences, made many presentations, and delivered many speeches on this subject. We also just initiated my new online weekly video series entitled “The JFK Assassination: Sixty Years Later.” It can be found in the multimedia section of our website (fff.org).
Today, the national-security establishment’s November 22, 1963, regime-change operation is, once again, becoming part of the national discussion. Citing the popular assassination book JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters by James W. Douglass, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has recently openly and publicly stated his conviction that the CIA did, in fact, assassinate his uncle. Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson did an entire monologue stating the same thing just before he was taken off the air. Recently, former congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul did an interview in which he too stated his conviction that the CIA took out President Kennedy.
In short, the ground might now be shifting with respect to this issue. President Dwight Eisenhower warned us that that the military-industrial complex posed a grave threat to our rights and liberties and our democratic processes. If we are to get America back on the right track — toward liberty, peace, prosperity, and harmony — it is imperative that we acknowledge and confront the dark legacy of America as a national-security state and, equally important, that we heed Ike’s warning by restoring our founding system of a limited-government republic.
Foreign interventionism
This isn’t the only time we have gone out on a limb with respect to our commitment to truth and principle. Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, we pointed out that they were the direct consequence of the federal government’s interventionist foreign policies. That was not a popular position to take, especially given the government’s position that the terrorists had struck America out of hatred for “our freedom and values.” Rather than attack Afghanistan and Iraq in retaliation for the attacks, we steadfastly maintained that it would be better to restore America’s founding foreign policy of non-interventionism. We paid a big price for our position in terms of criticism and loss of financial support, but I believe that circumstances have ultimately shown that we were right.
Today, we are standing steadfastly against the U.S. intervention in Ukraine, where the national-security establishment has brought us perilously close to a life-destroying nuclear war, just as it did in 1962 during the Kennedy administration.
Economic liberty and free markets
Since our inception, we have also emphasized the importance of economic liberty and free markets as an essential aspect of a genuinely free society. We have published several books, held many conferences, and made many presentations on the destructive nature of America’s welfare-state, managed-economy way of life, including the deadly and destructive war on drugs, the pandemic lockdowns and mandates, the out-of-control federal spending and debt, and decades of monetary debauchery at the hands of the Federal Reserve. This fall we will be conducting an online series of lectures by various presenters on the fundamental principles of Austrian economics. Watch for details on our website’s events page or in FFF Daily.
We need your help
For 34 years, our donors have kept us going, for which we are very honored and appreciative. If you can see your way clear to help us out here at mid-year with a generous, tax-deductible contribution to FFF, we would be very grateful. Working together, we can continue to find like-minded individuals who can bring us closer to the critical mass we need to achieve the free society.
Yours for liberty,
Jacob Hornberger