Culture & the Libertarian Heritage

Letting Go of Socialism

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 1, 1990

Socialism has held the world in its grip since the beginning of the 20th century. People everywhere fell for the seductive allure of governmental security. Now on the eve of the 21st century, people all over the world are considering letting go of the socialist nightmare. But tragically, one of ...

Sinking in a Sea of Buts

by Leonard Read September 1, 1990

There were five of us at a predinner get-together, one an Austrian. These friends were each as near purists in the freedom philosophy as one ever comes upon — which is the only reason for mentioning one man's dissent. His dissent seemed insignificant, but it's the minor deviations and inconsistencies of the philosophical elite — ...

The Sanctity of Private Property, Part 1

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 1990

Part 1 | Part 2 No myth is more pervasive among the people of the United States than that which claims that the American economic system is based on the sanctity of private property. The American people have been taught since the first grade in their government schools that America is the bastion of private property while the Soviet ...

Is Liberty Too Extreme?

by Richard M. Ebeling August 1, 1990

There is one type of question, more than any other, that the advocate of freedom is likely to be asked over the years: Human liberty and freedom of choice are, of course, important social and moral goods, but can't they be pushed too far? Is it not better to work for, ...

Freedom’s Greatest Challenge

by Richard M. Ebeling June 1, 1990

At the end of January, President Bush delivered his State of the Union address before the Congress. Two leading themes ran through his speech: the demise of communism and the bright future for America in the post-communist world. The President spoke forcefully of the desire for freedom that had never died in the hearts and minds of the people in ...

How Bad Do You Want to Be Free?

by Jacob G. Hornberger April 1, 1990

Ever since I was a small child, I have been intrigued by the Battle of the Alamo. For a time, the defenders of the Alamo were expecting reinforcements to arrive. But once word came that Fannin and his troops had been massacred, it was clear that help would not ...

The Limits of Governmental Activity

by Ludwig von Mises April 1, 1990

It is an established fact that alcoholism, cocainism, and morphinism are deadly enemies of life, of health, and of the capacity for work and enjoyment.But this is far from demonstrating that the authorities must interpose to suppress these vices by commercial prohibitions, nor is it by any means evident that such ...

Visions and Ideals

by James Allen February 1, 1990

The dreamers are the saviors of the world. As the visible world is sustained by the invisible, so men, through all their trials and sins and sordid vocations, are nourished by the beautiful visions of their solitary dreamers. Humanity cannot forget its dreamers; it cannot let their ideals fade and ...

Self-Reliance

by Ralph Waldo Emerson January 1, 1990

... To believe your own thought to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men - that is genius. Speak your latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense; for the inmost in due time becomes the outmost ...