Free Society

Crimes of a Monster

by John W. Whitehead April 19, 2018

“Is ours a government of the people, by the people, for the people, or a kakistocracy rather, for the benefit of knaves at the cost of fools?”— James Russell Lowell, 19th century American novelist Let us not mince words. We are living in an age of war profiteers. We are living in an age of scoundrels, liars, brutes and thugs. ...

The Slippery Slope to a Constitution-Free America

by John W. Whitehead April 13, 2018

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”—Benjamin Franklin The ease with which Americans are prepared to welcome boots on the ground, regional lockdowns, routine invasions of their privacy, and the dismantling of every constitutional right intended to serve as a bulwark against government abuses is beyond ...

Racism, Materialism and Militarism Still Reign Supreme

by John W. Whitehead April 5, 2018

In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. ou can be filled with bitterness, with hatred, and a desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country, in great polarization…filled with ...

Dress Codes, Discrimination, and a Free Society

by Laurence M. Vance April 1, 2018

A restaurant and nightclub in Washington, D.C. changed its dress code earlier this year after a complaint that it engaged in discrimination against non-whites. The incident serves as a valuable example of the place of dress codes and the practice of discrimination in a free society. Sneakers It was not the night before Christmas, but it was the Saturday night before. ...

Why Not Private Provision of Many Government Services?

by Richard M. Ebeling March 12, 2018

One of the great controversies in modern society concerns the necessary and required functions of government. There are few who disagree that if government is to exist then it certainly has the duty and responsibility to secure and protect essential rights of every individual, including the right to life, liberty and honestly acquired property. But there are a wide ...

Alfred the Great Saved England

by Scott McPherson February 20, 2018

During the violent centuries of the Anglo-Saxon invasion and transformation of England (400-600AD), the invaders brought their customs, political institutions, property, and way of life across the North Sea, replacing four centuries of Romano-British culture and rule with farms and villages modeled on those of Old Germany. A Heptarchy of kingdoms would rule England, their ...

Progressive Totalitarians and Nativist Nationalists in Our Midst

by Richard M. Ebeling February 19, 2018

America seems to be an increasingly politically polarized society. Those on the “progressive” political left often seem livid in their hatred and fear of anything and anyone who they label as being on the Republican or “conservative” side of the ideological spectrum. At the same time, many Republicans, and especially those among the supporters of the Trump Administration, see ...

How to Make America Great Again

by Laurence M. Vance February 1, 2018

It has now been a year since Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the forty-fifth president of the United States of America. Among other things, he said in his inauguration speech, From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first, America first. Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, ...

Limited Government and a Free Society, Part 3

by Gregory Bresiger February 1, 2018

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Franklin D. Roosevelt was up for reelection in 1940. Toward the end of the election campaign, wanting to reassure the considerable isolationist sentiment, he promised not to send U.S. troops to Europe. “I have said this before. But I shall say it again and again and again. Your ...

Get Up, Stand Up, Speak Up for Your Rights

by John W. Whitehead January 17, 2018

We have been silent witnesses of evil deeds: we have been drenched by many storms; we have learnt the arts of equivocation and pretence; experience has made us suspicious of others and kept us from being truthful and open; intolerable conflicts have worn us down and even made us cynical. Are we still of any use? ...

Justice Denied: The Government Is Not Going to Save Us

by John W. Whitehead January 10, 2018

“The warlords of history are still kicking our heads in, and no one, not our fathers, not our Gods, is coming to save us.”— Journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled: it will not hear the case of Young v. Borders. Despite the fact that a 26-year-old man was gunned down by police ...

Limited Government and a Free Society, Part 2

by Gregory Bresiger January 1, 2018

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Unfortunately, the classical-liberal tradition that Carl Schurz represented is almost gone today. The men and women who supported it were consistent opponents of the imperial presidency, no matter the party in power. (Schurz, for example, was a Republican who broke with the Republican Grant administration.) That’s because the ...