Free Society

The Bathroom Wars: More Freedom is Going Down the Toilet

by Richard M. Ebeling April 27, 2016

Let me be frank and up front from the start. I was biologically born male, and I have always felt and viewed myself as male. In addition, I have never had an urge to cross-dress or a desire for a sex change operation. However, in a free society an individual is at liberty to dress however they want and pay ...

Society’s Newest Victims of Discrimination

by Laurence M. Vance April 11, 2016

The federal government has long been concerned about discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, and disability. Although the Obama administration supports adding discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity to the list, they haven’t been officially added yet. Meanwhile, the administration has come to the rescue of another group that it feels is being ...

Why Progressives Don’t Understand and are Enemies of Liberty

by Richard M. Ebeling April 4, 2016

What does freedom mean? What is the purpose of government? And what should be the government’s relationship to each of us as individuals and as members of society as a whole? These issues recently came up during a dinner conversation with a new acquaintance with whom I’d not previously had such a discussion. The views that I expressed in the ...

Obama’s Forgotten Victims

by James Bovard April 1, 2016

The White House kept one seat vacant in the gallery during Obama’s State of the Union Address in January “for the victims of gun violence who no longer have a voice.” This was part of Obama’s crusade for new federal restrictions on firearms ownership. But shouldn’t there have also been chairs left empty to memorialize other casualties — including those ...

Can a Business Overcharge Its Customers?

by Laurence M. Vance April 1, 2016

How many times have we heard someone say that he was overcharged for something? The answer to the question of whether a business can overcharge its customers seems, on the surface, to be quite obvious. Yet, it is a question that has more than one answer. At the end of last year, Whole Foods Market, a supermarket chain specializing in ...

From Democracy to Pathocracy: The Rise of the Political Psychopath

by John W. Whitehead March 30, 2016

“Politicians are more likely than people in the general population to be sociopaths. I think you would find no expert in the field of sociopathy/psychopathy/antisocial personality disorder who would dispute this... That a small minority of human beings literally have no conscience was and is a bitter pill for our society to swallow — but it does ...

Obama’s “Middle Way” Between Capitalism and Socialism Means Less Liberty

by Richard M. Ebeling March 28, 2016

During his trip to Argentina in March 2016, President Barack Obama participated in an exchange of ideas with a group of young Argentinian men and women. At one point in the discussion, President Obama explained how he sees that great rivalry in ideas and economic policy between “capitalism” and “socialism” over the last one hundred years. In a nutshell, he ...

Fascism, American Style

by John W. Whitehead March 24, 2016

“If we define an American fascist as one who in case of conflict puts money and power ahead of human beings, then there are undoubtedly several million fascists in the United States.” ― Henry A. Wallace, 33rd Vice President of the United States This is an indictment of every politician who has ever sold us out for the sake ...

Service Dogs and a Free Society

by Laurence M. Vance March 23, 2016

I can remember when I was a kid that some stores would have a notice posted on the front door or window that dogs were not allowed in the store except for guide dogs leading the blind. Like any kid, I thought it would be a cool thing to be able to see one of these dogs, but I ...

Regardless Who Wins In November, Freedom And Liberty Both Lose

by Richard M. Ebeling March 16, 2016

Let us be clear. We are living, right now, in a time of emotional fear, hysterical anger, illogical demands, and dangerous temptations. In other words, liberty and prosperity are at risk. A decent and tolerant society is threatened. Common principles of humanity are being undermined. All of this is concentrated and has been brought to a head in the ...

Big Government Fuels Income Inequality

by Richard M. Ebeling March 9, 2016

Political campaign years are filled with candidates’ promises to solve people’s problems. Government policies will “create jobs,” will reduce or even block the “unfair” competition of market rivals in foreign lands, will restore or create prosperity for all, and will assure “fairness” for everyone, even if it means imposing regulatory or special tax burdens on some to guarantee ...

Presidential Fear-Mongering versus Freedom

by James Bovard March 1, 2016

After the San Bernardino massacre late last year, Barrack Obama made a rare speech from the Oval Office. His most memorable line was his declaration that “freedom is more powerful than fear.” That epigram might have made John F. Kennedy’s speechwriters beam. But it is ludicrous to hear such a comment from a president who has spent almost seven ...