Property as the Key to Self-Determination by Sheldon Richman October 1, 1997 In political philosophy, no concept is as controversial as property. It excites libertarians, repulses socialists, and leaves inconsistent statists ("liberals" and conservatives) confused. What is it about property that packs such power? To answer that question, it is important to realize that flawed political philosophy will lead to flawed notions of property. Good-faith socialists (those not motivated simply by envy) ...
The Energizer Leviathan: Still Growing and Growing by James Bovard October 1, 1997 President Bill Clinton has repeatedly announced that "the era of big government is over." Many Republican congressmen have responded by laying down their ideological swords and pretending their work is done. But if freedom is to be revived in this country, Americans must begin paying less attention to the platitudes in politicians' speeches and more attention to the nasty ...
Service to Whom? Part 2 by Doug Bandow October 1, 1997 Part 1 | Part 2 A more subtle problem is the long-term effect of federal funding on the volunteer groups and those who normally support volunteer groups. To some it might seem hard to criticize grants to organizations such as Habitat for Humanity (which until recently refused to accept government funding), Big Brothers-Big Sisters, and the Red Cross. These ...
Book Review: Determinants of Economic Growth by Richard M. Ebeling October 1, 1997 Determinants of Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Empirical Study by Robert J. Barro (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 1997); 145 pages; $22.50. The London School of Economics regularly hosts a Lionel Robbins lecture series. Lord Robbins, who in the 1930s was a vigorous and articulate proponent of Austrian economics, was a master in the history of economic ideas. In 1952, he published ...
Compromise and Concealment-The Road to Defeat, Part 1 by Jacob G. Hornberger September 1, 1997 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 Twenty years ago, I was rummaging through the public library in my hometown of Laredo, Texas, and I came across four books entitled Essays on Liberty that had been published many years before by The Foundation for Economic ...
Monetary Central Planning and the State, Part 9: The Austrian Theory of the Business Cycle by Richard M. Ebeling September 1, 1997 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | ...
Mandatory Volunteerism: Were Orwell Alive, He’d Die of Laughter by Sheldon Richman September 1, 1997 President Clinton has hitched his wagon to one of the most abominable ideas to come down the pike in some time: community service as part of the school curriculum. Is there a single proposal packed with more fallacies? I doubt it. Where to begin? In getting ready for ...
Sovietizing American Virtue by James Bovard September 1, 1997 "The higher interest involved in the life of the whole must set the limits and lay down the duties of the individual," according to Adolf Hitler. Hitler's views are generally unpopular in the United States. However, some of his moral dogmas may be staging a comeback. At the Volunteer Summit in ...
Service to Whom? Part 1 by Doug Bandow September 1, 1997 Part 1 | Part 2 Service has a long and venerable history in the United States. It has perhaps become a cliché, but Americans' generosity and penchant to organize to meet community needs were both noted by Alexis de Tocqueville in his classic, Democracy in America. And so it continues today. Three-quarters of American households give to charity. Some ...
Book Review: How Nations Grow Rich by Richard M. Ebeling September 1, 1997 How Nations Grow Rich: The Case for Free Trade by Melvyn Krauss (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997); 140 pages; $22.50. One of the frustrations in the study of economics is the discovery of how frequently the same fallacious ideas keep reappearing. Since the time of David Hume and Adam Smith, economists have demonstrated over and over again the mutual ...
Heaven’s Gate and the Cult of the Socialistic Welfare State, Part 2 by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 1997 Part 1 | Part 2 One of the primary characteristics of cults is the denial of reality. The ultimate example of this occurred in the Heaven's Gate cult: those cult members did not commit suicide; instead, they embarked on an exciting, intergalactic space adventure. In principle, denial of reality is no different for members in the cult of the socialistic ...
Monetary Central Planning and the State, Part 8: The Austrian Theory of Capital and Interest by Richard M. Ebeling August 1, 1997 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | ...