Limited Government

A Limited-Government Republic versus a National-Security State

by Jacob G. Hornberger November 1, 2019

The worst mistake that the American people have made in the entire history of the United States was to permit the conversion of the federal government to a national-security state. That conversion has played a major role in the diminishment of limited government and the destruction of our liberty, privacy, and economic well-being. What is a national-security state? It ...

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 ...

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 ...

Limited Government and a Free Society, Part 1

by Gregory Bresiger December 1, 2017

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Presidential use of the executive order, along with its relative, the executive agreement, has become the “very definition of tyranny” and an affront to limited government. The use of executive orders has dramatically increased over time. George Washington issued about one executive order a year. However, by ...

The Supreme Court, Federalism, and Limited Government

by Laurence M. Vance November 2, 2016

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of whether a biological female who identifies as a male can use the boys’ restroom in a Virginia high school. Parties who are not satisfied with the decision of a U.S. Court of Appeals (or a state supreme court if it is deemed a constitutional issue) can ...

Why I Favor Limited Government, Part 6

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 2016

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5| Part 6 Throughout history, people have accepted the notion that government officials have the legitimate moral and legal authority to do whatever they want. The mindset has always been that government is in charge and people are subordinate. The result was ...

Why I Favor Limited Government, Part 5

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 1, 2016

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 Among the most popular examples of anarchy cited by anarchy proponents is what is known as the “law merchant,” a body of law and custom that developed during the Middle Ages. Anarchists point to the widespread commercial transactions ...

Why I Favor Limited Government, Part 4

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 1, 2016

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 On June 27, 1986, the International Court of Justice entered a money judgment in favor of the Republic of Nicaragua and against the United States of America. Nicaragua had sued the United States for having illegally mined Nicaraguan ...

Why I Favor Limited Government, Part 3

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 1, 2016

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 There are two important points that one should recognize about the anarchy paradigm. First, under anarchy, there would no longer be a United States of America, and no longer would there be any U.S. citizens. There also ...

Why I Favor Limited Government, Part 2

by Jacob G. Hornberger April 1, 2016

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 In 1954 The Foundation for Economic Education published a book entitled Government: An Ideal Concept, by its founder and president, Leonard E. Read. In the book, which was critical of the anarchy paradigm, Read pointed out ...

Why I Favor Limited Government, Part 1

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 1, 2016

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5| Part 6 Ever since I became a libertarian in the late 1970s, there has been an ongoing debate within the libertarian movement between libertarians who advocate limited government and those who advocate anarchy, meaning a society based on the absence ...

Limited Government—A Moral Issue

by C.W. Anderson February 1, 1992

The 1980s, economist Milton Friedman writes, witnessed "a sea change in the direction of public thinking about government's ability to solve economic and social problems." In fact, the idea of getting government off our backs became a live issue, worldwide. Although there was little change in the size or power of government "The prospect is bright," Friedman observed, "but ...