Daily Articles

The Fatal Flaw

by Laurence M. Vance February 1, 2016

The presidential primary season is in full swing. Current and former Democratic and Republican candidates alike have put forward various tax-reform proposals. Some of their proposals were officially unveiled at a press conference; others were unofficially presented in campaign speeches or during one of the debates. Some rehash old proposals, others recommend something entirely new. But whether Democratic, Republican, ...

The Right to Keep and Bear Arms as a Check on Tyrants

by Scott McPherson February 1, 2016

Whatever makes kings can unmake them. — Isabel Paterson, The God of the Machine Service in the militia, for purposes of national defense, suppression of rebellion, and answering the “hue and cry,” was widely understood as an ancient right and duty of the free citizen. By securing to individual citizens “their private arms,” the Framers of the Constitution were also ...

Securing the Blessings of Liberty

by David S. D'Amato February 1, 2016

The Conscience of the Constitution: The Declaration of Independence and the Right to Liberty by Timothy Sandefur (Cato Institute, 2014), 200 pages. In his book The Conscience of the Constitution: The Declaration of Independence and the Right to Liberty, Timothy Sandefur, an attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation and a Cato Institute adjunct scholar, argues that “the primacy ...

Circus Politics: Will Our Freedoms Survive Another Presidential Election?

by John W. Whitehead January 28, 2016

“Never has our future been more unpredictable, never have we depended so much on political forces that cannot be trusted to follow the rules of common sense and self-interest—forces that look like sheer insanity, if judged by the standards of other centuries.” ― Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism Adding yet another layer of farce to an already comical spectacle, ...

The Libertarian Angle: The Case for Open Borders

by Future of Freedom Foundation January 26, 2016

Each week, FFF president Jacob Hornberger and Richard M. Ebeling discuss the hot topics of the day. This week, Jacob and Richard, and special guest Bryan Caplan discuss the merits and morality of an open immigration policy. Go to the podcast.

What If Obama Believed in Individual Liberty and Free Markets?

by Richard M. Ebeling January 25, 2016

President Barack Obama delivered his final State of the Union address on January 12, 2016, and devoted most of the time to defending his “legacy” of bigger and more intrusive government, with an emphasis on the other aspects of personal and social life he wished could come under the blanket of more political paternalism, if only there was ...

The Right to Tell the Government to Go to Hell

by John W. Whitehead January 22, 2016

  “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”― George Orwell Free speech is not for the faint of heart. Nor is it for those who are easily offended, readily intimidated or who need everything wrapped in a neat and tidy bow. Free speech is often messy, foul-mouthed, obscene, intolerant, ...

Common Misconceptions about Rights

by Benedict D. LaRosa January 21, 2016

The debate about gun rights sparked by President Obama’s recent executive actions and his town hall meeting of January 7, 2016, has brought to light several popular misconceptions, of which the following are some of the more egregious. Misconception #1:  Only United States citizens have the right to keep and bear arms, and then only within the borders of the ...

Republican Medicaid Wars Miss the Real Issue

by Laurence M. Vance January 20, 2016

Republicans are at it again. Just as they battle with Democrats over things that are relatively unimportant, so they fight with each other. But, as usual, they miss the real issue. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as the PPACA, the ACA, or Obamacare, was signed into law by Barack Obama on March 23, 2010, after the ...

The Libertarian Angle: History of Economic Thought, Part 2

by Future of Freedom Foundation January 19, 2016

Each week, FFF president Jacob Hornberger and Richard M. Ebeling discuss the hot topics of the day. This week, Jacob and  Richard continue thei review the early history of economics from Adam Smith through David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly. Go to the podcast.

How Lithuania Helped Take Down the Soviet Union

by Richard M. Ebeling January 18, 2016

This year, 2016, will mark the twentieth-fifth anniversary of the end of the Soviet Union from the political map of the world. A quarter of a century ago, the menace of Soviet-led communism, which had haunted the globe since the time of the Russian Revolution in 1917, disintegrated from within and passed into the dustbin of history. The Soviet Empire ...

The Libertarian Angle: History of Economic Thought

by Future of Freedom Foundation January 13, 2016

Each week, FFF president Jacob Hornberger and Richard M. Ebeling discuss the hot topics of the day. This week, Jacob and  Richard review the early history of economics from Adam Smith through David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly. Go to the podcast.