TGIF: Jane Cobden: Carrying on Her Father’s Good Work by Sheldon Richman July 25, 2014 Among libertarians and classical liberals, the name Richard Cobden (1804–1865) evokes admiration and applause. His activities -- and successes -- on behalf of freedom, free markets, and government retrenchment are legendary. Most famously, he cofounded — with John Bright — the Anti–Corn Law League, which successfully campaigned for repeal of the import tariffs on grain. ...
In Foreign Affairs, Not Doing Anything Is the Thing to Do by Sheldon Richman July 24, 2014 The heartbreaking violence in the Middle East, Ukraine, and elsewhere carries many messages, but here’s one Americans shouldn’t miss: The United States — no matter who the president is — cannot manage world conflict. The corollary is that when a president tries to manage it, things will usually get worse. Foresight is always defective, and tragic unintended consequences will ...
Blood, Treasure and Soul: The Exorbitant Price of the American Empire by Mike Marion July 23, 2014 It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when it happened, but clear evidence can be seen at least in the aftermath of World War II. Some trace the origins back to 1898 and the Spanish-American War, or even earlier to the War of 1812. And still others would say that imperial ambitions were even on the minds of some of ...
The Libertarian Angle: Israel, Gaza, and Egypt by Future of Freedom Foundation July 21, 2014 FFF president Jacob Hornberger and FFF vice president Sheldon Richman discuss the hot topics of the day. This week: the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly. Go to the podcast.
TGIF: War, Peace, and Murray Rothbard by Sheldon Richman July 18, 2014 With wars raging in the Middle East, it seems like a good time to revisit a classic work by Murray Rothbard (1926–1995), the economist, historian, and political philosopher who had a lot to do with the birth and evolution of the modern libertarian movement. His “War, Peace, and the State” is something that all peace advocates — ...
A Video Message from Jacob G. Hornberger by Jacob G. Hornberger July 18, 2014 Please read "A Message from Jacob G. Hornberger."
Again, the Isolationist Smear by Sheldon Richman July 17, 2014 It doesn’t take much to be smeared as an isolationist by leading Republicans. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who appears to be running for president again, and former vice president Dick Cheney — not to mention Sen. John McCain, Gov. Chris Christie, and other members of the GOP establishment — can always be counted on to drag out that insult ...
Obama Wants to Close the Oceans. Privatize Instead! by Wendy McElroy July 17, 2014 In June, President Obama made a video announcement at the Our Ocean 2014 Conference, sponsored by the Department of State. He declared, “Like Presidents Clinton and Bush before me, I’m going to use my authority as President to protect some of our most precious marine landscapes just as we do for our mountains and rivers and forests.… ...
Leave Should Be Left to the Market by Laurence M. Vance July 15, 2014 Democrats, liberals, progressives, and the White House Summit on Working Families don’t think the Family and Medical Leave Act goes far enough. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed in 1993 by the 103rd Congress — the only Congress with a Democratic majority that Bill Clinton had. The legislation (H.R.1) ...
Free Market Capitalism vs. Crony Capitalism by Richard M. Ebeling July 14, 2014 In the minds of many people around the world, including in the United States, the term “capitalism” carries the idea of unfairness, exploitation, undeserved privilege and power, and immoral profit making. What is often difficult to get people to understand is that this misplaced conception of “capitalism” has nothing to do with real free markets and economic liberty, and ...
TGIF: Speaking to Nonlibertarians by Sheldon Richman July 11, 2014 If libertarians want to change how nonlibertarians’ think about government, they will need to understand how nonlibertarians think about government. By “nonlibertarians,” I mean the majority of people who spend little if any time pondering political theory, or what Murray Rothbard called political ethics. They may focus at times on particular government programs and actions, or on proposals for ...
Libertarian Themes in the Seven Deadly Sins of Dante’s Divine Comedy by Lawrence M. Ludlow July 11, 2014 In May 2013, I wrote an essay entitled Dante’s Divine Comedy and the Divine Origins of the Free Market. In the blog comments that followed, I suggested that Dante’s ranking of the seven deadly sins—in particular, the sequence by which he distinguished less serious from more serious sins—reflected insights that we share as libertarians, regardless of our ...