Daily Articles

The Libertarian Angle: Trump’s Tax Bill and American Serfdom (video)

by Future of Freedom Foundation December 5, 2017

FFF president Jacob Hornberger and Richard Ebeling discuss recent tax legislation. Go to the podcast.

Capitalism and Asymmetric Information

by Richard M. Ebeling December 4, 2017

Capitalism is a wondrous human institution for the mutual betterment for all in society. Yet, critics often insist that market systems enable sellers to take advantage of buyers, because those on the demand-side often lack the specialized knowledge that suppliers possess, thus, enabling a possible exaggerated misrepresentation of what is being offered for sale. What is missed is that ...

“A Republic, If You Can Keep It”

by Jacob G. Hornberger December 1, 2017

James Madison, the father of the U.S. Constitution, wrote that of all the enemies to liberty, war is the greatest. What he meant by that is that governments inevitably use wars and other crises and emergencies to centralize and expand their powers over the citizenry. Thus, in the process of claiming to keep the citizenry safe from external threats, ...

Guilt by Musical Association

by James Bovard December 1, 2017

Should the feds be permitted to treat anyone who is not a choirboy like a criminal suspect? Unfortunately, local, state, and federal agencies have a long history of targeting, harassing, and entrapping fans of untraditional music. Because so many innocuous activities have become criminalized in recent decades, it has never been easier for the feds to tar any group ...

The Problem with Conservatism

by Laurence M. Vance December 1, 2017

Nikolai G. Wenzel has a problem with conservatism. A libertarian, Wenzel is a Research Fellow at the University of Paris Law School’s Center for Law & Economics and the coauthor (with conservative Nathan W. Schlueter) of Selfish Libertarians and Socialist Conservatives? The Foundations of the Libertarian-Conservative Debate (Stanford Economic and Finance, 2017). This book is the only “debate book” between ...

Smith Act Tyranny Against Communists

by Wendy McElroy December 1, 2017

When a state officially declares war on another state, it unofficially declares war on a second front: domestic dissidents. The dynamics of the latter can be seen by tracking one of the most powerful phenomena of the last century: the Red Scare(s). Anti-communist hysteria followed World War I and did not cease until the fall of the Soviet Union ...

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 ...

A Morally Rudderless America

by Scott McPherson November 30, 2017

A U.S. Navy pilot flying over far north Okanogan County, Washington, is in hot water for leaving contrails in the sky in the shape of a penis. According to a report from CBS News affiliate KREM, people on the ground saw the image and complained. One mother was “upset because she might have to explain the ...

Nervous About Traffic Stops? I Am.

by John W. Whitehead November 30, 2017

“Quit resisting.”—Cops yell at compliant young man who was thrown to the ground, beaten, arrested and hospitalized for severe injuries to his face and arm, allegedly in retaliation for “resisting arrest” by driving to a safe, well-lit area before submitting to a traffic stop for a broken tail light We’ve all been there before. You’re driving along and ...

The Libertarian Angle: Thanksgiving and the Free Market

by Future of Freedom Foundation November 28, 2017

FFF president Jacob Hornberger and Richard Ebeling talk about Thanksgiving and the free market. Go to the podcast.

Capitalism and the Misunderstanding of Monopoly

by Richard M. Ebeling November 27, 2017

Numerous misunderstanding and mythologies surround the meaning of capitalism and competition, but few match the confusions over the meaning and relevance of “monopoly” in the workings of the market economy. When looked at dispassionately, factually, and historically, monopoly has almost always represented a problem in society only when created, protected or imposed by government intervention. Critics of capitalism have proposed ...

Thanksgiving: Celebrating the Birth of American Free Enterprise

by Richard M. Ebeling November 20, 2017

This time of the year, whether in good economic times or bad, is when Americans gather with their families and friends and enjoy a Thanksgiving meal together. It marks a remembrance of those early Pilgrim Fathers who crossed the uncharted ocean from Europe to make a new start in Plymouth, Massachusetts. What is less appreciated is that Thanksgiving also ...