American Foreign Policy — The Turning Point, 1898–1919, Part 1 by Ralph Raico February 1, 1995 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 With the end of the twentieth century rapidly approaching, this is a time to look back and gain some perspective on where we stand as a nation. Were the Founding Fathers somehow to return, they would find it impossible to recognize our political system. The major cause of this transformation has been America's involvement in war and preparation for war over the past hundred years. War has warped our constitutional order, the course of our national development, and the very mentality of our people. The process of distortion started about a century ago, when certain fateful steps were taken that in time altered fundamentally the character of our republic. One idea of America was abandoned and another took its place, although no conscious, deliberate decision was ever made. Eventually, this change affected all areas of American life, so that today our nation is radically ...
The Future of Freedom-Retrospect and Prospects, Part 1 by Richard M. Ebeling November 1, 1994 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 With the approaching end of 1994, The Future of Freedom Foundation is celebrating its fifth anniversary. For a half-decade, Jacob Hornberger and I, and the other authors who have contributed essays for Freedom Daily, have attempted to make the ethical and economic case for individual liberty and the market economy. In our published articles and spoken addresses, we have tried to present the principled argument for freedom on a wide variety of economic and social issues, as well as on a number of domestic and international topics. During these five years, I found that one of the most frequently heard comments during discussions with people has been: "How can we turn this situation around? Haven't we moved too far down the socialist or welfare-statist road to bring about a reversal? The interventionists and coercive redistributors just have too much political power and emotional appeal for us to ever succeed ...
Social Conflict, Self-Determination, and the Boundaries of the State by Richard M. Ebeling September 1, 1994 For the advocate of classical or market liberalism, the depoliticization of economic life is considered the primary avenue for the diminishment of social and cultural tensions in society. The removal of the state from all involvement in market activities, other than as protector of life and property and legal arbiter of interpersonal disputes, means that political power may not be used to benefit any in the society at the expense of others. In the free-market society, all human relationships are based on voluntary agreement and mutual benefit. Individuals can be neither compelled to nor prohibited from trading with any others in the society. Every citizen in the classical-liberal society may freely compete in any line of endeavor in which he chooses to try his hand; his success or failure will depend upon whether those to ...
Book Review: Hayek on Hayek by Richard M. Ebeling September 1, 1994 Hayek on Hayek: An Autobiographical Dialogue by F. A. Hayek, edited by Stephen Kresge and Leif Wenar (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994) $27.95; 170 pages. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Friedrich A. Hayek's classic volume, The Road to Serfdom. Appearing towards the end of the Second World War, it challenged many ...
Book Review: Double Lives by Richard M. Ebeling July 1, 1994 Double Lives: Spies and Writers in the Secret Soviet War of Ideas against the West by Stephen Koch (New York: Free Press, 1994) 419 pages; $24.95. In the first half of the 20th century, one of the most respected and internationally famous economists was Arthur C. Pigou. A Cambridge University professor, Pigou ...
Nationalism: Its Nature and Consequences by Richard M. Ebeling June 1, 1994 In the 19th century, many classical liberals believed that the ideas of "national identity" and "nationalism" were false scents that were likely to lead the world away from liberty and towards a continuation of political tyranny and international conflict. For example, William E. H. Lecky, in his study Democracy and Liberty (1896), argued that "the idea and ...
Gun Control: A Historical Perspective, Part 1 by Benedict D. LaRosa June 1, 1994 Part 1 | Part 2 Gun control is an issue which never stands on its own. By this I mean that the motives behind it are rarely those expressed by its advocates. There is almost always a hidden agenda. On rare occasion, those proposing the confiscation of weapons are candid about ...
Book Review: Post-Communist Societies in Transition by Richard M. Ebeling June 1, 1994 Post-Communist Societies in Transition: A Social Market Perspective by John Gray (London: Social Market Foundation, 1994) 45 pages; £8.00. In 1984, Oxford University philosopher John Gray published a book entitled Hayek on Liberty . After it appeared in a revised edition in 1986, I wrote a review of the book for the February 1988 issue of The Freeman ...
National Conflicts, Market Liberalism and Social Peace by Richard M. Ebeling May 1, 1994 For three years, civil war has caused massive death and destruction in the former Yugoslavia. Almost every day, the television evening news has broadcast pictures of devastating artillery bombardments, ruined towns and villages, and multitudes of killed and wounded men, women and children. Tens of thousands of people have been turned into refugees forced to leave their homes and belongings ...
The Ghost of Protectionism Past: The Return of Friedrich List by Richard M. Ebeling April 1, 1994 The cover of the December 1993 issue of The Atlantic Monthly had a caricature of Adam Smith running away while being chased by a rain of rotten apples, stones and copies of a book with the name Friedrich List on their covers. The caption under the drawing said, "Move over Adam Smith. Some of the world's strongest economies ...
Book Review: Reclaiming the American Right by Richard M. Ebeling April 1, 1994 Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement by Justin Raimondo (Burlingame, CA: Center for Libertarian Studies, 1993); 287 pages. In the first issue of the conservative quarterly Modern Age — Summer 1957 — there was an essay by Felix Morley entitled, "American Republic or American Empire?" His argument was that in taking on the role ...
