Culture & the Libertarian Heritage

The Greatest Ignorance of the Greatest Number

by James Bovard August 1, 2003

The specter of an ignorant or indifferent populace has long haunted democracy. Montesquieu wrote in 1748, The tyranny of a principal in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy. James Madison warned, A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue ...

The Abolitionist Adventure, Part 2

by Wendy McElroy August 1, 2003

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 On August 31, 1831, a Virginia slave named Nat Turner instigated a slave revolt in which a slave owner and his family were killed. Eventually, the victims of Turner’s band exceeded 50. The South exploded with fear and rage, with many blaming Northern abolitionists, especially William Lloyd Garrison. A Virginia paper called ...

Is “Bambi” Libertarian?

by Scott McPherson July 25, 2003

Many libertarians are labeled amoral or immoral because they refuse to allow ethics to impinge upon politics. For libertarians, government exists not to make people do what are generally perceived as good things so much as it exists to keep them from doing genuinely bad things to other people. ...

Planning and Social Engineering at Home and Abroad

by Richard M. Ebeling July 1, 2003

How often do we look at those around us and think to ourselves: How absurd, dangerous, misguided, or foolish is so much of their conduct? How often do we then think to ourselves: If only they would listen to what we have to say, do as we suggest, learn from our experiences, and act in ways that we know ...

The Abolitionist Adventure, Part 1

by Wendy McElroy July 1, 2003

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 “Resolved, that the compact which exists between the North and the South is a covenant with death and an agreement with hell — involving both parties in atrocious criminality — and should be immediately annulled.” This resolution, passed by the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, was written by the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. ...

An Important Message to Our Friends and Supporters

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 30, 2003

To: FFF Friends and Supporters From: Jacob G. Hornberger President The Future of Freedom Foundation 11350 Random Hills Road Suite 800 Fairfax, VA 22030 Tel: (703) 934-6101 Fax: (703) 352-8678 jhornberger@fff.org www.fff.org Dear Friends and Supporters of FFF: Im writing to give you an update on all the good things that are happening at The Future of Freedom Foundation and to seek your support for them. As you know, ideas have ...

The Market for Homelessness

by Scott McPherson June 25, 2003

Advertisers are a simple lot — they want you to buy what they’re selling. So in their quest for the perfect way to influence your purchasing decisions, they’re always on the lookout for a new pitch. Everyone is familiar with the typical television or radio commercial, and of course ...

Worrisome Wording

by Don Boudreaux June 4, 2003

Whose brainchild is “Click It or Ticket”? I wish I knew; I’d send him a dozen black roses. Whenever I drive past a highway sign heralding this admonition, I’m tempted to unbuckle my seatbelt in protest against being governed by people whose artlessness is exceeded only by their arrogance. ...

Why Socialism Is the People’s Choice

by James Ostrowski June 1, 2003

Why is socialism more popular than capitalism? We have had 150 years to dissect socialism in theory. We have had 100 years to see socialism in action. Socialism, extensive government control over the economy, is a disaster in theory and a disaster in practice. The superiority of capitalism over socialism has been amply demonstrated by Ludwig von Mises, F.A. ...

Leave Bill Bennett Alone

by Scott McPherson May 9, 2003

Public revelations of former drug czar William J. Bennett’s penchant for high-stakes gambling has produced immediate reform for the Book of Virtues author: “It is true that I have gambled large sums of money.... I have done too much gambling, and this is not an example I wish to set. ...

Concentric Circles

by Sheldon Richman May 1, 2003

Libertarians are always happy to get noticed in the mainstream media. It happens so seldom. But not all attention is good attention, even when it’s sympathetic. Susan Lee, of the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, teaches this lesson in her article on the newspaper’s editorial page of February 12. Ominously titled “Sex, Drugs and Rock ’n’ Roll,” Lee’s article pays ...

Étienne de La Boétie, Part 2

by Wendy McElroy May 1, 2003

Part 1 | Part 2 The beginning of a tyrant’s rule was the most difficult period because those who had not consented to his rule would obey reluctantly, and brute force might be necessary. Brute force could put down dissent in the short term but it was never a good option. Violence bred martyrs, it increased popular resistance against ...