Explore Freedom

Legal Plunder in Alabama

by Sheldon Richman October 13, 2003

Most Americans would take umbrage at the suggestion that they are serfs rather than citizens of the United States. But that just shows how far removed from political reality they are. How many people would be surprised to learn that the government can take their homes if it decides ... [click for more]

The Fraud of Insider-Trading Law, Part 2

by Sheldon Richman October 1, 2003

Part 1 | Part 2 It is virtually unquestioned in America today that insider trading in the securities markets is a dastardly act. We must make a distinction here between trading by insiders and trading by insiders on the basis of nonpublic information. Insiders are legally allowed to buy and sell stocks. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires ... [click for more]

Price Controls Are No Answer to Isabel

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 19, 2003

Five states have declared a state of emergency as a result of Hurricane Isabel. Citizens in the affected states should hope that government officials don't do what they often do during such emergencies — impose price controls, especially on important items, such as water, ice, batteries, candles, and building supplies. During ... [click for more]

The Fraud of Insider-Trading Law, Part 1

by Sheldon Richman September 1, 2003

Part 1 | Part 2 This article was originally intended as a discussion of the Martha Stewart case. But instead it will be a discussion of insider trading. Many people think those are one and the same issue. But that is incorrect. After more than a year of associating Martha Stewart with insider trading, the U.S. Justice Department declined to ... [click for more]

Central Planning of Electricity Must Fail

by Sheldon Richman August 20, 2003

Central economic planning was discredited in the old Soviet Union and every other country that attempted it. What the great economist Ludwig von Mises showed in theory in the 1920s was then demonstrated in practice in subsequent decades: central economic planning is impossible. Most people will agree when the ... [click for more]

Two Great Books

by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2003

Libertarians love books. They hunger for reading material and are always eager to hear of new works dealing with the broad and deep subject of individual liberty and its social and economic implications. In my opinion, two books in particular belong on every libertarian’s shelf. I mean this literally because these are books that libertarians will want to consult often. One, ... [click for more]

I Support Economic Regulation!

by Scott McPherson June 20, 2003

The evils which men perpetually call on the State to cure by superintendence, themselves arise from non-performance of its original duty. — Herbert Spencer, Over-Legislation (1853) On a recent camping trip with my brother-in-law and his family, my wife expressed doubt that the British rail service could ever reach ... [click for more]

Historical Preservation and the Market

by Scott McPherson June 18, 2003

There’s a controversy brewing over the Old North Church in Boston, from the window of which patriot Paul Revere received the signal that British troops were headed for Concord and spread the word through the Massachusetts countryside. It seems that the old church needs some work, and the U.S. government ... [click for more]

Insider-Trading Prohibitions Should Go out of Style

by Don Boudreaux June 6, 2003

One of the most essential distinctions made in Anglo-American law is between acts that are malum in se and acts that are malum prohibitum. According to the law dictionary at www.law.com, an act that is malum in se is “wrong in itself, in its very nature being ... [click for more]

Social Fantasy and Libertarian Reality

by Scott McPherson April 25, 2003

The idea you can bring unskilled people into the country and not impose huge costs on taxpayers is a fallacy. Its a kind of libertarian fantasy. So said Steven A. Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), on the occasion of his organizations releasing a report on the rise in welfare use by immigrants. According to ... [click for more]

War as a Media Subsidy

by Scott McPherson March 31, 2003

One can’t help but be amused by the way television news programs become practically weak at the knees when war looms. The prospect of reporting on a major armed conflict is met with almost universal applause by our friends in the entertainment, oops, the news industry — and it’s ... [click for more]

Operation Iraqi Welfare

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 28, 2003

President Bush’s most recent raison du jour, I mean reason of the day (sorry!), for invading Iraq is to “liberate” the Iraqi people. That’s why the Pentagon ultimately decided to name the invasion “Operation Iraqi Freedom.” The terminology perfectly encapsulates how far we have strayed from the true ... [click for more]