Explore Freedom

Killing and Lying for Safety: Airbags and the Salvation State

by James Bovard December 1, 1997

Airbags symbolize the bogus paternalism that increasingly blights Americans' lives. In order to save lives, federal regulators seem to have granted themselves a license to kill. While airbags are sometimes seen as an arcane consumer issue, they are actually a great lesson of the danger of the combination of ... [click for more]

Service to Whom? Part 2

by Doug Bandow October 1, 1997

Part 1 | Part 2 A more subtle problem is the long-term effect of federal funding on the volunteer groups and those who normally support volunteer groups. To some it might seem hard to criticize grants to organizations such as Habitat for Humanity (which until recently refused to accept government funding), Big Brothers-Big Sisters, and the Red Cross. These ... [click for more]

Sovietizing American Virtue

by James Bovard September 1, 1997

"The higher interest involved in the life of the whole must set the limits and lay down the duties of the individual," according to Adolf Hitler. Hitler's views are generally unpopular in the United States. However, some of his moral dogmas may be staging a comeback. At the Volunteer Summit in ... [click for more]

Do We Need the Government’s Permission for Everything?

by Sheldon Richman September 1, 1997

The other day I caught the television news report about America Online's plan to buy out its largest rival, CompuServe. At the end of the report the broadcaster said that "the government will have to approve the deal." It got me thinking: does the government have to approve everything we do? President Clinton says we've left the era of big ... [click for more]

Service to Whom? Part 1

by Doug Bandow September 1, 1997

Part 1 | Part 2 Service has a long and venerable history in the United States. It has perhaps become a cliché, but Americans' generosity and penchant to organize to meet community needs were both noted by Alexis de Tocqueville in his classic, Democracy in America. And so it continues today. Three-quarters of American households give to charity. Some ... [click for more]

Heaven’s Gate and the Cult of the Socialistic Welfare State, Part 2

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 1997

Part 1 | Part 2 One of the primary characteristics of cults is the denial of reality. The ultimate example of this occurred in the Heaven's Gate cult: those cult members did not commit suicide; instead, they embarked on an exciting, intergalactic space adventure. In principle, denial of reality is no different for members in the cult of the socialistic ... [click for more]

Recall the Government Meat Inspectors

by Sheldon Richman August 1, 1997

The record recall of hamburger meat from the Hudson Foods plant in Nebraska should prompt us to ask whether the government should be certifying the safety of America's food supply. That may come as a shock. Doesn't the E. coli-contaminated beef show that we badly need government inspection? ... [click for more]

Freedom in Transactions

by Fredric Bastiat August 1, 1997

On entering Paris, which I had come to visit, I said to myself — Here are a million of human beings who would all die in a short time if provisions of every kind ceased to flow towards this great metropolis. Imagination is baffled when it tries to appreciate the vast ... [click for more]

Heaven’s Gate and the Cult of the Socialistic Welfare State, Part 1

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 1, 1997

Part 1 | Part 2 Several months ago, police discovered the bodies of members of a cult known as Heaven's Gate. The cult members had taken their own lives, apparently under the belief that they would be transported to a space ship hiding behind the Hale-Bopp comet that would take them on an intergalactic space trip. The Heaven's Gate episode ... [click for more]

Capitalism, Socialism, or a Third Way?

by Sheldon Richman July 1, 1997

Political economy has been debated for many years and yet so little progress has been made. The debate is littered with false alternatives and other fallacies that keep us locked into thinking that guarantees eventual stagnation and then decline. The recent summit of industrial countries in Denver is a case ... [click for more]

Should We Be Thankful for the FDA?

by Sheldon Richman May 1, 1997

The television anchorman presented the news in an excited tone: "The Food and Drug today approved use of a new laser technology that will replace the drill at the dentist's office." According to the story, most patients tested with the new laser device needed no pain killer. The announcement ... [click for more]

Smoke If You Want, and Pay for It

by Sheldon Richman May 1, 1997

Tobacco has become a four-letter word. The cigarette companies are getting it from all sides. The federal Food and Drug Administration wants to regulate tobacco as a drug. State governments are suing to recover Medicare money spent on elderly people with tobacco-related illnesses. Heirs of long-time ... [click for more]