Free Society

Capitalism and the Free Society, Part 1

by Richard M. Ebeling October 30, 2017

Part 1 | Part 2 One of the leading ideological punching bags for well over one hundred years has been the ideas, institutions, and impact of “capitalism” on society. Think of something someone does not like in the world and the guilty party causing it is almost always the same – “capitalism.” But what is capitalism, and ...

If Political Candidates Advocated Liberty

by Richard M. Ebeling October 23, 2017

In modern democracies, political cycles never end. As soon as one election is over, those in government office or aspiring to such an office are already running for the next election. Having recently attended a public forum of state-level candidates looking to the 2018 election, I wondered what a real friend of freedom might say if he was offering ...

This Is How Tyranny Rises and Freedom Falls

by John W. Whitehead October 19, 2017

“Every day I ask myself the same question: How can this be happening in America? How can people like these be in charge of our country? If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I’d think I was having a hallucination.”—Philip Roth, novelist It is easy to be distracted right now by the circus politics that ...

A Culture of Compliance Breeds Despots and Predators

by John W. Whitehead October 11, 2017

“All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible.”― Frank Herbert Power corrupts. Worse, as 19th-century historian Lord Acton concluded, absolute power corrupts absolutely. It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about a politician, an entertainment mogul, a corporate CEO or a ...

Classical Liberalism and the Problem of “Race” in America

by Richard M. Ebeling October 2, 2017

The masterful words in the American Declaration of Independence that have inspired untold millions of people around the world hailed a transformative conception of man and the human condition by declaring that all men were created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights, including the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What stood out in these words ...

Slavery and Segregation Were Federal Programs

by David S. D'Amato October 1, 2017

Americans are afflicted with a “collective amnesia” that surrounds the subject of segregation, complacently assured that it was, if anything, a “minor factor” in the striking wealth gap that today divides white from black Americans. In his book The Color of Law, the Economic Policy Institute’s Richard Rothstein argues that not only have Americans forgotten the true legacy of ...

Felix Morley, Champion of the American Republic

by Wendy McElroy October 1, 2017

The American socialist Ed Sard is reported to have originated the concept of a “permanent arms economy” as a way to explain why America experienced a post–World War II boom, while World War I had been followed by recession. Sard concluded that the United States retained many of the characteristics of a war economy, including what today is called ...

Let’s Make America Free Again

by John W. Whitehead September 15, 2017

“I tell you, freedom and human rights in America are doomed. The U.S. government will lead the American people in — and the West in general — into an unbearable hell and a choking life.”—Osama bin Laden (October 2001) Ironically, during the same week that we mark the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we find ourselves ...

The Libertarian Angle: In Praise of Price Gouging

by Future of Freedom Foundation September 6, 2017

FFF president Jacob Hornberger and Richard Ebeling talk about the economics of disaster recovery. Go to the podcast.

Freedom of Contract: A Bedrock of Freedom

by George Leef September 1, 2017

Freedom of contract used to be understood as a cornerstone of civilization and a crucial element in economic progress. The Constitution’s Framers included in Article 1, Section 10, a clause stating that Congress was forbidden to enact any law impairing the obligation of contracts. And in the Civil Rights Act of 1866, Congress included the freedom to enter into ...

Freedom and the Fear of Self-Responsibility

by Richard M. Ebeling July 31, 2017

Liberty is under a renewed challenge and attack in the contemporary world. From “political correctness” and its accompanying growing totalitarian closed-mindedness at institutions of higher learning in both America and Europe, to the rebirth of economic nationalism with its rejection of freedom of trade, investment and people in places like the United States, along with the continuing stranglehold of ...

Zombies R Us

by John W. Whitehead July 19, 2017

Monsters in movies are us, always us, one way or the other. They’re us with hats on. The zombies in George Romero’s movies are us. They’re hungry. Monsters are us, the dangerous parts of us. The part that wants to destroy. The part of us with the reptile brain. The part of us that’s vicious and cruel. We express ...