Free Society

Can a Business Overcharge Its Customers?

by Laurence M. Vance April 1, 2016

How many times have we heard someone say that he was overcharged for something? The answer to the question of whether a business can overcharge its customers seems, on the surface, to be quite obvious. Yet, it is a question that has more than one answer. At the end of last year, Whole Foods Market, a supermarket chain specializing in ...

From Democracy to Pathocracy: The Rise of the Political Psychopath

by John W. Whitehead March 30, 2016

“Politicians are more likely than people in the general population to be sociopaths. I think you would find no expert in the field of sociopathy/psychopathy/antisocial personality disorder who would dispute this... That a small minority of human beings literally have no conscience was and is a bitter pill for our society to swallow — but it does ...

Obama’s “Middle Way” Between Capitalism and Socialism Means Less Liberty

by Richard M. Ebeling March 28, 2016

During his trip to Argentina in March 2016, President Barack Obama participated in an exchange of ideas with a group of young Argentinian men and women. At one point in the discussion, President Obama explained how he sees that great rivalry in ideas and economic policy between “capitalism” and “socialism” over the last one hundred years. In a nutshell, he ...

Fascism, American Style

by John W. Whitehead March 24, 2016

“If we define an American fascist as one who in case of conflict puts money and power ahead of human beings, then there are undoubtedly several million fascists in the United States.” ― Henry A. Wallace, 33rd Vice President of the United States This is an indictment of every politician who has ever sold us out for the sake ...

Service Dogs and a Free Society

by Laurence M. Vance March 23, 2016

I can remember when I was a kid that some stores would have a notice posted on the front door or window that dogs were not allowed in the store except for guide dogs leading the blind. Like any kid, I thought it would be a cool thing to be able to see one of these dogs, but I ...

Regardless Who Wins In November, Freedom And Liberty Both Lose

by Richard M. Ebeling March 16, 2016

Let us be clear. We are living, right now, in a time of emotional fear, hysterical anger, illogical demands, and dangerous temptations. In other words, liberty and prosperity are at risk. A decent and tolerant society is threatened. Common principles of humanity are being undermined. All of this is concentrated and has been brought to a head in the ...

Big Government Fuels Income Inequality

by Richard M. Ebeling March 9, 2016

Political campaign years are filled with candidates’ promises to solve people’s problems. Government policies will “create jobs,” will reduce or even block the “unfair” competition of market rivals in foreign lands, will restore or create prosperity for all, and will assure “fairness” for everyone, even if it means imposing regulatory or special tax burdens on some to guarantee ...

Presidential Fear-Mongering versus Freedom

by James Bovard March 1, 2016

After the San Bernardino massacre late last year, Barrack Obama made a rare speech from the Oval Office. His most memorable line was his declaration that “freedom is more powerful than fear.” That epigram might have made John F. Kennedy’s speechwriters beam. But it is ludicrous to hear such a comment from a president who has spent almost seven ...

Government of the Politicians, by the Military, for the Corporations

by John W. Whitehead February 26, 2016

“I was astonished, bewildered. This was America, a country where, whatever its faults, people could speak, write, assemble, demonstrate without fear. It was in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights. We were a democracy... But I knew it wasn't a dream; there was a painful lump on the side of my head... The state and its police were not ...

What Road For America — Liberty Or Political Plunder?

by Richard M. Ebeling February 25, 2016

Presidential election years, more than many others, focuses our attention on politics, those running for political office, and the promises the competing candidates make to sway our allegiance and votes toward one or some of them in comparison to others. They want us to give them political power by promising to use that power to benefit some of ...

Television, Football and Politics: Gaming Spectacles Designed to Keep the Police State in Power

by John W. Whitehead February 3, 2016

Big Brother does not watch us, by his choice. We watch him, by ours. There is no need for wardens or gates or Ministries of Truth. When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become ...

What If Obama Believed in Individual Liberty and Free Markets?

by Richard M. Ebeling January 25, 2016

President Barack Obama delivered his final State of the Union address on January 12, 2016, and devoted most of the time to defending his “legacy” of bigger and more intrusive government, with an emphasis on the other aspects of personal and social life he wished could come under the blanket of more political paternalism, if only there was ...