Freedom Daily Archive

Integrity and Leadership

by Leonard Read August 1, 2017

Some years ago the public relations officer of a large corporation summarized for me his guiding principle: “Find out what the people want and do more of it; find out what they don’t want and do less of it.” While seldom so succinctly stated, such an external, “other directed” guide to behavior is finding ever wider acceptance in American life. ...

America’s Turn toward Empire

by Matthew Harwood August 1, 2017

The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire by Stephen Kinzer (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2017; 320 pages) Sen. Mark Hanna, a Republican from Ohio and President William McKinley’s campaign manager, couldn’t contain himself. How could the delegates to the Republican National Convention not see through the man wearing a ...

Separating Economy and State

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 1, 2017

Throughout history, governments have controlled and regulated economic activity and monetary affairs. It has been generally accepted that such control and regulation are among the essential functions of government. The notion has always been that without government control and regulation of the economy and money, there would be economic and monetary chaos and disorder that would cause suffering for ...

How World War I Still Haunts America

by James Bovard July 1, 2017

This year is the 100th anniversary of Woodrow Wilson’s pulling America into World War I. Many people celebrate this centenary of America’s emergence as a world power. But at a time when the Trump administration is bombing or rattling sabers at half a dozen nations and many Democrats are clamoring to bloody Russia, it is worth reviewing how World ...

How Not to Cut Welfare Spending

by Laurence M. Vance July 1, 2017

The U.S. federal budget is now in the neighborhood of $4 trillion. Just ten years ago it wasn’t even $3 trillion. It was “only” $2 trillion in 2002, and didn’t reach the trillion dollar mark until 1987. The greatest component of the federal budget is spending on the welfare state. Welfare programs There are in the United States about 80 means-tested ...

The Invisible Hand of the State

by Will Tippens July 1, 2017

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. — Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations As Adam Smith observed in 1776, when people seek to benefit themselves through voluntary trade, they unwittingly benefit society at large. This phenomenon is often ...

The Exit Strategy of Empire

by Wendy McElroy July 1, 2017

The Roman Empire never doubted that it was the defender of civilization. Its good intentions were peace, law and order. The Spanish Empire added salvation. The British Empire added the noble myth of the white man’s burden. We have added freedom and democracy. — Garet Garrett, Rise of Empire The first step in creating Empire is to morally justify ...

Come You Masters of War

by Matthew Harwood July 1, 2017

America’s War for the Greater Middle East by Andrew J. Bacevich (New York: Random House, 2016; 480 pages) America’s military involvement in the Middle East began in classic imperial fashion, according to military historian and retired Army colonel Andrew J. Bacevich. They had something we needed, and we made sure we had access to it. “Oil has ...

The Worst Mistake in U.S. History

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 1, 2017

The worst mistake in U.S. history was the conversion after World War II of the U.S. government from a constitutional, limited-government republic to a national-security state. Nothing has done more to warp and distort the conscience, principles, and values of the American people, including those who serve in the U.S. military. A good example of how the national-security state has ...

Janet Reno: Saint or Tyrant?

by James Bovard June 1, 2017

When former Attorney General Janet Reno died last November, the media heaped praise on her as if she had been justice incarnate. Reno had long enjoyed sainthood inside the Beltway; the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia even created a Janet Reno Torchbearer Award. But Reno’s record of deceit, brutality, and power grabs should not be forgotten ...

An America First Foreign Policy

by Laurence M. Vance June 1, 2017

In his inaugural address, Donald Trump stated, “From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first, America first.” Trump apparently first used his catchphrase in a March 2016 interview with the New York Times in the context of foreign policy. The interviewer suggested that Trump was ...

Smears and Hyperbole: Neo-McCarthyism Run Amok on Russia Policy

by Ted Galen Carpenter June 1, 2017

Donald Trump’s comments during the 2016 presidential campaign that he wanted the United States to have more-cooperative relations with Vladimir Putin’s Russia have triggered a mixture of hysteria and viciousness among his political adversaries. Hawks conduct a concerted campaign to demonize Russia and portray it as a dire threat not only to the security of the West, but as ...