Freedom Daily Archive

Desacralizing Democracy to Save Liberty

by James Bovard July 1, 2010

In the 1770s, the British colonists living in America won their freedom from British rule thanks to the “de-sacralizing” of the British monarch. The mists before the colonists’ eyes dissipated and they recognized that King George III was a mere mortal and often a dangerous buffoon. Rather than being awed by the titles of the king’s ministers and appointees, ...

Leading Humanity Out of the Darkness, Part 2

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 1, 2010

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Ever since it was established, the income tax has constituted an ever-growing assault on income, savings, and capital, which are the keys to a prospering nation, one in which the real standard of living is growing generation after generation. Here is how this corrupt and sordid process ...

The Distortions Wrought by the Corporatist State

by Sheldon Richman July 1, 2010

“What kind of society gives that kind of money to people who create ... nothing?” That was Chris Matthews’s comment on his MSNBC program Hardball after reporting that “the top 25 hedge fund managers made $25 billion last year.” Most libertarians will have a natural reflex against a statement like that. Indeed, Matthews packs lots of fallacies into a few ...

Public Schools and Social Conflicts

by Jim Powell July 1, 2010

Government is widely perceived as a foundation of social order, yet it is the single greatest source of disorder. Political power constantly tempts those who control it to enforce conformity with their religion, education, lifestyle, or other preferences. Naturally, other people tend to have their own preferences. They don’t want anybody else telling them what to do. They evade ...

The Libertarian Legacy of R.C. Hoiles, Part 2

by Wendy McElroy July 1, 2010

Part 1 | Part 2 Hoiles began his newspaper career by working for the Alliance Review (Ohio), a daily owned by his brother Frank. In 1919, he and Frank bought the Lorain Times Herald, (Ohio), of which R.C. owned two-thirds. In 1921, they each purchased a one-third share in the Mansfield News (Ohio), ...

Leading Humanity out of the Darkness, Part 1

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 1, 2010

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 The ancient Chinese symbol for “crisis” perfectly depicts the situation currently facing the American people. That symbol was actually composed of two separate symbols. One was the symbol for “danger” and the other was the symbol for “opportunity.” The danger we face as Americans comes in the ...

Capitalism and the Free Market, Part 2

by Sheldon Richman June 1, 2010

Part 1 | Part 2 The taint of government intervention into economic activity carried over to the British North American colonies. The radical nature of the American Revolution has masked the class struggle within American colonial society between what historian Merrill Jensen called “radicals” and “conservatives” in his book The Articles of Confederation: An Interpretation of the Social-Constitutional History ...

Federal Make-Work Jobs Betray Teenagers

by James Bovard June 1, 2010

Politicians now pretend that government spending can solve any and all ills. Sloshing out federal funds for local summer job programs exemplifies this delusion. Uncle Sam first began bank-rolling summer jobs for urban teens in 1964. It was decided that government should hire any low-income teen who couldn’t find a job on his own. Soon, with the usual bureaucratic imperialism, ...

Unnatural Law, Natural Tyranny, Part 3

by William L. Anderson June 1, 2010

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 It is not surprising that the viewpoints discussed in Part 2 also would transform criminal law. Americans had inherited from Great Britain the common law, in which the criminal portion was based on the doctrine of malum in se. That meant that criminal acts, such as murder, robbery, and other ...

Lessons for America from Germany’s Hyperinflation, Part 2

by Jim Powell June 1, 2010

Part 1 | Part 2 By November 1922, the German economy was collapsing. Industries shut down. The government committed itself to paying money to the thousands of workers who became unemployed. Within six months, the government was providing a trillion marks a month in emergency credits to failing banks, railroads, manufacturing businesses, and agricultural cooperatives. On July 1, 1923, ...

The Libertarian Legacy of R.C. Hoiles, Part 1

by Wendy McElroy June 1, 2010

Part 1 | Part 2 The libertarian publishing giant Raymond Cyrus Hoiles created the newspaper and media chain known as Freedom Communications. He was an immensely successful businessman who opposed all governmental privileges for business. As a self-made man, he deeply respected the “working man” and willingly did the “grunt work” involved in ...

The Real Culprit in the Housing Crisis

by George Leef June 1, 2010

The Housing Boom and Bust by Thomas Sowell (Basic Books, 2009); 192 pages. Throughout Thomas Sowell’s long career, he has tried to get Americans to grasp some simple but crucial truths about economics and government policy. One of those lessons is central to this book, namely that it is a mistake to judge policy enactments on the basis of their stated, ...