Politics

Political Fiction in an Age of Televised Lies

by John W. Whitehead July 29, 2016

“We’ve got to face it. Politics have entered a new stage, the television stage. Instead of long-winded public debates, the people want capsule slogans—‘Time for a change’—‘The mess in Washington’—‘More bang for a buck’—punch lines and glamour.”— A Face in the Crowd (1957) Politics is entertainment. It is a heavily scripted, tightly choreographed, star-studded, ratings-driven, mass-marketed, costly exercise in ...

Six Steps in Analyzing Political Issues

by Wendy McElroy July 15, 2016

Every political issue can be analyzed or argued on at least six levels. The levels are usually conflated, but they should be addressed separately even when there is overlap. Otherwise, confusion rather than clarity results. Indeed, sometimes the only way to make sense of a disagreement is to peel away the layers and inspect them one by ...

Trump and Libertarians in the Political Arena

by David S. D'Amato July 1, 2016

For perhaps most self-described libertarians, supporting any politician is an uneasy exercise in bullet-biting pragmatism, premised on the idea that we ought to support the most libertarian individual in the race—even if that person is really not very libertarian. The author has, as it happens, spent years arguing against this view, suggesting that abstaining from the voting booth is ...

Donald Trump the Corrupt Creation of America’s Bankrupt Politics

by Richard M. Ebeling June 22, 2016

Commentators from the political “left” as well as the “right” have attempted to analyze and dissect the rise and appeal of Donald Trump. The reality is, I would suggest, is that he represents the essence of the modern interventionist state, with its regulated economy and redistributive politics. Those on the “left” see Trump as the epitome of an undercurrent of ...

The Libertarian Angle: The Johnson-Weld Ticket

by Future of Freedom Foundation June 14, 2016

FFF president Jacob Hornberger and Richard Ebeling dissect the presidential ticket for the Libertarian Party and its impact on the future of the libertarian movement. Go to the podcast.

Government Interventionism Created Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump

by Richard M. Ebeling May 23, 2016

America and Europe, and, indeed, other parts of the world are going through major political, economic and cultural crises. In the U.S., some social critics consider the likely Democratic and Republican candidates for president to be among the most corrupt, power lusting and personally offensive that have ever run for that high office. In Europe, the Social Democratic and moderately ...

What Sports Can Teach Us about Politics

by Wendy McElroy April 6, 2016

What can sports teach us about civil society and federal agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services? In his most famous speech, Senator Robert A. Taft (1889–1953) answered that question. Taft was a passionate defender of private enterprise in domestic policy as well as non-intervention in foreign affairs. This made him oppose the New Deal policies adopted under ...

A Few Thoughts on Machiavelli

by Joseph R. Stromberg April 1, 2016

The Italian Renaissance politician and writer Nicolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) remains controversial. His defenders see him as a tough-minded “realist” and the founder of proper political science. Some writers find two Machiavellis: an advisor to aspiring despots, or (alternatively) a sincere republican theorist bent on freeing Italy from foreign rule. Either way, Machiavelli’s analysis of such categories as fortune, necessity, ...

Libertarian Angle: Why People Are Supporting Trump

by Future of Freedom Foundation March 22, 2016

In this segment, Richard Ebeling and Jacob Hornberger discuss the Republican primaries and why candidate Donald Trump is appealing to so many voters. Go to the podcast.

This Year’s Presidential Politics Equals Continuing Big Government

by Richard M. Ebeling March 21, 2016

The daily and unending bombardment of political campaign reporting and news, with its “drama” about who will be the Republican and Democratic Party candidates for the U.S. presidency, hides from view the continuing and real choice facing the American public: freedom or statism, individual liberty or government control. This real underlying question is hidden from view because the media coverage ...

The Futility of Representative Government in an Age of Robber Barons

by John W. Whitehead March 10, 2016

“That's the way the ruling class operates in any society. They keep the lower and the middle classes fighting with each other… Anything different—that's what they're gonna talk about—race, religion, ethnic and national background, jobs, income, education, social status, sexuality, anything they can do to keep us fighting with each other, so that they can keep going to the ...

Reality Check: No Matter Who Wins the White House, the New Boss Will Be the Same as the Old Boss

by John W. Whitehead March 3, 2016

“The main problem in any democracy is that crowd-pleasers are generally brainless swine who can go out on a stage & whup their supporters into an orgiastic frenzy—then go back to the office & sell every one of the poor bastards down the tube for a nickel apiece.” ― Hunter S. Thompson Politics today is not about Republicans and Democrats. Nor ...