Daily Articles

The Simplicity of Libertarianism

by Laurence M. Vance June 1, 2015

Libertarianism has been defined as an ethical system that seeks to preserve the liberty of individuals and as a political philosophy concerned with the permissible use of force or violence. These are two sides of the same coin. As libertarianism’s greatest theorist, Murray Rothbard, explained, Libertarianism is not and does not pretend to be a complete moral, or aesthetic theory; it ...

Penalty of Surrender

by Leonard Read June 1, 2015

A certain business leader, perhaps among the most publicized during the last two decades, once severely lectured me on my unswerving and uncompromising behavior. He charged that I saw things only in blacks and whites. He argued that practical life was lived in shades of grays, actually in the shadows of these two extremes. He suggested that I had ...

Innovation, Patents, and the Industrial Revolution

by David K. Levine June 1, 2015

The Most Powerful Idea in the World: The Story of Steam, Industry and Invention by William Rosen (University of Chicago Press 2012), 376 pages. This is the story of an important microcosm of the Industrial Revolution: the development of the railroad. Although the story is one of personalities — and the book is engaging and a good read ...

Militarism: Our Civic Religion

by Michael Swanson June 1, 2015

Militarism, U.S.A by Col. James Donovan; Foreword by Gen. David Shoup (Scribner’s 1970), 265 pages Today the United States is engaged in seemingly winless wars without end in Iraq and Afghanistan and has been engaging in interventions in places such as Libya, which seem to result in nothing but chaos. Libya has descended into civil war and the rise ...

Empire, Security, and the War State

by David S. D'Amato June 1, 2015

The War State: The Cold War Origins of the Military-Industrial Complex and the Power Elite, 1945–1963 by Michael Swanson (CreateSpace 2013), 430 pages. In the October 1958 issue of The New Yorker, near the high-water mark of McCarthyism, the novelist and literary critic Mary McCarthy famously wrote, “Bureaucracy, the rule of no one, has become the modern form of despotism.” ...

The JFK Autopsy Cover-Up: The Testimony of Saundra Spencer

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 28, 2015

Ever since people began questioning the official findings of the Warren Commission regarding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the popular retort of Warren Commission supporters has been “Conspiracy theory!” That retort was somewhat successful in the early years — that is, during the time that the CIA and the Pentagon were successful in keeping their records relating to ...

The Libertarian Angle – Dying for Empire and Hegemony

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 27, 2015

Each week, FFF president Jacob Hornberger discusses the hot topics of the day. This week, Jacob talks about Memorial Day and motivation behind U.S. foreign policy. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly. Go to the podcast here.

Markets, Not Janet Yellen, Should Set Interest Rates

by Richard M. Ebeling May 26, 2015

Financial markets in the United States and around the world are all waiting with “bated breath” for when the Federal Reserve modifies its “easy money” policy and starts to raise interest rates. No one, however, asks a simple question: Why is the American central bank in the interest rate setting business? In May 20th, the minutes were released of the ...

Why Government Deficits and Debt Do Matter

by Richard M. Ebeling May 20, 2015

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported in early May that for the month of April 2015 the Federal government ran a budget surplus, taking in more in taxes than it laid out in expenditures. Don’t be fooled by one month, especially when it was a month when people filed and paid their taxes. Government deficits and growing debt are ...

The Libertarian Angle – Secrecy and the JFK Files

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 19, 2015

Each week, FFF president Jacob Hornberger discusses the hot topics of the day. This week, Jacob and guest co-host Jefferson Morley discuss the JFK assassination and the files about the assassination that the U.S. government still keeps secret. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly. Go to the podcast here.

The Problem Is the State Not the Standard

by Laurence M. Vance May 18, 2015

The Federal Denture Act (18 USC 1821), enacted in 1942 and amended in 1996 (PL 104-294) and 2002 (PL 107-273), prohibits the interstate transport “by mail or otherwise” of “any set of artificial teeth or prosthetic dental appliance or other denture” made by an unlicensed dentist. Violators are subject to a fine and/or imprisonment of not more ...

Secrecy Benefited the National Security State in the JFK Assassination

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 14, 2015

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 6-Secrecy of FFF’s new book Regime Change: The JFK Assassination by Jacob Hornberger. Immediately after the assassination , a shroud of secrecy was placed over it and its aftermath. Moreover, when the Warren Commission conducted its investigation several months later, many of its proceedings were held in secret, ...