The Danger Is Intervention, Not “Isolation” by Sheldon Richman May 29, 2014 A lot of people are warning against America turning “isolationist.” We can dismiss the warnings—special pleadings, really—emanating from other countries, where people have free-ridden on American taxpayers for decades. If Europeans are worried about defending themselves, why are they cutting their military budgets? Not that we should mind if they do, but they should not look to us to ...
Libertarian Angle: Guantanámo, Taxation, and Immigration by Future of Freedom Foundation May 27, 2014 FFF president Jacob Hornberger and FFF vice president Sheldon Richman discuss the hot topics of the day. This week: Guantanámo, taxation, and immigration. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly. Go to the podcast.
TGIF: Immortal Keynes? by Sheldon Richman May 23, 2014 Whatever you may think of Keynesian economics, you have to give it credit for one thing: its staying power. You can’t watch a news program without hearing pundits analyze economic conditions in orthodox Keynesian terms, even if they don’t realize that’s what they’re doing. One TV personality says that the rejection of Keynes indicates a disbelief in all science! What ...
More U.S. Intervention in Libya? by Sheldon Richman May 22, 2014 Except for the 2012 deadly attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission and CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya has dropped out of American news coverage since President Obama and NATO’s so-called humanitarian intervention in 2011. The American public has been led to believe that except for that terrorist outburst, things have been going pretty well in the country formerly ruled ...
Conservatives and Chocolate Milk by Laurence M. Vance May 22, 2014 Lawmakers in the state of Connecticut recently passed legislation to ban chocolate milk from the state’s public schools. The milk ban was included in a bill to make “minor revisions” to the state’s education statutes that unanimously passed both chambers of the Connecticut General Assembly on the final night of the legislative session. Milk served in ...
The Libertarian Angle: Insider Trading, Militarism, and Patriotism by Future of Freedom Foundation May 19, 2014 FFF president Jacob Hornberger and FFF vice president Sheldon Richman discuss the hot topics of the day. This week: insider trading, militarism, and patriotism. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly. Go to the podcast.
TGIF: Rothbard’s For a New Liberty by Sheldon Richman May 16, 2014 In 1973, nine years before he published his magnum opus in political philosophy, The Ethics of Liberty, Murray Rothbard issued a comprehensive popular presentation of the libertarian philosophy in For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto, first published by the mainstream publisher Macmillan. The book is an excellent discussion of libertarian principles and applications, and it ...
The Virtues of Libertarianism by Jacob G. Hornberger May 15, 2014 The principle that undergirds the libertarian philosophy is what is known as the nonaggression principle. It holds that people should be free to live their lives in any way they choose, making whatever choices they wish to make, but with one condition: that their conduct must be peaceful (and nonfraudulent). Thus, libertarianism condemns any action that involves the initiation of ...
FFF Webinar: What Social Animals Owe to Each Other (video) by Sheldon Richman May 15, 2014 On May 14, 2014, FFF vice president and editor Sheldon Richman will hosted a free, interactive online webinar entitled “What Social Animals Owe to Each Other.” This was an interactive experience with Sheldon and was limited to 24 participants.
The Neoconservative Obsession with Iran by Sheldon Richman May 14, 2014 Portuguese Americans could be enjoying cultural and commercial relations with Iranians were it not for U.S. “leaders,” who are more aptly described as misleaders. Because of institutional, geopolitical, and economic reasons, Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton were not about to let that happen. ...
The Libertarian Angle: Drug War and World War II by Future of Freedom Foundation May 12, 2014 FFF president Jacob Hornberger and FFF vice president Sheldon Richman talk about the drug war and World War II. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly. Go to the podcast.
TGIF: Rothbard’s The Ethics of Liberty: Still Worthy after All These Years by Sheldon Richman May 9, 2014 In 1982 Murray Rothbard published his magnum opus in political philosophy, The Ethics of Liberty. It is a tour de force, a remarkable presentation of the moral case for political freedom. What a complement to Man, Economy, and State and Power and Market, Rothbard’s towering contributions to our understanding of free markets! The first ...