Daily Articles

The Most Dangerous Democratic Delusion

by James Bovard October 30, 2024

Democracy is a system of government under which the people are automatically liable for whatever the government does to them. Many of the most deadly errors of contemporary political thinking stem from the notion that in a democracy the government is the people, so there is scant reason to worry about protecting citizens from the government. Throughout western history, tyrants ...

A Tsunami Approaches

by John W. Whitehead October 25, 2024

“What happened here was the gradual habituation of the people, little by little, to being governed by surprise; to receiving decisions deliberated in secret; to believing that the situation was so complicated that the government had to act on information which the people could not understand, or so dangerous that, even if the people could understand it, it could ...

Questions That Only Libertarians Are Asking

by Laurence M. Vance October 22, 2024

Although on the surface, Democrats, liberals, socialists, and progressives seem to be ideological opposites of Republicans, conservatives, nationalists, and constitutionalists, and although both groups are often contrasted with moderates, populists, centrists, and independents, in reality, every one of these groups has something in common: their opposition to libertarianism. Libertarianism Libertarianism is the philosophy that says people should be free from individual, ...

FFF’s New Online Conference: “The Case for Open Borders”

by Jacob G. Hornberger October 22, 2024

We are pleased to announce The Future of Freedom Foundation's newest online conference entitled, “The Case for Open Borders.” As with our previous online conferences, it will consist of a series of weekly presentations via Zoom. The presentations will start at 7 p.m. Eastern Time and last for one hour. There will be plenty of time for Q&A.

Classical Liberalism versus Modern Unlimited Democracy

by Richard M. Ebeling October 21, 2024

Election years have the tendency to bring out the worst in political rhetoric. Both major political parties color their opponents as dangers to the foundations of American democracy and even the world in general. I remember seeing on television in 1964 the famous “Daisy” political ad with a small girl holding a flower being vaporized in a huge nuclear ...

Government Coverups and Censorship Are the Problem

by John W. Whitehead October 18, 2024

“What makes it possible for a totalitarian or any other dictatorship to rule is that people are not informed; how can you have an opinion if you are not informed? If everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer… And a people ...

Vox Gets It Half Right on Paying Kidney Donors

by Laurence M. Vance October 15, 2024

Writing for the left-leaning media outlet Vox, Dylan Matthews makes the moral case for paying kidney donors. Matthews, a kidney donor who has written for the Washington Post, the New Republic, The American Prospect, and Slate, is a senior correspondent and lead writer for Future Perfect, “Vox’s section that tells stories about people and ...

Beware of the Government’s Push for a Digital Currency

by John W. Whitehead October 11, 2024

“The greatest tyrannies are always perpetrated in the name of the noblest causes.”—Thomas Paine The government wants your money. It will beg, steal or borrow if necessary, but it wants your money any way it can get it. The government’s schemes to swindle, cheat, scam, and generally defraud taxpayers of their hard-earned dollars have run the gamut from wasteful pork barrel legislation, ...

Liberty Lost

by George Leef October 8, 2024

As the United States steadily succumbs to omnipotent government, it is important to look back at our early history to see how much Americans accomplished when they were free to use their time, talents, and property to solve the problems they faced. Many people today are habituated to turning to government for laws and programs to deal with almost ...

No, It’s Not Time to Ban Sports Gambling Again

by Laurence M. Vance October 1, 2024

Writing for The Atlantic, Charles Fain Lehman claims that legalizing sports gambling was a huge mistake. “If you follow sports, gambling is everywhere. Ads for it are all over broadcasts; more than one in three Americans now bets on sports,” he laments. Lehman, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, gets his history right if ...

Overthrowing the Constitution

by John W. Whitehead September 27, 2024

“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” — Abraham Lincoln It is both apt and ironic that the anniversary of 9/11, which paved the way for the government to overthrow the Constitution, occurs the week before the anniversary of the ...

In a Battle Between Freedom of Speech and the Legal Monopoly, North Carolina Sides with the Monopoly

by George Leef September 20, 2024

All government-backed monopolies are objectionable, but perhaps none so much as the monopoly that state governments give to their licensed attorneys. Laws against “unauthorized practice of law” (UPL) ensure that licensed attorneys won’t have to face competition from individuals who are not licensed. Obtaining a law license is extremely time-consuming and costly, which acts as a huge barrier to ...