Daily Articles

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 ...

The Union Devil Is in the Details

by Wendy McElroy May 9, 2014

Great attention has been focused on the exorbitant cost of the tax-funded pensions and other employee benefits of public-service unions. But the public costs of granting state-backed privileges to other, non-public-service unions are less visible, because they often occur on a local rather than a state or national level. One source of these costs is called a “Project ...

Bill Clinton and the Bogus Iranian Threat

by Sheldon Richman May 8, 2014

Tragically, President George H.W. Bush passed up a chance for a rapprochement with Iran because, after the Soviet Union imploded, the national-security apparatus needed a new threat to stave off budget cutters in Congress. Iran became the “manufactured crisis,” according to author Gareth Porter’s new book by that title. Doubly tragic, Bush’s successor, Bill Clinton, compounded ...

The Implications of Revenue-Neutral Tax Reform

by Laurence M. Vance May 8, 2014

Tax season is over, but tax-reform proposals are perennial. America’s current income-tax system was inaugurated in 1913 with the adoption of the Sixteenth Amendment. It began quite modestly, with a 1 percent tax on income above $3,000 ($4,000 for married couples). A series of surcharges up to 6 percent were applied to higher incomes, with the maximum rate being 7 ...

Exit Over Voice

by Alexander William Salter May 7, 2014

By what standard should we judge collective decision-making? In the liberal-democratic tradition, the overwhelming consensus affirms the supremacy of process. On this view, the justness and efficacy of collective decision-making depend on the inclusiveness of the process. That concern, what philosophers and social scientists call “voice,” has manifested itself in many familiar and important ways, chiefly through an expansion ...

The Libertarian Angle: Washington Post Editorial on Foreign Policy

by Future of Freedom Foundation May 5, 2014

FFF president Jacob Hornberger and FFF vice president Sheldon Richman discuss U.S. foreign policy. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly. Go to the podcast.

TGIF: Libertarianism Rightly Conceived

by Sheldon Richman May 2, 2014

The debate on thick and thin libertarianism continues, and that’s a good thing. Libertarians can only gain by the discussion. Often one comes to appreciate one’s own philosophy more fully in the crucible of intellectual argument. So I, for one, welcome the debate — so long as it is a real debate and not merely a series of unsupported denials ...