Daily Articles

Obama Plays with Fire in Ukraine

by Sheldon Richman April 23, 2014

“The U.S. is sending about 600 ground troops to Eastern Europe ... to ‘reassure’ allies there as Washington resumes its campaign of pressure on Russia over the Ukraine standoff.” — POLITICO How many American parents would proudly send their sons and daughters off to kill or be killed in Slovyansk or Donetsk?  How many young men and women ...

The Libertarian Angle: Ukraine

by Future of Freedom Foundation April 21, 2014

FFF president Jacob Hornberger and FFF vice president Sheldon Richman discuss the recent events in Ukraine. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly. Go to the podcast https://libertarianangle.libsyn.com/.

TGIF: What Social Animals Owe to Each Other

by Sheldon Richman April 18, 2014

If I were compelled to summarize the libertarian philosophy’s distinguishing feature while standing on one foot, I’d say the following: Every person owes it to all other persons not to aggress against them. This is known as the nonaggression principle, or NAP. What is the nature of this obligation? The first thing to notice is that it is unchosen. I never ...

FFF Webinar: Don’t Rock the Vote (video)

by Sheldon Richman April 17, 2014

On April 16, 2014, FFF vice president and editor Sheldon Richman hosted a free, interactive online webinar entitled “Don't Rock the Vote.” This was an interactive experience with Sheldon and was limited to 24 participants.  

The Ayatollahs’ Overlooked Anti-WMD Fatwas

by Sheldon Richman April 16, 2014

When the Obama administration refused to grant a visa to Iran’s designated ambassador to the United Nations, Hamid Aboutalebi, it was continuing a long-running hostile U.S. policy toward the Islamic Republic. After the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, a group of Iranians held 52 Americans hostage in the former U.S. embassy for more than a year. Aboutalebi served as ...

Does Intellectual Property Defy Human Nature?

by Joseph S. Diedrich April 15, 2014

A music-composition professor of mine once lamented that without copyright protection, Western civilization would cease to exist. Most of us take intellectual property (IP) for granted, assuming it is ethically and economically necessary. We’ve become so blasé about IP that heavy-handed FBI warnings and billion-dollar lawsuits don’t faze us in the slightest. Yet despite the unquestioned consensus, intellectual property ...

The Libertarian Angle: Our Libertarian Angle College Tour

by Future of Freedom Foundation April 14, 2014

FFF president Jacob Hornberger and FFF vice president Sheldon Richman talk about their just-completed tour where they took the Libertarian Angle live to college campuses in the Northeast. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly. Go to the podcast.

Abolish the ATF

by Laurence M. Vance April 10, 2014

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is under fire by Republicans and conservatives yet again. And for good reason. First it was the “Fast and Furious” operation in Phoenix, where ATF agents allowed illegal gun sales that were believed to be ultimately for Mexican drug cartels in order to track the buyers and sellers. It resulted in ...

The Big Lie of a “Rape Culture”

by Wendy McElroy April 7, 2014

April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, and it will be used to promote a big lie — namely, that we live in a “rape culture.” The term “rape culture” was coined by politically correct (PC) feminists in the 1970s. It refers to attitudes, beliefs, and values that allegedly normalize sexual violence against women and encourage the ...

TGIF: In Praise of “Thick” Libertarianism

by Sheldon Richman April 4, 2014

I continue to have trouble believing that the libertarian philosophy is concerned only with the proper and improper uses of force. According to this view, the philosophy sets out a prohibition on the initiation of force and otherwise has nothing to say about anything else. (Fraud is conceived as an indirect form of force because, say, a deceptive seller obtains ...

Socialism vs Capitalism (video)

by David Boaz April 2, 2014

On March 31, 2014 David Boaz presented the above speech as part of the ongoing Economic Liberty Lecture Series, a joint project of The Future of Freedom Foundation and the George Mason University Economics Society. David Boaz is the executive vice president of the Cato Institute and has played a key role in the development of ...

The Roots of Iran’s Nuclear Secrecy

by Sheldon Richman April 2, 2014

For years we’ve heard the steady drumbeat of news stories like this: Over 18 years, Iran secretly assembled uranium enrichment and conversion facilities that could be used for a nuclear energy program or to construct an atomic bomb. And this was among the least alarmist stories. The thrust of the sensational coverage, instigated by hawkish ...