Daily Articles

FFF Webinar: Libertarianism: The Moral and the Practical

by Sheldon Richman February 18, 2014

On February 12, 2014, FFF vice president and editor Sheldon Richman hosted a free, interactive online webinar entitled “Libertarianism: The Moral and the Practical.” This was an interactive experience with Sheldon and the participants. The audio and Sheldon's slides are presented above.

An Awesome Conference!

by Jacob G. Hornberger February 17, 2014

Despite the big snow storm that hit Washington, D.C., last Thursday, the annual 2014 Students for Liberty Conference went on as scheduled at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington. It was an awesome experience. I don’t know what the official attendance was but it seemed to be to be in the neighborhood of some 1,400 people, most of whom ...

TGIF: Don’t Get Out the Vote

by Sheldon Richman February 14, 2014

A seminar student once became upset with me for suggesting that instead of running get-out-the-vote campaigns, the government should keep the dates of elections and the locations of polling places secret so that only people with enough initiative and interest to ferret out the information could vote. It was not a serious suggestion, but the college-aged young woman didn’t catch ...

Children Sue in Order to Learn

by Wendy McElroy February 13, 2014

Schoolchildren in Los Angeles are currently pleading in court for the opportunity to learn. They claim bad teachers prevent them from doing so. California’s teachers’ unions are among the most powerful in the nation. California statutes are so skewed in favor of teachers’ job security that even grossly incompetent educators are almost impossible to dismiss. For instance, it can cost ...

The Lethal Legacy of U.S. Foreign Intervention

by Sheldon Richman February 12, 2014

Americans seem to believe that once the U.S. military exits a foreign country, its moral accountability ends. But the deadly consequences — and culpability — continue long after the last soldier leaves. Take Iraq, which the U.S. military left at the end of 2011 (though not before President Obama pleaded with the Iraqi government to let some American forces remain). ...

“Civil Liberties & the National Security State” at the 2014 ISFLC

by Future of Freedom Foundation February 11, 2014

  "Civil Liberties and the National Security State" February 15, 2014 Grand Hyatt, Washington D.C.   FFF's "Conference within a Conference" at the 2014 International Students for Liberty Conference   10:00 am - 10:45 am: “America at the Crossroads of Civil Liberties in the 21st ...

The Libertarian Angle: Conference: Civil Liberties and the National Security State

by Future of Freedom Foundation February 10, 2014

Jacob Hornberger and Sheldon Richman discuss FFF's upcoming "conference within a conference" at the 2014 International Students for Liberty Conference. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly.  

TGIF: The Cruel Joke of Sacralizing Voting

by Sheldon Richman February 7, 2014

By now we’re used to MSNBC’s state adoration, expressed not only on its programs but also through in-house promotions. These are often heavy-handed, such as Rachel Maddow’s spots asserting that only governments can accomplish “great things.” Sometimes the promos are more subtle, such as one currently running. Voiced by prime-time “All In” host Chris Hayes, the spot shows ...

Give America a Raise?

by Sheldon Richman February 5, 2014

President Obama said something especially perplexing when he implored Congress during his State of the Union address to “Give America a raise.” Since when does Congress have the power to do that? We live in a nominally private-enterprise economy, so it should strike the ear as odd to hear Obama acknowledge that it’s not a private-enterprise economy at all, ...

The Libertarian Angle: Public Schooling vs. Education

by Future of Freedom Foundation February 3, 2014

Jacob Hornberger and Sheldon Richman discuss the public education system. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly.

What Does It Mean to Be Free?

by Jacob G. Hornberger February 1, 2014

Johann von Goethe once wrote, “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Goethe’s statement perfectly captures the plight of the American people in our time. That’s one of the principal challenges that we libertarians face, for if people are convinced they’re free, they have no incentive to break free of their servitude. Even ...

One Moral Standard for All

by Sheldon Richman February 1, 2014

Libertarians make a self-defeating mistake in assuming that their fundamental principles differ radically from most other people’s principles. Think how much easier it would be to bring others to the libertarian position if we realized that they already agree with us in substantial ways. What am I talking about? It’s quite simple. Libertarians believe that the initiation of force is ...