Daily Articles

Trump’s Fall and the Rise of the Tribal Collectivists

by Richard M. Ebeling January 20, 2021

It has often been said that religious wars are the most unforgiving because one or both protagonists are absolutely, if not fanatically, certain that “the” truth is on their side. This is threatening to become the situation in America today with the ideological dogmatism seen in the mindset and extremism of the identity politics warriors and cancel culture crusaders, ...

Should We?

by Laurence M. Vance January 19, 2021

Every president since George Washington has delivered an inaugural address. Beginning with William McKinley, the address has taken place after the swearing in of the new president instead of before. There have been some notable inaugural addresses. William Henry Harrison’s inaugural address in 1841 was almost two hours long. He delivered the address in freezing weather without a ...

Witnessing Lithuania’s 1991 Fight for Freedom from Soviet Power

by Richard M. Ebeling January 13, 2021

Individual liberty and representative democracy as complementary forms of personal and political self-government are precious aspects of shared social life. Given the political and economic events surrounding the recent presidential election and the restrictions on personal freedom due to the government-imposed lockdowns in the face of the coronavirus, it seems appropriate to recall a real fight for a free ...

Conservative Hypocrisy on Foreign Aid

by Laurence M. Vance January 5, 2021

After initially threatening to veto it, Donald Trump signed into law a $2.3 trillion, 5,593-page spending bill that no member of Congress had read. The “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021” (H.R.133), which is a combination of twelve annual funding bills, COVID-19 relief, and pounds and pounds of pork, passed the House in two separate votes ...

Freedom versus Paternalism in the Coming Decade

by Richard M. Ebeling January 4, 2021

We are not only standing at the beginning of a new year in 2021, but at the entrance of the third decade of the 21st century. With a fifth of this latest century now behind us, what have we learned so far? I, personally, fear that the answer to that is little that is right and true, as I ...

Salvador Allende and the JFK Assassination, Part 1

by Jacob G. Hornberger January 1, 2021

On September 11, 1973, Chilean Air Force Hawker Hunter jets attacked the National Palace in the nation’s capital, Santiago. The planes fired missiles into the palace with the aim of assassinating the nation’s democratically elected president, Salvador Allende, who, along with several of his supporters, was defending himself against the attacks on his life. The attack on Allende has profound ...

The Deadly Precedent of the Waco Whitewash

by James Bovard January 1, 2021

The easiest way to achieve sainthood in Washington is to cover up a federal atrocity. Thus, it is no surprise that former senator John Danforth continues to be treated by the Washington Post as a visionary statesman. The Post showcased Danforth’s attack on Donald Trump in October after Trump derided the Commission on Presidential Debates. Danforth, a permanent member ...

Non-Issues in the 2020 Election

by Laurence M. Vance January 1, 2021

In one of his trenchant commentaries written about a month before the election, Future of Freedom Foundation president Jacob G. Hornberger asked the question, “Where Are Open Borders in the Presidential Race?” He then made these observations: Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, immigration is not a big burning issue in the presidential race. There is a simple reason for that: Both ...

The Case for Freedom in Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, and Ayn Rand

by Richard M. Ebeling January 1, 2021

Three names are widely associated with the cause of human freedom and economic liberty in the twentieth century: Friedrich A. Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, and Ayn Rand. Indeed, it can be argued that Hayek’s Road to Serfdom (1944) and Constitution of Liberty (1960), Mises’s Socialism (1936) and Human Action (1949), and Rand’s novels The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged ...

End Subway Socialism in New York City

by Gregory Bresiger January 1, 2021

The misery will continue for New York subway riders, who don’t understand how previous subway reforms have failed. State and city officials concede things will worsen. “There is no question our subways are in crisis after decades of underinvestment and inaction,” wrote New York City Comptroller Scott Stinger in a recent report. “The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA),” writes New York State ...

Business Regulations

by Laurence M. Vance December 29, 2020

Business regulations are of two kinds: government-imposed regulations on businesses and business-imposed regulations on employees and customers. From the standpoint of liberty and property, the first kind of regulation is always bad and the second kind of regulation is always good, even when the regulations are bad. Let me explain. First of all, there are government-imposed regulations on businesses. These can ...

Help Us Light the Darkness

by Jacob G. Hornberger December 29, 2020

 There is one light shining through the darkness of the ever-increasing tyranny under which we live. That light is libertarianism. We must continue doing everything we can not only to keep that light lit, but also to increase its intensity and brightness. That’s what we ...