Daily Articles

Israel M. Kirzner and the Austrian Theory of Competition and Entrepreneurship

by Richard M. Ebeling August 1, 2001

WITH THE END OF THE 2001 SPRING SEMESTER, one of the leading Austrian economists in the world, Dr. Israel M. Kirzner, has decided to retire from formal academic life at the age of 71. Over a scholarly career that has spanned more than 40 years, Kirzner has enriched our understanding of the theory of the competitive process, the role ...

Does the Truth Not Matter?

by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2001

Thank you, Philip Morris. The tobacco company has reminded us that today “the truth” doesn’t mean that which corresponds to reality. It means “that which furthers a political agenda.” Philip Morris recently had a study done for the Czech Republic to answer the oft-made charge that smokers impose financial burdens on nonsmokers. Conducted by Arthur ...

A Stupid Way to Get Health Insurance

by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2001

Who came up with the idiotic idea that workers should get health insurance through their employers? If it’s such a great idea, why is no one getting their fire and auto insurance that way? Does it make sense to be tethered to your boss in this manner? There are people who fear changing jobs because ...

Update on the Drug War

by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2001

THE U.S. SUPREME COURT has ruled that “medical necessity” is not a permissible defense under the federal statute that outlaws distribution of marijuana. This has been widely interpreted as a lethal blow to the medical marijuana movement. The government had sought an injunction against an Oakland, California, cooperative that distributed marijuana to people whose ...

Only Individuals Have Rights

by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2001

Attorney General John Ashcroft has let it be known that it is the official position of the executive branch of the U.S. government that individuals possess the right to keep and bear arms. Hallelujah! As the anti-self-defense lobby says, this is a reversal of a position held for about 30 ...

A Different Look at World War II

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 2001

Prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, although many people supported giving aid to England, most Americans opposed entry into the war against the Nazis. Americans still remembered the ravages of World War I (“the war to end all wars”), when American soldiers were drafted and sent ...

Jonah Goldberg and the Meaning of Rights

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 2001

In his article “The Libertarian Lobe,” Jonah Goldberg expressed glee that he had trapped a young libertarian woman with what he calls his “tried-and-true trick question”: “I asked her something to the effect of: ‘Imagine a very close friend of yours were suicidal. She just broke up ...

A Modest Proposal for the Next Drug-War Shootdown

by James Bovard August 1, 2001

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION and federal agencies are still struggling with the backlash from the shootdown by Peruvian jet fighters of a Cessna airplane in which five Americans were traveling. Everybody regrets the fact that a CIA surveillance plane notified Peruvian jets that a plane carrying Baptist missionaries might contain drug traffickers. But unless the U.S. government is to suffer ...

The Colombia Quagmire, Part 2

by Doug Bandow August 1, 2001

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 AMERICAN-TRAINED SOLDIERS often serve with and even become paramilitaries. In one celebrated case, heavily decorated Lt. Carlos Acosta joined the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia and executed government investigators. Reported his brother, “He used to say that a soldier in Colombia has to fight not only the guerrillas but also ...

Classical Liberalism in the 21st Century

by Richard M. Ebeling August 1, 2001

The history of mankind is a history of war, conquest, and oppression. From ancient times to the modern era, peace and freedom have been rare occurrences in the sweep of human events. When peace has prevailed for extended periods of time, it has invariably occurred under the yoke of despotic ...

Patrick Henry’s Choice

by Ben Moreel August 1, 2001

IN 1775, an American patriot stood before his neighbors in a small church in Virginia and challenged the tyranny of government — his own government — in a ringing statement on liberty and death. While I subscribe wholeheartedly to ...

Book Review: The New Dealers’ War

by Richard M. Ebeling August 1, 2001

The New Dealers’ War: F.D.R. and the War within World War II by Thomas Fleming (New York: Basic Books, 2001); 628 pages; $35. THE SECOND WORLD WAR is considered America’s “good war” of the 20th century. The First World War is considered the tragic war, which need not have occurred, which could have been ended much earlier than the four years over ...