Contra Gradualism by Wendy McElroy November 1, 1997 It is 1858 and you are living in a Northern town. A man has arrived at your door with papers documenting his ownership of a runaway slave whom you are sheltering. The slave throws himself at your feet, begging to stay while the slaveowner reasons with you. Being philosophically inclined, he ...
Book Review: Power Kills by Richard M. Ebeling November 1, 1997 Power Kills: Democracy as a Method of Nonviolence by R.J. Rummel (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Books, 1997); 246 pages; $32.95. In 1994, political scientist R.J. Rummel summarized the consequences of tyrannical government in the 20th century in his book Death by Government. (See the review in Freedom Daily, October 1994.) His research showed that governments around the world had killed ...
Campaign Finance Follies by Sheldon Richman October 2, 1997 Imagine you open a store fully stocked with goodies. Lo and behold, people show up with money eager to buy. Would you be surprised? Of course not. That is the sum total of what is called the campaign finance problem. Politicians have goodies, legislative favors, to sell, and people are eager to buy them with ...
Compromise and Concealment-The Road to Defeat, Part 2 by Jacob G. Hornberger October 1, 1997 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 The libertarian philosophy holds that people should be free to do whatever they want, so long as their conduct is peaceful. Therefore, government's role in life should be limited to: (1) punishing people who initiate force against others ...
Monetary Central Planning and the State, Part 10: Austrian Business Cycle Theory and the Causes of the Great Depression by Richard M. Ebeling October 1, 1997 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | ...
Time to Bid the UN Farewell by Sheldon Richman October 1, 1997 President Clinton has announced a renewed U.S. commitment to the United Nations. In his attempt to show American enthusiasm for the world organization, Clinton has promised that the United States will pay the $819 million it is said to owe and he supports expansion of the Security Council. It will be no surprise if Clinton ...
Property as the Key to Self-Determination by Sheldon Richman October 1, 1997 In political philosophy, no concept is as controversial as property. It excites libertarians, repulses socialists, and leaves inconsistent statists ("liberals" and conservatives) confused. What is it about property that packs such power? To answer that question, it is important to realize that flawed political philosophy will lead to flawed notions of property. Good-faith socialists (those not motivated simply by envy) ...
The Energizer Leviathan: Still Growing and Growing by James Bovard October 1, 1997 President Bill Clinton has repeatedly announced that "the era of big government is over." Many Republican congressmen have responded by laying down their ideological swords and pretending their work is done. But if freedom is to be revived in this country, Americans must begin paying less attention to the platitudes in politicians' speeches and more attention to the nasty ...
Service to Whom? Part 2 by Doug Bandow October 1, 1997 Part 1 | Part 2 A more subtle problem is the long-term effect of federal funding on the volunteer groups and those who normally support volunteer groups. To some it might seem hard to criticize grants to organizations such as Habitat for Humanity (which until recently refused to accept government funding), Big Brothers-Big Sisters, and the Red Cross. These ...
Book Review: Determinants of Economic Growth by Richard M. Ebeling October 1, 1997 Determinants of Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Empirical Study by Robert J. Barro (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 1997); 145 pages; $22.50. The London School of Economics regularly hosts a Lionel Robbins lecture series. Lord Robbins, who in the 1930s was a vigorous and articulate proponent of Austrian economics, was a master in the history of economic ideas. In 1952, he published ...
New Laws Aren’t Needed for the Paparazzi by Sheldon Richman September 2, 1997 Tragedy often spawns new, ill-conceived laws. A good rule of thumb would be to avoid new legislation that is inspired by incidents involving the death or injury of beloved people. Despite good intentions, such laws will turn out to be mistakes. Legislate in haste, repent is leisure. The death of Princess Diana quickly prompted calls ...
Compromise and Concealment-The Road to Defeat, Part 1 by Jacob G. Hornberger September 1, 1997 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 Twenty years ago, I was rummaging through the public library in my hometown of Laredo, Texas, and I came across four books entitled Essays on Liberty that had been published many years before by The Foundation for Economic ...