The so-called war on drugs – actually a war on certain people associated in various ways with certain drugs – has served since the Nixon administration as a major profit center for governments at every level. Owing to the ostensible efforts to suppress the possession, use, and commerce in these drugs, governments have been able … Continue reading States Are the Becoming the Biggest Drug Lords of All
Category: Liberty
May Day celebrations were held all across the fruited plain, with leftist radicals and unionists worshipping the ideals of communism. Communism is an ideology calling for government control over our lives. It was created by Karl Marx, who—along with his collaborator, Friedrich Engels—wrote a pamphlet called “Manifesto of the Communist Party.” In 1867, Marx wrote … Continue reading Socialism is born out of racism
In his classic 1841 book on financial bubbles, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, Charles Mackay observed, “Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one.” Mackay covered religious and political delusions, … Continue reading Venezuela’s Road to Literal Serfdom
One of the most cherished misunderstandings, if not delusions, of the social engineer – the individual who would presume to attempt to remake society through conscious and planned design – is the confident belief that he (and those like him) can ever know enough to successfully remold mankind and human institutions. An appreciation of how … Continue reading Adam Ferguson and the Spontaneous Order of Society
It’s time to make a very serious point, albeit with a bit of humor and sarcasm. A couple of years ago, I shared an image of Libertarian Jesus to make the point that it’s absurd to equate compassion and virtue with government-coerced redistribution. We all can agree – at least I hope – that it … Continue reading Libertarian Jesus Memes Lampoon Leftists
Much has been rightly said about recent attacks on conservative, libertarian, and other non-Leftist speakers on college and university campuses around the country. The elements of intellectual intolerance, the willingness to shout down any ideological critic or opponent, and the resort to incidents of on-campus violence to prevent invited speakers from addressing students have been … Continue reading The Campus Counter-Revolution against Liberty
For as long as I can remember, I’ve puzzled about why people become communists. I have no doubt about why someone would stop being one. After all, we have a century of evidence of the murder, famine, and general destruction caused by the idea. Ignoring all this takes a special kind of willful blindness to … Continue reading Why Do People Become Communists, and Why Do They Stick With It?
Liberty is central to libertarians and classical liberals. It may be summarized as person, property, and consent, the individual’s dominion that others are presumptively not to mess with. Suppose your neighbor asserts that he is to get 25 percent of your income and brandishes a gun to show that he means business. Or, suppose he … Continue reading Libertarianism and Classical Liberalism: A Short Introduction
When I was first learning economics, I was surprised by how pro-communist many economics textbooks were. I don't mean, of course, that any economics textbook ever said, "Communism is good." What I mean, rather, is that textbooks were very positive relative to communism's historical record. Indeed, many seemed deeply ignorant of actual communism, basing their assessment … Continue reading How Econ Textbooks Sanitize the Horrors of Communism
I wrote last year that Venezuela was entering the “fourth circle of statist hell.” How else, after all, can you describe a government that is so venal and incompetent that it resorts to confiscating toys in an effort to strengthen its hold on power? I also wrote last year that Atlas was “shrugging” in Venezuela. … Continue reading Venezuela’s Socialist Hellscape, Captured in 28 Horrifying Headlines
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