Forbidding freedom of movement to aspiring migrants strikes at the liberty not only of those individuals but also of citizens and legal residents of the United States. That's the way it is with immigration. Indeed, that's the way it is with freedom. The government...
Latest Articles
Washington’s Never-Ending Love Affair with Sanctions
by Ted Galen Carpenter | Jun 1, 2023 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
One of the more puzzling features of the U.S. approach to world affairs is how officials persist in their enthusiasm for economic sanctions as a worthwhile policy tool despite massive evidence regarding their futility. More than three decades ago, Gary Hufbauer,...
Hypocrisy, Thy Name is Wall Street Journal
by Walter E. Block | Jun 1, 2023 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
The Wall Street Journal of March 31, 2023 (page A20, if you must know) featured this headline: “Turkey’s Parliament Ratifies NATO bid.” Here is the first paragraph of this entry: “The Turkish parliament ratified Finland’s entrance into the NATO on Thursday, removing...
Debt-Ceiling Theater Masks True Depth of DC’s Red Ink
by Stark Realities with Brian McGlinchey | Jun 1, 2023 | Featured Articles
As the latest debt-ceiling drama winds down, Americans are varyingly exasperated, angered, anxious and maybe even a little bit entertained by the spectacle. While their emotions vary, most citizens have something in common: They don’t realize they’re being misled...
Are Police Inherently Less Competent Than Citizens?
by Thomas Eddlem | May 31, 2023 | Criminal Justice, Featured Articles
Qualified immunity says some people should be held to a lower legal standard than everyone else under Anglo-American common law, mostly government officials in their formal duties—but also stock holders for decisions made by their companies. The idea behind it is that...
Gen. Mark Milley Says Ukraine Should Not Use American Equipment to Attack Russia
by Connor Freeman | May 31, 2023 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
The top U.S. general reaffirmed that Kiev has long been asked not to use military equipment provided by Washington to conduct attacks against Russian territory, according to Reuters. This policy is necessary because such attacks could provoke a direct clash between...
Is the United States Losing Its Control of Ukraine?
by Ted Snider | May 31, 2023 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
In the very early days of the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was open to negotiating a peace. A proposed peace could have ended the war before tens of thousands of Ukrainians died and Ukraine’s infrastructure was devastated, on terms that...
Turn Off, Don’t Automate, the Killing Machine
by Laurie Calhoun | May 30, 2023 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
The quest to develop and refine technologically advanced means to commit mass homicide continues on, with Pentagon tacticians ever eager to make the military leaner and more lethal. Drone swarms already exist, and as insect-facsimile drones are marketed and produced,...
News
This Week At The Libertarian Institute
The Empire never sleeps – but neither do we. Missed a story? We’ve got you covered. Check out this week in review at the Libertarian Institute.
CIA Head Took ‘Secret’ Trip to Beijing
CIA Director William Burns held “clandestine” meetings with Chinese intel agencies during an unannounced trip to Beijing last month, US officials told the Financial Times, suggesting the visit was intended to “stabilize” deteriorating relations with the People’s Republic.
Israel Launches Drills Simulating ‘Multi-Front War’ as US CENTCOM Chief Observes
Israel launched major military drills preparing for war with Hezbollah, Syria and Iran on Monday. The exercises, Israel’s largest since “Chariots of Fire” in May 2022, aim to simulate a conflict which begins with fighting in the north and then spreads to other fronts, namely Iran.
US Announces ‘Countermeasures’ to Russia’s Suspension of Nuclear Treaty
The Joe Biden administration said it will walk away from some of its obligations under the landmark New START Treaty after the Kremlin ended its participation in the agreement earlier this year.
State Dept. Says Pentagon Preventing Cooperation with International Court
A State Department official told Congress the Pentagon is stopping the US government from working with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute Russians, including President Vladimir Putin, over the invasion of Ukraine.
Iran Resolves IAEA Concerns Over ‘Undeclared Site’ and Highly Enriched Uranium Particles
Tehran has put to bed at least two of the UN nuclear watchdog’s outstanding inquiries over one of the three so-called ‘undeclared sites,’ where trace particles of unprocessed uranium had been found previously, as well as some recently discovered highly enriched uranium particles, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday.
Blog
A Response to My Memorial Day Critics
My article against Memorial Day drew a lot of ire and attention. This should not have been surprising; I was making a controversial statement. What did surprise me, however, was that many critics were self-described libertarians or former libertarians. There were many...
Ignoring Political Gossip & Sticking to Principle
https://youtu.be/ZwWHjYVY4tg In the private sector, firms must attract voluntary customers or they fail; and if they fail, investors lose their money, and managers and employees lose their jobs. The possibility of failure, therefore, is a powerful incentive to find...
The Myth of “Hyper-Rugged-Isolationist-Individualism”
Myth #1: Libertarians believe that each individual is an isolated, hermetically sealed atom, acting in a vacuum without influencing each other. This is a common charge, but a highly puzzling one. In a lifetime of reading libertarian and classical-liberal...
The Lesson From Germany and Korea
Institutions are, of course, in some sense the products of culture. But, because they formalize a set of norms, institutions are often the things that keep a culture honest, determining how far it is conducive to good behaviour rather than bad. To illustrate the...
Occupational Licensing Increases Prices and Deprives People of Options
When you shop online, vendors usually give you a bunch of different ways to sort your options. Take Amazon: One popular sorting option – especially for customers with low income – is “Price: Low to High.” You’ve probably used it yourself many times. This...
Free Book: An Anarchist Critique of the COVID Mandates
I’ve had the opportunity to write a short book offering what is essentially an anarchist critique of COVID mandates. This includes the accusation that states did most of the killing rather than the virus. The 123-page book, Measuring the Mandates: Questioning the...