In a fundamental respect, libertarian minarchism (minimal, or limited, government) and market anarchism (or anarcho-capitalism) have something important in common: neither can guarantee individual rights. But there's a big difference: unlike market anarchism,...
Sheldon Richman
TGIF: Hurrah for Real Globalization!
by Sheldon Richman | Sep 22, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Foreign Policy, History, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Globalization, like the free market and classical liberalism generally, isn't wildly popular these days, is it? People blame globalization for all sorts of bad things, and the raps are usually bum. In truth, to the extent that governments keep out so-called foreign...
TGIF: Free Speech Affirmed — Pretty Much
by Sheldon Richman | Sep 15, 2023 | Featured Articles, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
[Updated Sept. 16] The preliminary injunction against federal censorship of social-media users has survived the Biden administration's appeal. However, it remains on hold until Sept. 22 while the Supreme Court considers the matter. The latest ruling, 78 pages long, by...
TGIF: Who Rules? That Is Not the Question
by Sheldon Richman | Sep 8, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Today's two major contenders for political power seem to be elitists and populists. Funnily enough, both types are present in each of the big tribes known as progressive/liberal and conservatism, left and right, or Democratic and Republican. (Here's the lowdown on...
TGIF: Tribalism and the Dark Art of the Package Deal
by Sheldon Richman | Sep 1, 2023 | Featured Articles, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Tribalism not only lives; it rules -- even more than I thought! I've been reading Hyrum Lewis and Verlan Lewis's book The Myth of Left and Right: How the Political Spectrum Misleads and Harms America. It's certainly clarified my thinking. The Lewis brothers are a...
TGIF: Why the State Is Corrupt
by Sheldon Richman | Aug 25, 2023 | Featured Articles, Justice, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Why is government corrupt? You'll notice that I did not ask, "Is government corrupt." We've had enough experience to go right to the main question. I might have softened it with the phrase tends to be to acknowledge that not everyone in government is corrupt, at least...
TGIF: On “Giving Back”
by Sheldon Richman | Aug 18, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
P&G, the maker of popular household brands like Tide and Downy laundry products, is giving away $10,000 in college scholarships. That's $1.5 million and 150 scholarships in all. My problem, aside from its encouraging college attendance, is with how the company is...
TGIF: Why Liberty Matters
by Sheldon Richman | Aug 11, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Why does liberty matter? It’s a fair question because, after all, not everyone thinks it matters very much, perhaps beyond some very basic point. If that’s an overstatement, we can safely say that for many people on the left and right, liberty is a lower priority than...