Dan Sanchez | The Libertarian Institute

The Epic Triumph of Liberalism and Its Tragic Betrayal

by Dan Sanchez | Mar 31, 2017 | Featured Articles, Libertarianism

Three years ago, the New York Times asked whether “the libertarian moment” had finally arrived. Since then, we have seen no libertarian revolution in politics or policy, leading many to ask whether the libertarian moment had indeed come… and gone. Perhaps, the thinking goes, the libertarians had their political American Idol audition, delivered a pitchy performance, and were sent home: end of story. In a sense, to even frame things in this way is silly. It would only make sense if libertarians were a curious sect with quirky ideas that somehow gained outsize national attention, giving us a...

The Westminster Attack: Savagery Versus Civilization

by Dan Sanchez | Mar 27, 2017 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

Last Wednesday afternoon, a malicious savage got behind the wheel of a car and plowed through a crowd of strolling civilians on London’s Westminster Bridge. Khalid Massood then left the car and lethally stabbed one more victim before being fatally shot by police. His rampage killed 5 and injured 50. Here we have a vivid representation of civilization versus savagery. The Way of the Civilian The Westminster Bridge pedestrians represented civilization: the way of life of the civilian. As I explained in a recent essay, the core of civilization is the division of labor. And indeed, Massood’s...

“Logan” Eviscerates War and Demographic Planning

by Dan Sanchez | Mar 13, 2017 | Featured Articles, Libertarianism

"Logan" Eviscerates War and Demographic Planning When we first see Hugh Jackman in the new film Logan, his character is hungover and hobbling: a shambolic shadow of his former self, the slashing super-hero Jackman has played in seven films over seventeen years. The Wolverine we have come to know is vigorous and invincible. Now he is worn out and wracked with chronic pain, which he self-medicates with booze. His claws are malfunctioning, his healing powers are fading, and the toxicity of his metal-laced skeleton is slowly killing him. Old man Logan has retired from the hero business. Instead,...

To Defend Civilization We Must First Understand It

by Dan Sanchez | Mar 6, 2017 | Featured Articles, Libertarianism

Everyone is worried about the downfall of civilization and the rise of barbarism. The left sees Trump as a retrograde menace to the diverse and inclusive society of their hopes and dreams. They use the hashtag #resist and chant, “He will not divide us.” Those most radicalized against Trump call themselves Antifa (anti-fascists) and pose as the vanguard of “the resistance” against an incipient return of Nazi-like savagery. Trumpists, on the other hand, see their man as a stalwart defender of Western civilization against the barbarians at the gates. His most radicalized fans have embraced hard...

Steve Bannon Believes Winter Is Coming

by Dan Sanchez | Feb 15, 2017 | Featured Articles, Politics

"History is seasonal and winter is coming.” No, that’s not a Game of Thrones quote. It’s the last line of a 2010 documentary called Generation Zero, written and directed by Steven K. Bannon. Perhaps you’ve heard of him. Bannon is President Donald Trump’s senior counselor and chief ideologist. So great is his sway over the “leader of the free world” that Time Magazine recently dubbed him “the second most powerful man in the world.” He allegedly wrote most of Trump’s scathing inaugural address. He recently secured a seat in the National Security Council. And many observers see his fingertips...

The Great Emancipation of Human Labor

by Dan Sanchez | Nov 15, 2016 | Featured Articles, Libertarianism

How far humanity has come! In particular, the very meaning of work has been redefined, vastly for the better, and only very recently in human history. The Original Serfdom For most of history, work was drudgery: backbreaking, unchanging, inescapable. Nearly all were consigned to hard agricultural labor: to eking out a subsistence from the stingy soil. This was a precarious existence: always only a couple bad harvests away from death by malnutrition. Work was backbreaking because technological progress was extremely slow, which meant scant few labor-saving devices and techniques. This lack of...