Joseph Solis-Mullen | The Libertarian Institute

A Temporary Calm in the South China Sea

by Joseph Solis-Mullen | Jul 22, 2024 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

After a particularly fraught period, complete with water cannons, near collisions, and an actual melee where a Filippino sailor apparently lost a thumb, things in the South China Sea look set to settle down following Manila and Beijing’s reaching of a "provisional arrangement" to deescalate tensions over the disputed South China Sea reef known as Second Thomas Shoal. The deal, which was announced over the weekend by a spokesperson for the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs, will see Chinese coastguard vessels allow the resupply of the Philippines’ forces stationed on the disputed...

The News From Across the Pond

by Joseph Solis-Mullen | Jul 16, 2024 | Featured Articles, Politics

The recent elections in the United Kingdom and France underscore a broader trend of political stagnation and directionless muddling within Europe. Despite clear signals from voters rejecting the status quo, the established elites are resisting substantive changes, thus perpetuating a cycle of political inertia. In the United Kingdom, the Labour Party's landslide victory marks a significant shift in the political landscape. Labour, under Keir Starmer, secured a historic majority, unseating the Conservatives after fourteen years in power. However, while this victory represents a clear mandate...

Washington Takes Another ‘L’ in China Policy

by Joseph Solis-Mullen | Jul 10, 2024 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

In the September 15, 2020 edition of The New York Times, the American Enterprise Institute’s Chris Miller crowed that with its barrage of sanctions Washington would “Decapitate” the Chinese telecom giant Huawei. In this premature pronouncement Miller, whose book Chip War is a favorite of Beltway-Sinophobes, is just the latest in a long line of arrogant American hawks predictably proven wrong. Indeed, despite years of sanctions and trade restrictions, Washington's attempt to crush Huawei, a flashpoint in the escalating fight between the United States and China, has fallen flat. Huawei is not...

Washington is Sprinting (Not Sleepwalking) Into War With China

by Joseph Solis-Mullen | Jul 2, 2024 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

The narrative that America is "sleepwalking" toward war with China is a dangerously misleading myth. Far from a somnambulant stumble, the United States is being deliberately led by national security and military elites into a conflict with China, with Congress eagerly tripping over itself to out-hawk each other. The motivation? A toxic blend of defense industry contributions and a misguided sense of geopolitical dominance. Since becoming president, Joe Biden’s pronouncements have starkly reversed the longstanding U.S. policy of "Strategic Ambiguity" concerning Taiwan. Historically, this...

Exposing Elite Cynicism With Satirical Truth

by Joseph Solis-Mullen | Jun 25, 2024 | Book Reviews, Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

Christopher J. Coyne and Abigail R. Hall’s How to Run Wars: a Confidential Playbook for the National Security Elite is a sharp, sardonic critique of America's perpetual engagement in wars abroad and the erosion of civil liberties at home. The book, newly published by the Independent Institute, masquerades as a guide for the Washington elite, offering a satirical blueprint for maintaining endless conflict and suppressing domestic dissent. Through chapters such as "Control the Narrative," "Capture the Media," "Silence Dissent," "Ignore International Law," "Sacrifice Liberty in the Name of...

‘Savings Are Bad’ and Other Keynesian Errors

by Joseph Solis-Mullen | Jun 18, 2024 | Economics, Featured Articles

While it is difficult to choose among them, arguably the most pernicious part of John Maynard Keynes' legacy is his misunderstanding of what savings and interest rates are, and how they related to the rest of the economy. These mistakes were passed on to his followers and remain with us today—as anyone who has had the misfortune of reading a Paul Krugman column in The New York Times is well aware. Savings, we are told, hurt the economy because they depress spending, and as the economy is driven by spending, savings are anathema to a healthy economy. But is that the case? As any studied...

DOJ, Lay Off Live Nation!

by Joseph Solis-Mullen | Jun 11, 2024 | Economics, Featured Articles

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) finally came out with their long anticipated antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment. Alleging anti-competitive practices which “suffocates its competition,” everyone’s least favorite Attorney General (since the last one, and the one before that, and the one before that…) Merrick Garland, announced gleefully to cameras that it was “Time to break up Live Nation.” Yes, even though the allegedly offending entity of Live Nation’s business, Ticketmaster, has seen its market share decline since its acquisition by Live Nation...

Rescind Netanyahu’s Invitation!

by Joseph Solis-Mullen | Jun 4, 2024 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy, Politics

The recent decision by U.S. congressional leaders to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address the Capitol has rightly sparked outrage and dismay among those who oppose Israel's genocidal actions in Gaza. Coming as it does in the wake of the International Criminal Court's charges against Netanyahu, this move, which aims to showcase solidarity with Israel, is deeply troubling on moral, political, and geostrategic grounds, highlighting the hypocrisy and, to put it mildly, moral ambiguity of U.S. foreign policy. The invitation to Netanyahu comes at a time when Israel's...