If you think that immigration control does not strike at the heart of the rule of law, you need to listen to this: https://youtu.be/Ierrs3E3Qow?si=8Szi0YiuDfh7Xgte
Immigration Control and the Rule of Law
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The Palestinians: The Libertarian Take
Even if the Palestinians are not a People, they nevertheless are and always have been people—that is, individual human beings with natural rights, namely, the rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. Like everyone else.
TGIF: Socialist Confusion
Recent polls indicate that many people under 30 view socialism and communism favorably. (For Marx, those words were synonyms.) It seems that socialism and communism are "in." What's going on? A self-described "democratic socialist," Zohran Mamdani, won the Democratic nomination in the New York City mayoralty primary. He promises to set up city-owned nonprofit grocery stores and plans other giveaways. He favors a $30 minimum wage. He also says billionaires should not exist. Will he set up camps? Members of Congress, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also call...
TGIF: By Right or Permission?
"Trump administration approves sale of CBS parent company Paramount after concessions" —NPR If the deal struck by Paramount and President Donald Trump sickens you, your intuitions and perhaps your principles are in good working order. Make no mistake about what's at the root of such things: ominipotent government. You need its permission for all kinds of things—so much for individual rights. As the NPR story states, the headline termination of The Late Show (which I've never watched) came "amid a flurry of steps taken by Paramount and Skydance Media—which has been seeking to acquire the...
TGIF: What Is Capitalism?
So, what is capitalism? The answer will depend on who's being asked. Language, like markets, basic law, and customs, is a spontaneous order. No one plans it. Words drift in their meaning in ways that probably can’t be fully explained. Language is a tool that people use to think and communicate, so it’s adapted according to needs, changing circumstances, and even confusion. That doesn’t mean we can say nothing about words like capitalism. My views on that word have changed over the years; I once contributed to a book called Markets, Not Capitalism. The book was meant to show that the free...
TGIF: Immigration and Free Association
Immigration. Despite other headline-grabbing news, this issue persists. How could it not? Trump's masked goon squad, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), abducts peaceful people off the streets, from their workplaces, and from Home Depot parking lots, then shuttles them without due process to detention centers, including the ominously named Alligator Alcatraz, and prepares to deport them to third countries deficient, shall we say, in their devotion to individual rights. Many detainees have been unable to contact family and attorneys. Even American citizens have been swept up,...
Bryan Caplan and Me
I sat down recently for a chat with my old friend Bryan Caplan.
TGIF: Israel and Jabotinsky’s Iron Wall
Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky (1880-1940) was a key figure in the development of the Zionist movement, which led to the founding of Israel in 1948. After breaking from mainline Zionism, Jabotinsky, born in Odessa (Ukraine), established Revisionist Zionism, a more openly militant version. What is Revisionist Zionism? Even fellow Zionists saw similarities with fascism. According to Ramzy Baroud and Romana Rubeo, "Before the opportunistic alliance between Germany’s Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler, and Italy’s fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini, in 1936,... a degree of affinity existed between Zionist...
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