Sheldon Richman | The Libertarian Institute

TGIF: Government Undermines Civilization

by Sheldon Richman | May 31, 2024 | Economics, Featured Articles, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

The good, great, and prosperous society depends on ever-widening trust among strangers. It's not blind trust -- ways to hedge against cheaters abound -- but trust is vital. It is as vital as respect for private property and privacy. Like the system of private property, the system of trust can withstand repeated assaults, but it is not invulnerable. It can crumble and fall. We deal constantly with people around the world whom we do not know (we don't even know their names) and will never meet. We're better off -- richer and more comfortable -- for it. Trust is fostered through repeat...

Economics in One Other Lesson

by Sheldon Richman | May 29, 2024 | Blog, Economics

"The number one principle of economics...: the secret of mass consumption is mass production.... What about distribution? Here's what we know from all of human history, all of economic history. Any large increase in production is widely shared. There's no such thing as a large increase in production that only benefits a small fraction of the population. The Industrial Revolution did not just benefit factory owners. The internet did not just benefit computer programmers. Vaccines do not just benefit pharmaceutical companies.... You really should not just focus on distribution; [you should]...

TGIF: The Economic Is Personal

by Sheldon Richman | May 24, 2024 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

Contrary to accepted doctrine, we have no grounds for regarding so-called economic liberties as less important or less worthy of protection than so-called personal, or civil, liberties. That's because we have no essential grounds for distinguishing so-called economic ends from so-called personal ends. (Let's dispense with the "so-called" qualifier for the sake of fluency.) Each of us pursues ends, full stop. Our ends vary widely in content and time required for accomplishment. Some are achieved quickly; others require prolonged effort and can be called projects. Some directly involve...

This Is the State

by Sheldon Richman | May 22, 2024 | Blog, Economics, Justice, Politics

TGIF: The Nonsense of Statist Political Economy

by Sheldon Richman | May 17, 2024 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

In the video "How Capitalism Makes You Less Free," self-described Marxist Grace Blakeley, author of Vulture Capitalism: Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts and the Death of Freedom, boldly asserts that all societies must have some kind of economic planning. That's hardly news in 2024. Free-market liberals, or libertarians, have long taught that the issue is not planning versus no planning but who plans: free profit-motivated, consumer-oriented individuals independent of the state and other coercion or force-wielding centralized bureaucrats and their cronies, with or without democratic...

The Logic of It All

by Sheldon Richman | May 16, 2024 | Blog

This is how some people think: Business has long used the government to gain benefits it could not get in the marketplace. I have the cure for that: Abolish the market and expand the government to encompass all of society.

What Is Easy and What Is Not Easy

by Sheldon Richman | May 15, 2024 | Blog, Economics, Justice, Libertarianism

It is easy to oppose Israel's massacre in the Gaza Strip. Just watch a few horrifying videos. What is not easy is understanding the price system, its prerequisites -- private property and free exchange -- and its benefits for mankind, including civil peace.

Can’t We All Get Along?

by Sheldon Richman | May 10, 2024 | Blog

Pre-Zionism and pre-Israel, Arab-Muslims, Arab-Christians, and Arab-Jews (yes!) got along in many places as neighbors and friends. Compare that to Europe. Arab and Jewish nationalism messed it up. See Avi Shlaims's Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew.