Sheldon Richman | The Libertarian Institute

TGIF: Is Israel Mad?

by Sheldon Richman | Mar 8, 2024 | Featured Articles, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

Has Israel gone mad? Or has it always been mad? What is the country thinking? The collective nouns seem reasonable in light of the widespread support in that country for the Israeli government's appalling military assault on the people of the Gaza Strip for the last five months. How can Israel -- and its outside supporters -- cheer on the bombings (compliments of coerced Americans), the ground attacks, the mass starvation, the terror, and the rest of the crimes that we witness every day? The death toll is pushing 31,000, most of them infants, children, women, and old men, not fighters. So...

Coming to Palestine Now an Audiobook!

by Sheldon Richman | Mar 7, 2024 | Blog

My book Coming to Palestine is now an audiobook. You can listen to it on YouTube. The audiobook is also here.

My Guest Appearance on the Bob Murphy Show

by Sheldon Richman | Mar 3, 2024 | Blog, Libertarianism

Podcaster and economist Bob Murphy and I recently talked about my life as a libertarian, the outlook for liberty, and Israel. Watch it here.

TGIF: Immigration in an Nth-Best World

by Sheldon Richman | Mar 1, 2024 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

We live in an nth-best society. It's neither fully libertarian (though libertarians disagree over exactly what that would mean) nor totalitarian like the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Maoist China, or North Korea. It's somewhere in between, closer to libertarian than many other places but not close enough. One challenge for libertarians is knowing which proposals to favor and which to oppose in an nth-best society. Merely reciting the nonaggression obligation is not enough if our goal is to persuade many people that the freedom philosophy is both right and practical. A mixed...

TGIF: What Should I Do on Election Day?

by Sheldon Richman | Feb 23, 2024 | Featured Articles, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard. --H. L. Mencken This column was prompted by a conversation I had with a few neighbors, whom I do not know, over the Nextdoor.com platform. I thank them for being unwitting grist for my mill. Of course, the names are withheld to protect the innocent. A woman was upset about something the state government had done. She took to social media to say that this shows that we all need to vote. Always up to a challenge, I decided to weigh in. I asked what good would her plea do considering that...

To Will or Not to Will, That Is the Question

by Sheldon Richman | Feb 21, 2024 | Blog

To put things into perspective, be aware that people with advanced degrees from our best universities say things to this effect: "Since no one, including criminals, has free will and hence is not morally responsible for his or her actions, we ought to come up with a more appropriate criminal justice system. Therefore, we should hold a conference, perhaps next spring, to discuss this important matter and to recommend reforms. Details to follow. Please let me know your thoughts, and be sure to pencil in the event." These are the best minds that America has to offer.

TGIF: Trump Loves NATO

by Sheldon Richman | Feb 16, 2024 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

Trump is either contentedly ignorant of the things he talks about or callously scornful of his adoring fans, whom he sees as rubes eager to swallow whatever he says. He could be both. Above all, Trump is a Trump supremacist. Does he believe in NATO or not? (Believe in it? Hell, I've seen it!) Trump wants it both ways. He loves the response he gets at rallies when, populist-style, he seems to put NATO down as a freeloader on America. But he doesn't really put it down. He is a devout NATOist. How can that be? Look at his record. He's called for expanding NATO to the Middle East! (He said it...

TGIF: Tariffs Tax Consumers

by Sheldon Richman | Feb 9, 2024 | Economics, Featured Articles, Foreign Policy, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

We seem to forget that a tariff is a tax. It is formally levied on importers, not on foreigners or things, but since it can usually be passed along, it ends up as an indirect tax on consumers. The point of tariffs is to protect certain domestic businesses and their employees from formidable foreign competitors by raising import prices and reducing consumer choices. Higher prices! Less choice! Raising import prices gives domestic businesses room to raise their prices -- that's the point. Why have a tariff otherwise? (Tariffs intended to raise revenue rather than protect domestic companies...