Sheldon Richman | The Libertarian Institute

TGIF: What Is Capitalism?

by Sheldon Richman | Jul 25, 2025 | Economics, History, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

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

by Sheldon Richman | Jul 18, 2025 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

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

by Sheldon Richman | Jul 14, 2025 | Blog

I sat down recently for a chat with my old friend Bryan Caplan.

TGIF: Israel and Jabotinsky’s Iron Wall

by Sheldon Richman | Jul 11, 2025 | Featured Articles, History, Justice, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

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...

TGIF: Liberty Requires Nationwide Injunctions

by Sheldon Richman | Jul 4, 2025 | Featured Articles, Justice, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

The government is always a threat. This we must never forget. In that light, I want to examine the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. CASA, the 6-3 decision that sided with the Trump administration's position that a federal district court exceeded its congressional authority when it issued a temporary nationwide, or universal, injunction against Trump's executive order redefining the post-Civil War 14th Amendment clause that affirms birthright citizenship. The Supreme Court did not rule on the legality of that executive order. Rather, it ruled that the district court's temporary...

TGIF: The US Empire’s 72-Year War on Iran

by Sheldon Richman | Jun 27, 2025 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy, History, Justice, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

The likely temporary Israel-Iran ceasefire notwithstanding, if you need proof of how despicable Donald Trump is, consider this: When asked last week if he would ask Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to stop bombing Iran, which had already said it would stop retaliating for Israeli attacks, Trump said, “I think it’s very hard to make that request right now. If somebody is winning, it’s a little bit harder to do that [than] if somebody’s losing. But we’re ready, willing and able, and we’ve been speaking to Iran. Israel is doing well, in terms of war, and… Iran is doing less well. It’s a little...

TGIF: This Is America First

by Sheldon Richman | Jun 20, 2025 | Foreign Policy, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

The Trump battle cry is America First. Revealingly, it is not Americans First. The former signifies, implicitly if not explicitly, national collectivism; the latter, individualism. To the extent Trump has a political worldview, it is not individualist. We cannot doubt that. All of this is abundantly clear in his Iran policy, which is not just about Israel and Iran. This is not new. His seeming antiwar stance was an opportunistic political ploy. The Republican and Democratic wars of the 21st century were palpable fiascos, so of course he had to distance himself from them if he was to become...

Be Careful What You Ask for

by Sheldon Richman | Jun 17, 2025 | Blog

You wanted America First. You got it. Did you think it wouldn't be conceived in national collectivist terms? The clue's in the name. It's America First, not Americans First.