Sheldon Richman | The Libertarian Institute

TGIF: Free Markets and the Pursuit of Happiness

by Sheldon Richman | Apr 28, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

For some time now I've thought that many people's antagonism to the market is motivated not by moral or economic objections but by aesthetic criteria. (I discuss this in What Social Animals Owe to Each Other and here.) By that I mean they simply find market relations -- involving private property, contracts, profit, competition, and "impersonal forces" such as supply and demand -- unattractive, even ugly. They wish society had nothing to do with such relations, which they (mistakenly) believe have displaced the cozy cooperation and communalism that marked an earlier golden age. They long to...

TGIF: Politics Corrupts Money

by Sheldon Richman | Apr 21, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

Money does not corrupt politics. Politics corrupts money. Politics as we know it is inherently corrupt; it's the way to select government officials, who then use the legalized threat of physical force, and force itself, to make peaceful people do or not do things against their will. Since that's so, public problems cannot be solved by yet another measure to restrict people from spending their own momney to support candidates for office or lobby elected officials. At most, it will drive any influence to less-visible forms. Money in politics is a favorite complaint of populists across the...

TGIF: Has Libertarianism Passed Its Sell-By Date?

by Sheldon Richman | Apr 14, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

Ron DeSantis, who could be the next president of the United States, made his views frighteningly clear: "We understand that freedom is not just about the absence of restrictions.... I think we have to understand that the threats to freedom are not simply as a result of what happens in legislatures. Yes, you've got to win those fights. The left is trying to impose its agenda through a wide range of arteries in our society, including corporate America." On another occasion he said, "Fighting for freedom is not easy because the threats to freedom are more complex and more widespread than in the...

TGIF: Let’s NOT Go to War with China

by Sheldon Richman | Apr 7, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Foreign Policy, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman

The word that strikes fear in the power elite is China. It's not fear of an existential threat; rather it's fear that America is becoming second fiddle in world politics. As a result, some believe, or say they believe, that war with China is inevitable. For them, that's a fancy word for desirable. Here's an idea: let's not go to war with China. China has nuclear bombs, although not nearly as many as America has. No good would come from war for the people of China, the American people, or almost everyone else if you don't count the advocates of centralized authoritarian power here and the...

Conversation on Bro History Podcast

by Sheldon Richman | Apr 6, 2023 | Blog, Foreign Policy, History

I had a great conversation on Zionism, antisemitism, and the Palestine question with Henry Szamota and Danny Abdeljabbar on the Bro History podcast, which you can find in all the usual podcast places. Or listen here. I hope you enjoy it.

Interview on Agora: The Podcast

by Sheldon Richman | Apr 3, 2023 | Blog

I was recently interviewed by the hosts of Agora: The Podcast. We talked about the political landscape, my own political development over 50 years, and more. Have a listen here.

TGIF: Beware of All Tribalism

by Sheldon Richman | Mar 17, 2023 | Featured Articles, History, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

Tribalism is bad. Sensible people will know what I mean by tribe. It's not a club based on some common preference like stamp collecting or bowling or cooking. It's more than that. It involves a judgment-suspending commitment. Nationalism is a good example. Tribalism is bad because it can erode important social cooperation, which comes in many forms including the division of labor and trade, domestic and foreign. It's also bad because it encourages people to overlook even the grossest injustice that they would not tolerate if their tribe was on the receiving end. We lately have witnessed...

TGIF: Hear, O Israel — Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death

by Sheldon Richman | Mar 10, 2023 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy, History, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

An older generation of Americans, including Jewish Americans, admire the colonists who resisted the British king and parliament in the late 1700s. Jewish Americans go further and admire the Judeans who revolted against the Greeks and Romans (twice) in antiquity. So isn't it peculiar that they do not applaud the similar Palestinian resistance to Israel's domination? The most we get from U.S. politicians is Bernie Sanders's weak statement about putting conditions on the massive aid to Israel, which is in political disarray because its ruling competition wants to subordinate the independent...