Sheldon Richman | The Libertarian Institute

TGIF: VP Harris Tells Guatemalans to Stay in Their Place

by Sheldon Richman | Jun 11, 2021 | Economics, Foreign Policy, Justice, Libertarianism, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

Shame on Vice President Kamala Harris. On her recent trip to Guatemala she said, "I want to be clear to folks in the region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border: Do not come. Do not come. I believe if you come to our border, you will be turned back.” This is what passes for sensitivity to human rights in the post-Trump era. It's the same attitude that marked not only the Trump years but also the pre-Trump era under Barack Obama, the deporter-in-chief, and Joe Biden. Notice Harris mentioned the "dangerous trek" without acknowledging that the U.S...

TGIF: What the State Really Is

by Sheldon Richman | Jun 4, 2021 | Economics, Justice, Libertarianism, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

To better understand the nature of government, one can think of it as an agency that sells or, more precisely, rents power to others. The greater the power and the wider its scope, the more opportunities the state's agents will have to sell access to it in return for favors. Of course the demand for that power will also be greater. This stands to reason. If the government is allowed to make many important decisions about private activity, people will want to influence or control that decision-making--and they'll be willing to pay for that influence as long as the price is less than the...

TGIF: About that “Real Estate Dispute” in Sheikh Jarrah

by Sheldon Richman | May 28, 2021 | Foreign Policy, Justice, Libertarianism, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

When the Israeli government describes the conflict over the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem as just a "real-estate dispute," it has a point. Palestinian families are at risk of eviction (and some have already been evicted) from homes they've lived in for many years so that Jewish settlers, many of whom were born in Brooklyn, N.Y., can move into them. This is being done on the basis of a 1970 law that permits Jews to acquire Palestinian properties that are said to have been once owned by Jews. Also, under a 1950s law, the Israeli government claimed the properties of so-called...

Hamas, Israel, and the United States

by Sheldon Richman | May 22, 2021 | Blog, Libertarianism

For obvious reasons, I cannot endorse Hamas's firing projectiles at residential centers in Israel. But if is wrong to terrorize Israeli noncombatants into changing their government's outrageous anti-Palestinian policies, then it must also be wrong for Israel and the United States to terrorize noncombatants into changing their rulers' policies, which those countries routinely do through sanctions and other, explicitly military ways. One morality--one set of individuals rights--for all!

TGIF: Biden Labor Department Undermines Gig Economy

by Sheldon Richman | May 21, 2021 | Economics, Justice, Libertarianism, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

Why should government at any level have the power to overrule how workers and companies define their relationships? This question has become more important than previously with the rise of the gig economy, in which workers such as Uber and Lyft drivers are regarded by their companies and themselves as independent contractors rather than conventional employees. The Biden administration thinks the central government, not private parties, ought to set the rules no matter what those parties want. So his labor department has cancelled a Trump-era rule that left this decision in the private...

Discussing Israel-Palestine on Year Zero

by Sheldon Richman | May 21, 2021 | Blog, Foreign Policy, Libertarianism

I discussed what's going on in Israel-Palestine on the Year Zero podcast. Have a listen.

Palestine/Israel Erupts Again

by Sheldon Richman | May 14, 2021 | Blog, Justice

In Coming to Palestine I defended, from a libertarian perspective, the Palestinians against Israeli/Zionist oppression. I am reluctant to repeat that case in a far shorter form here, but the horrendous current events throughout Palestine/Israel, including the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, cry out for comment. I can do no better than to link to Caitlin Johnstone's piece "Fifteen Thoughts on Palestine." It deserves careful reading. I will add only a few thoughts. The mainstream criticism of the Palestinians, who object to being dominated by a settler colonial state, boils down to "But...

TGIF: FDA Targets Black and Other Minority Smokers

by Sheldon Richman | May 14, 2021 | Economics, Justice, Libertarianism, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

Just when we are reminded that unnecessary conflict between the police and the people, especially in poorer black communities, is a poison to be eliminated forthwith, the Biden administration has moved in the wrong direction. Late last month the administration signaled that it wants to ban menthol cigarettes, which are especially popular with black smokers. "Banning menthol—the last allowable flavor—in cigarettes and banning all flavors in cigars will help save lives, particularly among those disproportionately affected by these deadly products," Acting Food and Drug Administration...