Sheldon Richman | The Libertarian Institute

TGIF: Is Socialism Good in Theory?

by Sheldon Richman | Oct 9, 2020 | Economics, Featured Articles, Sheldon Richman, TGIF

This is an expanded version of something I wrote for The Freeman, October 2003, during my tenure as the editor. Socialism has been mortally discredited on economic grounds, thanks to Ludwig von Mises, F. A. Hayek, and history. But for many people it has not been discredited on moral grounds. You can tell this by how often people say that while socialism doesn’t work in practice, it is good, even beautiful, in theory. (Even Thomas Sowell has said that.) Strange notion—that a theory which doesn’t work in the world can somehow still be good. Where else is it to be judged? William Graham Sumner,...

The Criminal War against Iraq

by Sheldon Richman | Sep 21, 2020 | Blog, Foreign Policy

I haven't read the book yet, but I recommend this review of Robert Draper's How the Bush Administration Took America Into Iraq by James North at Mondoweiss. Indisputably, George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq in 2003, based on lies and cooked "intelligence," was the worst, most consequential foreign-policy move by an American president in recent history. The Middle East, the United States, and the rest of the world will suffer its effects for many years to come. This is not just a work of history, based on 300 interviews. North writes: The Iraq tragedy is relevant today. On September 14, Donald...

Stephen F. Cohen: A Rare Voice of Sanity Gone

by Sheldon Richman | Sep 21, 2020 | Blog, Foreign Policy

One of the saddest pieces of news is the death of Stephen F. Cohen at age 81. Cohen, who taught at Princeton and NYU, was an eminent scholar of the history and politics of Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. He spent his last years warning against the years-long bipartisan effort to prosecute a new cold war against Russia, with special attention to what has unfortunately come to be known as Russiagate, the groundless allegation, debunked by only a few heroic thinkers, that Trump is an agent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who--fiction has it--is Stalin-reincarnate intent on reconstituting...

Back with Tom Woods

by Sheldon Richman | Sep 16, 2020 | Blog, Libertarianism

Tom Woods and I did another round of talking about What Social Animals Owe to Each Other.

Trump and Netanyahu’s Plan B

by Sheldon Richman | Sep 14, 2020 | Blog, Justice

Trump and Netanyahu first tried to bribe the Palestinians into capitulating to the Israeli imposition. But the two men failed. So now they are executing Plan B: bribing the Arab states' rulers to give up even the pretense of championing the Palestinians in their struggle against Israel. In that, the two are succeeding.

Richman Talks about New Book with Tom Woods

by Sheldon Richman | Sep 9, 2020 | Blog, Libertarianism

Tom Woods and I discuss libertarian fundamentals as presented in What Social Animals Owe to Each Other on his internet program. Listen here.

Complying with Mandates

by Sheldon Richman | Sep 6, 2020 | Blog, Libertarianism

It's utterly conceivable that the government might mandate that we do (or not do) what we already ought (or ought not) to do, seeing as how social animals owe things to each other. In such cases, refusing to engage (or abstaining from engaging) in the mandated (or forbidden) behavior because the government has mandated (or forbidden) it is just wrong, edgy individualist rationalizations notwithstanding. Needless to say, I should have started this post with "Needless to say...."

The Choice We Don’t Face

by Sheldon Richman | Sep 1, 2020 | Blog, Libertarianism

Despite what some people suggest, our choice today is not between black lives and private property. Quite the contrary: respect for black lives logically entails respect for all persons, their possessions, and their peaceful projects. The first property right is self-ownership: one's property in oneself. (The abolitionists called slave traders and owners man-stealers. Get it?) Do the rioters not know that black people also own shops and other businesses? Or are those owners considered acceptable casualties in the struggle? And have those owners been asked to consent to that demeaning status?...