Championing The Principles of Liberty

We’re thrilled to share some fantastic news! We have secured $10,000 in matching funds, offering a unique opportunity for our supporters to double their impact. Donate Today!

$8,348 of $60,000 raised

Complying with Mandates

by | Sep 6, 2020

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….”

About Sheldon Richman

Sheldon Richman is the executive editor of The Libertarian Institute and a contributing editor at Antiwar.com. He is the former senior editor at the Cato Institute and Institute for Humane Studies; former editor of The Freeman, published by the Foundation for Economic Education; and former vice president at the Future of Freedom Foundation. His latest books are Coming to Palestine and What Social Animals Owe to Each Other.

Our Books

10books 2023facebookcoverphoto 02

Related Articles

Related

Kissinger, RIP?

I published my take on Henry Kissinger, who died this week at age 100, in 2014, when presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was courting his support. Read it here.

read more
TGIF: Arms Sales and Democracy

TGIF: Arms Sales and Democracy

The U.S. government's role as the world's premier arms donor and dealer is now under renewed scrutiny. I can't imagine why. But seriously... We may legitimately ask if this role fulfills democracy's promise of, in Lincoln's words, "government of the people, by the...

read more
TGIF: Bigotry versus Social Cooperation

TGIF: Bigotry versus Social Cooperation

We who value individualism, freedom, and social cooperation as essential to flourishing should be distressed by the hostile bigotry that has lately reared its ugly head, to some uncertain extent, on the streets and campuses of America and abroad. This is not new. In...

read more

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This