With the possible exception of the political class and its cronies, most of us would be healthier, wealthier, happier, and freer if the public knew how to engage in "the economic way of thinking." The late Paul Heyne, who wrote a popular textbook by that name (now in...
Libertarianism
TGIF: The Libertarian Solution
by Sheldon Richman | Jun 10, 2022 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
"What's the libertarian solution to social or economic problem X? How about problem Y or Z?" No libertarian needs to wait long before hearing such questions. But strictly speaking, the libertarian philosophy offers no solutions to specific problems. That's not what it...
The Problem With ‘What is a Woman?’
by Keith Knight | Jun 4, 2022 | Don't Tread on Anyone, Featured Articles, Libertarianism
"Biological sex [is] binary. It's been binary for like a hundred million years, longer than that. Temperament is not binary, temperament or personality… people who talk about the diversity in gender are actually talking about diversity in personality and temperament…"...
TGIF: Glenn Loury’s Collectivist Immigration Policy
by Sheldon Richman | May 27, 2022 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Glenn Loury, the economist at Brown University, often has interesting things to say. His YouTube Glenn Show episodes with linguist and social commentator John McWhorter feature valuable insights and eye-opening data about race, woke "anti-racism," and related matters....
TGIF: True Liberals Are Not Conservatives
by Sheldon Richman | May 20, 2022 | Economics, Featured Articles, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
The relevance of F. A. Hayek's essay "Why I Am Not a Conservative," the postscript to his important 1960 book, The Constitution of Liberty, is demonstrated at once by the opening quote from Lord Acton: At all times sincere friends of freedom have been rare, and its...
George H. Smith
by Sheldon Richman | May 13, 2022 | Blog, Libertarianism
The sad news has belatedly come to my attention that the philosopher and historian George H. Smith, 73, died on April 8. He had been in poor health. I was fortunate to have known George since the 1970s and to have had many conversations with him. He was self-educated,...
TGIF: Alito’s Challenge to Libertarians
by Sheldon Richman | May 13, 2022 | Featured Articles, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
In his recently leaked first draft of an opinion that would reverse the abortion-rights cases Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito gives Americans a choice between judges who read their personal preferences into the...
TGIF: Mask Mandate – Liberty Can Hang on One Word
by Sheldon Richman | May 6, 2022 | Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
As I mentioned recently, whether the courts protect or violate liberty in any given case is something of a coin toss. The matter could hinge on a single word. We just had a good example of that fact. On April 18 U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, a Trump...