An examination of Chinese foreign policy historically lends little support to those who depict China as secretly plotting to take over the world. Rather, it points to an entity preoccupied with managing its complex, local strategic environment and internal security...
Trade
US, China Tentatively Agree to Restart Dialogue, as Washington Fears Allies Will View Policies As Too Aggressive
by Connor Freeman | May 13, 2023 | News
Renewed meetings between senior American and Chinese officials may suggest the fragile relations between the world’s two largest economies could begin to thaw with increased communication and diplomacy, the Washington Post reported on Friday.
Azerbaijan Taught a Crucial Military Lesson, But Russia Skipped Class
by Michael Ellis | May 11, 2023 | Book Reviews, Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
Failed prophets are a dime-a-dozen. If I had a nickel for every time I had been told the world was on the brink of collapse for reasons ranging from oceanic methane deposits to credit default swaps, I might not be a billionaire, but I would drive a nicer car. How...
COI #417: Moscow Accuses US in Kremlin Drone Attack
by Kyle Anzalone | May 5, 2023 | Conflicts of Interest
On COI #417, Kyle Anzalone and Connor Freeman cover the attempted drone strike on the Kremlin, Moscow pointing the finger at the US after the attack, a major delegation of American arms makers going to Taiwan, the tensions between Kiev and the White House over the...
Washington Frustrated with Allies Refusal to Enforce Sanctions on Russia
by Kyle Anzalone | May 2, 2023 | News
The White House is becoming frustrated with its partners in the Group of 7’s (G7) refusal to commit to its economic war against the Kremlin. After the invasion of Ukraine last year, President Joe Biden pledged to isolate Moscow and cripple the Russian economy. However, the Kremlin has found ample access to the world economy, including some of Washington’s closest allies.
What the China Literature Gets Wrong
by Joseph Solis-Mullen | May 1, 2023 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
For more than a decade it's become expected for books peddling the "China threat" to pop up as best sellers. From Martin Jacques' When China Rules the World (2009) to Michael Pillsbury’s The Hundred-Year Marathon (2015), the best response has been to just shrug and...
Barack Obama, Progenitor of the Modern African Slave Trade
by Stark Realities with Brian McGlinchey | May 1, 2023 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
Barack Obama was elected president some 143 years after the abolition of slavery in the United States. As teary-eyed African-Americans watched Obama’s 2008 election night speech in Chicago’s Grant Park, none could have imagined that America’s first black president...
If America Loses Its Reserve Currency Status, You’ll Still Be Okay
by Ryan McMaken | Apr 27, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
Earlier this month, Larry Kudlow insisted that it is "it's incumbent on the U.S. government, no matter who's in power, to maintain the reserve currency status of the dollar." Kudlow laments that a toppling of the dollar from that perch "seems to be the direction we're...
News Roundup 4/26/2023
by Kyle Anzalone | Apr 26, 2023 | News Roundup
US News Global weapon expenditures hit a record $2.24 trillion in 2022, an increase of nearly 4%, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The global watchdog found the trend was led by European countries returning to Cold-War...
The World Is Changing, But Is Washington Finally Noticing?
by Ted Snider | Apr 26, 2023 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy
Recent statements by two Biden administration officials hint that the United States is finally noticing that the world around them is changing. On April 11, CIA Director William Burns spoke at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. In a somewhat stunning...
EU, Japan Reject Washington’s Proposal to Ban Exports to Russia
by Kyle Anzalone | Apr 24, 2023 | News
An American plan to strengthen its economic war against Russia by banning all exports has not been well received by US allies. According to the Financial Times, the European Union and Japan have pushed back against a trade embargo on Moscow.
My Body My Choice: Abolish Occupational Licensing
by Keith Knight | Apr 22, 2023 | Blog, Uncategorized
The most immediate effect of licensing is to restrict the number of practitioners because of the higher entry costs involved in meeting the qualifications of the activity. Some licenses, as in the cases of cosmeticians and barbers, require many months of schooling....
US, Allies Consider Ban on All Exports to Russia
by Kyle Anzalone | Apr 20, 2023 | News
Washington is in discussion with several Western partners about ending trade with Russia outright. The debate is occurring as the US-led economic war on Moscow has failed to halt its military action in Ukraine.
Storming the Beaches at Waco
by John Weeks | Apr 19, 2023 | Featured Articles
One of the most infamous standoffs in American history ended when employees of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team (and possibly the Army’s Delta Force) launched a tank and gas attack on the Branch Davidian’s Mount Carmel religious center and communal home northwest of...
Blog
The Non-Existent Difference Between National Socialism and Democratic Socialism
Summary: National Socialism and Democratic Socialism both advocate institutionalized violence by the state against peaceful people only differing in rhetoric. The most popular self described Democratic Socialists in America today are Senator Bernie Sanders and...
A Response to My Memorial Day Critics
My article against Memorial Day drew a lot of ire and attention. This should not have been surprising; I was making a controversial statement. What did surprise me, however, was that many critics were self-described libertarians or former libertarians. There were many...
Ignoring Political Gossip & Sticking to Principle
https://youtu.be/ZwWHjYVY4tg In the private sector, firms must attract voluntary customers or they fail; and if they fail, investors lose their money, and managers and employees lose their jobs. The possibility of failure, therefore, is a powerful incentive to find...
The Myth of “Hyper-Rugged-Isolationist-Individualism”
Myth #1: Libertarians believe that each individual is an isolated, hermetically sealed atom, acting in a vacuum without influencing each other. This is a common charge, but a highly puzzling one. In a lifetime of reading libertarian and classical-liberal...
The Lesson From Germany and Korea
Institutions are, of course, in some sense the products of culture. But, because they formalize a set of norms, institutions are often the things that keep a culture honest, determining how far it is conducive to good behaviour rather than bad. To illustrate the...
Occupational Licensing Increases Prices and Deprives People of Options
When you shop online, vendors usually give you a bunch of different ways to sort your options. Take Amazon: One popular sorting option – especially for customers with low income – is “Price: Low to High.” You’ve probably used it yourself many times. This...
Shop Our Books
Voluntaryist Handbook
by Keith Knight
Hotter Than The Sun: Time To Abolish Nuclear Weapons
by Scott Horton
[playlist artists="false" images="false"...
Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism
by Scott Horton