In any ideological political movement, there is disagreement and debate over the best way to achieve the movement’s political goals. Some favor a Fabian-style gradualist approach, while others call for immediate revolution. For some, all lesser concerns take a backseat to the prime political goal, while others see importance in keeping a careful balance of […]
The so-called marketplace of ideas might be the only market that has been left relatively untouched by governments around the world. This rings especially true in the West. People can freely exchange thoughts and ideas with each other without the State interfering. Granted, of course, some ideas are directly and indirectly subsidized by the government, […]
This past Monday, the Supreme Court ruled in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. that a company is not required to provide healthcare that covers the cost of contraception if this violates the religious beliefs of the company. Like clockwork, every possible communication medium has been swarmed with praise from the Right and objections from […]
In a recent article published in The New York Times’ The Upshot section, Yale economist Dean Karlan outlines a utilitarian approach to World Cup rooting and, as it turns out, a specious argument for why one should root for Nigeria (or Brazil, Mexico or Ghana). Why anyone would decide which team to support based on utilitarian principles […]
As happens about once every decade, the controversy surrounding the Washington Redskins football team’s name has sprouted up again and everyone has their two cents to give. Following the U.S. Patent Office’s decision to cancel the football organization’s six trademarks, the pontificating from the libertarian community has been predictably lacking in nuance and woefully ignorant. […]
Many libertarians erroneously believe that they, as a group, hold a natural monopoly on the concern for freedom, liberty and voluntary interaction. In fact, many in the movement think that these words alone, as objective and self-evident concepts, serve as a description of their ideology. After all, who the hell could consciously and openly hate […]
I am sorry, natural rights libertarians, but there is no such thing as an inherent, or natural, right. The notion that by virtue of being human, rights are given to us by our Creator, is, just as it sounds, religious and metaphysical hogwash and no base on which to organize society. For too long has […]
When an argument over gun control breaks out between a libertarian and a statist of some variety, it is only a matter of time before the libertarian backs himself into a corner where he must defend the right of individuals to own nuclear weapons by extension of the principle that anything that is not aggressive […]
Spoiler Alert: After you read this article, you will know the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto beyond a reasonable doubt. If you were devastated when you discovered that Santa Claus was not real, you may not want to read further. Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? This is a question that any Bitcoin enthusiast has asked himself at least once. The question piqued […]
Last week on this blog, Eric Faden wrote a brief explanation of what the feminist movement, insofar as it exists, can gain from libertarian thought. Conversely, I would like to explain what libertarianism as a philosophy and libertarians as individuals can gain from feminist thought. In February, the Free State Project hosted a panel as […]
Mises Christ! 