October 17, 2012
On China
Adam Smith devotes book IV of The Wealth of Nations to refuting an economic ideology he labels “mercantilism”. If you watched last night’s debates, you see that even today, mercantilism remains…
All posts in: Libertarianism
October 15, 2012
The Most Significant 500 Words You Will Read All Day
I’ve been reading up on the idea of spontaneous order lately, and came across this gem from James Buchanan. I found it through Don Boudreaux, who refers to it as…
October 10, 2012
Is the US the Most Economically Libertarian Country?
More from Libertarianism: What Everyone Needs to Know. Most people assume the United States is the most economically libertarian country. Not so. Even though the US has the highest number (in…
October 08, 2012
Happy !@#$ing Columbus Day
Take the most cartoonish, uncharitable form of libertarianism you can think of. And then compare it to this piece, which has been making the rounds on Facebook today. I used…
October 04, 2012
Reading The Ethics of Liberty, Part 4 – Rothbard’s Second Argument for Self-Ownership
In my last post, I argued that Rothbard’s discussion of self-ownership in chapter six of The Ethics of Liberty rests on a fundamental confusion between descriptive and normative claims. Individuals in the…
October 04, 2012
Do Libertarians Think All Politicians Are Selfish and Evil?
More from Libertarianism: What Everyone Needs to Know. There’s a stereotype that libertarians think politicians and other government agents are selfish sociopaths, out for themselves. Libertarians oppose romantic ideas about government….