Many times over the years people have demanded proof that liberty is better than the alternative. Sometimes the detail being questioned changes — maybe it’s the concept of human rights or ethics they are objecting to — but the argument is the same. They don’t accept the superiority of liberty over whatever they’d prefer, so they demand proof.
Tag: rights
Drug Abuse Stupid But Prohibition Evil
Beyond rights I care about the most, you have the right to do things that don’t interest me at all, or things I don’t like. As long as “it neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg,” as Thomas Jefferson said — nor the pockets or legs of anyone else — I support your right to live as you wish. I don’t care who it offends; there is no right to not be offended.
VP Harris Tells Guatemalans to Stay in Their Place
Telling Guatemalans or anyone else “Do not come” is no different from telling them to stay in the place where they belong. The long-suffering victims of tyranny, corruption, and government planning are properly resentful of American officials who give them such a condescending admonition.
Deregulate Discrimination
When regulation is out of control, deregulation is the obvious remedy. And discrimination law really is out of control.
Arguments for Government Work against It
Any argument against the idea of having a free society — one free of political government — also works against the idea of having such a government holding society down.
About that “Real Estate Dispute” in Sheikh Jarrah
When the Israeli government describes the conflict over the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem as just a “real-estate dispute,” it has a point.
Biden Labor Department Undermines Gig Economy
Why should government at any level have the power to overrule how workers and companies define their relationships? This question has become more important than previously with the rise of the gig economy, in which workers such as Uber and Lyft drivers are regarded by their companies and themselves as independent contractors rather than conventional employees.
Glad I Have as Much Choice as I Do
The continuing COVID-19 overreactions of New Mexico’s politicians mean I’ve spent much less time and money in New Mexico than I would have normally. Why would I go where businesses are either closed or operating with restricted capacity when I have other options? I prefer to go where businesses can decide whether they’ll force customers to wear a mask, rather than where a one-size-fits-all mandate declares businesses aren’t allowed to decide for themselves.
FDA Targets Black and Other Minority Smokers
Just when we are reminded that unnecessary conflict between the police and the people, especially in poorer black communities, is a poison to be eliminated forthwith, the Biden administration has moved in the wrong direction. Late last month the administration signaled that it wants to ban menthol cigarettes, which are especially popular with black smokers.
Won’t Sacrifice Liberty for Worst of Us
There will always be some members of the population set on killing each other over petty squabbles and imagined slights. Nothing you and I can do will ever change this; nothing government can do will stop it. Some people are just determined to be uncivilized. They may even prefer living this way, and wouldn’t change if given every chance. You will be more free once you realize this truth.