Droughts, Famines, and Markets

Guest post by Steven Horwitz. As I write, many high school students all over the United States, my daughter included, are reading John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, with its portrayal of the 1930s Dust Bowl, in preparation for literature courses in the fall. Steinbeck’s fictional account vividly captures the suffering endured by many Americans…

Is Libertarianism Extreme?

Guest post by Jacob Hornberger. Statists oftentimes accuse libertarians of holding extreme views. One reason for that is that since we have all been born and raised in a society based on welfare and warfare, the libertarian philosophy, which stands in opposition to socialism, interventionism, and imperialism, seems extreme to statists. Consider, for example, the…

Jesus Is an Anarchist

Guest post by James Redford. If it were not for Joseph and Mary’s intentional act of defying that which they knew to be king Herod the Great’s will and escaping with baby Jesus from out of Herod’s midst as fugitives to the land of Egypt, then Jesus would have been mercilessly killed, and needless to…

Why Do We Obey?

Guest post by Eric Peters. If some random guy ordered you to submit to his will – or else – most of us would at least consider it assault. Many of us would try to escape – or defend ourselves. Very few would quietly submit. And almost no one would submit willingly. But when exactly…

Is the Free Market a Utopia?

Guest post by Nielsio. Jon Stewart asks: “If we didn’t have government, we’d all be in hovercrafts, and nobody would have cancer, and broccoli would be ice-cream?” Libertarians are not against government, they are for economic cooperation. We would like to expand the division of labor in as many areas as possible, and as such…

Three Voluntary Economies

Guest post by Philip E. Jacobson. A free nation is not necessarily a Capitalist nation. As we seek to describe the institutions of a free nation we must consider all the alternatives. In the United States, libertarians tend to associate the idea of an economy based on voluntary relations with cash-based, for-profit enterprises. Other voluntary…