Editor’s Pick. Written by Jennifer McGrail. One thing I hear fairly often is that people will “experiment” with radical unschooling, the kids will go wild (for lack of another term) and the parents will pronounce it a failure. But the problem isn’t unschooling. The problem is that if you take kids who are used to…
Category: Editor’s Picks
Bitcoin and Unbreakable Law
Editor’s Pick. Written by Jacob Lyles. Imagine that you were entertaining a business deal with a man with an supernatural ability to make two kinds of promises: 1) promises that are impossible for him to break and 2) ordinary, breakable promises. Why would you accept anything other than the unbreakable promises from him? If he…
How Physical Affection Helps with Discipline
Editor’s Pick. Written by Kelly Bartlett. A group of fifteen moms and dads were gathering for their weekly parenting class, when one mother shares a moment from the previous week. “My daughter had a fit the other day when I told her it was time to get in the car.” Every head in the room…
Imposing Rules on Children: Is There a Better Way?
Editor’s Pick. Written by Sue Elvis. Some people might say that family rules are essential because they ensure a child knows what is right, and avoids what is wrong, and so he will act appropriately. If the rules are broken, then the child will have to face the consequences, which might include punishment. “My children…
The Myth of 19th-Century Laissez-Faire
Editor’s Pick. Written by Roderick Long. Last week Michael Lind asked a silly question: if libertarianism is so great, why hasn’t any country tried it? The question is silly because the libertarian answer is obvious: Libertarianism is great for ordinary people, but not for the power elites that control countries and determine what policies they…
Getting Kids to Help with the Chores
Editor’s Pick. Written by Sue Elvis. It took me years to work out how to encourage my children to help with the household chores. Before that happened, I tried all the usual methods: I designed rosters with jobs for each child for each day of the week. I wrote out lists of chores and let…
The Paradox of Imperialism
Editor’s Pick. Written by Hans Hoppe. The State Conventionally, the state is defined as an agency with two unique characteristics. First, it is a compulsory territorial monopolist of ultimate decision-making (jurisdiction). That is, it is the ultimate arbiter in every case of conflict, including conflicts involving itself. Second, the state is a territorial monopolist of…
The Economics of Bitcoin
Editor’s Pick. Written by Robert Murphy. Bitcoin is an ingenious peer-to-peer “virtual” or “digital currency” that challenges the way economists have traditionally thought about money. Its inbuilt scarcity provides an assurance of purchasing power arguably safer than any other system yet conceived. But to understand these claims, one must first understand the basics of Bitcoin.…
Why You Should Run Away
Editor’s Pick. Written by Paul Rosenberg. One of the more instructive experiences of my life occurred when was when I was a teenager, barely sixteen years old. My dad, whom I had previously considered to be incredibly over-protective, put me on a cross-country bus and sent me, alone, to visit my grandmother, some two thousand…
How Do I Move Toward Positive Parenting?
Editor’s Pick. Written by Jennifer Andersen. Many parents want to move toward positive parenting. They want to abandon controlling, bullying, and being punitive with their children. Instead, they want their relationship to be authentic, open, and genuine. These mothers and fathers ask “how do I do this? Where do I start? What do I do?”…