Guest post by John Holt. Educators talk all the time about “skills”: reading skills, writing skills, communication skills, even listening skills. It may be true, at the level of words, to say that anyone doing a difficult thing well is using a variety of skills. But this does not mean that the best way to…
Category: Editor’s Picks
Capitalism: Yes and No
Guest post by Clarence B. Carson. Some terms and phrases are well suited to lucid discourse and even debate. This is generally the case when they have a commonly accepted meaning, when they are generally used – or are capable of being used – with some precision, and when they are not overloaded with connotations.…
Trust Government, Not the Free Market
Guest post by Richard J. Maybury. Originally published in The Voluntaryist, June 1988. All this talk about liberty is exciting, but let’s get serious for a moment. The evidence shows clearly that liberty does not work. Many things are too important to be left to the whims of the free market. Imagine the chaos if…
I Believe You Can Fly
Guest post by Darci L. Walker. A child zooms around the house, arms outstretched and head held high. “Mama, I can fly!” he yells with glee. “Be careful, you can’t really fly and I’m worried you will get hurt.” His smile fades. It’s true. He can’t fly. Or… A child zooms around the playground, arms…
The Principle of Self-Ownership
Guest post by Ken Schoolland. My philosophy is based on the principle of self-ownership. You own your life. To deny this is to imply that another person has a higher claim on your life than you do. No other person, or group of persons, owns your life nor do you own the lives of others.…
A Commitment to Voluntaryism
Guest post by Dan Dougherty. Originally published in The Voluntaryist, April 1988. The tactics may vary – they may be violent or nonviolent – but as long as the goal remains the exercise of power over other people, then the politics of confrontation will always sow the seeds of the next rebellion.You cannot improve the…
Economics and the Calculation Problem
Guest post by Alex Salter. Can a rationally planned economic order outperform the market process as a means of using resources efficiently? This is the central question behind one of the most important debates in the history of economic thought. Its answer has profound implications for the material well-being of societies.Read the full thing »
Dangerous Emotions
Guest post by Laura Markham. Are your feelings dangerous? Never. But most of us are afraid of our strong feelings. And we’re afraid of our children’s emotions. Why? Because the power of our emotions can be overwhelming. We all know what it feels like to want to hit someone. And so often when we act…
Fallacious “Rights”
Guest post Alex Perales. Since you own yourself and it would be wrong for someone to force you to do something, it follows that you then have the right to your own life and the right to live free of coercion so long as you do not infringe on the rights of others. The only…
How Copying Benefits Everyone
Guest post by Kal Raustiala.