Guest post by Jordan Weissman. Our patent system is a mess. It’s a fount of expensive litigation that allows aging companies to linger around by bullying their more innovative competitors in court. Critics have suggested plenty of reasonable reforms, from eliminating software patents to clamping down on “trolls” who buy up patent portfolios only so…
Category: Editor’s Picks
Frederick Douglass and Modern Slavery
Guest post by Chris Sullivan. Drapetomania was a supposed mental disorder that caused slaves to run away from their masters. Anyone paying attention to the emigration of many Americans to freer countries might think that drapetomania is striking the wealthier classes. A man who knew something about drapetomania – in fact he had it, even…
Re: Voluntaryism Transcends Anarchism
Here’s a video-based exploration of the ideas presented in this post:
What Doctors Don’t Know About Their Drugs
Guest post by Ben Goldacre.
8 Reasons To End Prohibition
Guest post by J.G. Vibes. The drug war is one of the most misunderstood subjects in the mainstream political dialogue, even among people who are sympathetic to the plight of responsible drug users. It is rare for someone to come out and say that all drugs should be legal, but in all honesty this is…
Voluntaryism Transcends Anarchism
Post by Skyler J. Collins: I wanted to share some thoughts I’ve had, and some ways that my mind has compartmentalized concepts and ideas relating to voluntaryism. Watch a video exploration of these ideas here. In my humble opinion, voluntaryism is more than just a political philosophy, as I explained in the introduction of my…
A Voluntaryist Approach to Abortion
I wrote this as a response in a Facebook discussion. I thought I’d share it here. There’re two ways to approach libertarianism: 1) legal philosophy, and 2) political philosophy. 1) is *what* laws should be made, and 2) is *how* those laws should be made. Liberty, hence libertarians, hence the non-aggression and self-ownership principles, demand…
I Want a Cost-Free Life!
Guest post by Butler Shaffer. While driving on the freeway the other day, I saw a sign on another car urging me to “demand free energy.” Why the driver failed to include “free food,” “free gasoline,” “free designer clothes,” “free cars,” “free sex,” “free luxury home,” or any other whim was not made clear. This…
What Kids Really Want Parents to Know
Guest post by Kelly Bartlett. Over the years, I’ve been able to decipher a few important lessons from my kids. Sometimes I’m good at figuring out what they are really trying to say with their behavior, other times, it takes me months or years of frustration before I figure out something they’re communicating. Here are…
Do We Overestimate Our Intelligence?
Guest post by KantLockeMeIn. I’ve always been in love with nature. Growing up I spent my time in the woods and as I have grown older, I choose to spend my vacations in the mountains rather than at resorts. I’m the unapologetic conservationist who values raw nature. But that statement would lead most people to…