Post by Skyler J. Collins. Originally written August 2011. If you’ve ever criticized taxation in front of an average statist, be them liberal or conservative, you know that it quickly turns awkward. They insist that taxation is necessary for certain services and that they’re happy to pay it. They sometimes even assume you’re advocating not…
Category: Editor’s Picks
Do You Shame Your Child?
Guest post by Laura Markham. “Children learn to regulate their behaviors by developing an emotional ‘clutch,’ located in the prefrontal cortex, that can turn the accelerator off when the brakes are applied and redirect their interest in more acceptable directions….An activated accelerator followed by the application of brakes leads to a nervous system response with…
Quality Parenting?
I fear too many would say that they agree with this picture. Why? Because then that would mean they would be supporting a parent who fails to understand why his daughter felt the need to lie to him; what it is about their relationship that the daughter felt like she couldn’t trust him; what it…
What is Morally Right About Economic Freedom
Guest post by Rabbi Daniel Lapin.
Why Kids Hit, and How to Help Them Stop
Guest post by Laura Markham. “Dr Laura — My 4 year old hits my 9 month old. It is very hard to see any danger signs with him as he will push or hit her out of the blue. One minute he is sitting there patting her gently and cooing and then in a flash…
Rights as Things
Post by Skyler J. Collins. Originally written April 2010. What are rights? The purpose of this short essay, or collection of thoughts, is to explore that question. So many commentators on rights treat them as something tangible, such as: “We have rights.” as compared to “We have milk.”“Don’t tread on my rights.” as compared to “Don’t…
Why Equate Government with Social Cooperation?
Guest post by Jeffrey Tucker. I don’t mean to harp, but the more I think about Obama’s now-famous speech (“You didn’t build that”), the more annoyed I become. If you listen to what he said, he can’t conceive of cooperative human relations apart from ridiculous government projects. He imagines that market activity is isolating, autonomous,…
Stuck in a Bad Pattern?
Guest post by Laura Markham. Sages say that raising children is one of the best paths to enlightenment because it stretches the heart and teaches us to love. Parents have daily opportunities to dig deep in search of patience and compassion. Luckily, we’re strongly motivated by our love for our children, so we stretch. Sometimes,…
Voluntaryism, Crime, & Self Defense
Voluntaryism does not require that one be a pacifist, meaning the complete abandonment of the use of force. It merely requires that one does not initiate force or aggression against an innocent person or his property. In a free society, the first line of defense and lynch-pin of collective security is the personal use of firearms.…
What it Means to Be a Voluntaryist
A video podcast describing why I’m a voluntaryist: