I have observed a constant factor among what are roughly considered ‘leftist’ ideologies which appears to transcend what broader philosophy the leftist may advocate. This factor is the desire to create a system by which non-producers (those who consume more than they produce) can survive in relative comfort.
Tag: action
Political and Governmental Corruption Is a Feature, Not a Bug
People do not oppose corruption in politics and government. They oppose only the corruption that does not steer loot and social domination to them. After all, the entire process of so-called democratic government is nothing but corruption writ large and backed by the threat of violent force.
Economic Localism Is No Better than Economic Nationalism
As Black Friday has continued to expand in recent years, one response to its orgy of discounts and deals has been to promote the following day as “Small Business Saturday.” The idea is to encourage people to shop at their local stores rather than at national chains or big-box stores, or perhaps on the Internet. Doing so, argue its proponents, is both moral and good for the local economy, as it keeps jobs and money in “our communities” rather than, presumably, in the hands of faceless and distant corporate masters.
Property and Ownership
To claim ownership of your body implies independent agency and liberty. It also implies that you have a right to exclude others from possessing, using, or controlling your body. In other words, your body is your property.
The Never-Ending Contest in Politico-Economic Life
Written by Robert Higgs. A contest is under way in the world between the forces of creation, improvement, and progress and the forces of destruction, spoliation, and retrogression. This contest has been going on for thousands of years, and except during brief interludes the negative forces always kept the positive forces firmly in check. Roughly…
Handwriting On The Wall
This famous phrase refers to a story told in Daniel 5:1-30. The actual phrase was “mene, mene, tekel, parsin” – all three of those words referring to units of currency.
Think of a Prospective Politician or a Proposed Bill as a Bowl of Skittles
My position on things is actually pretty simple. I believe that it’s wrong to hurt people and to take their stuff. The state (i.e. the government) exists to hurt people and to take their stuff. Every state, in every place, and at every point in history has done these things.
The Five Institutions of the Market Economy
Let us see what the basic institutions of the market economy are. We may subdivide them for convenience of discussion into (1) private property, (2) free markets, (3) competition, (4) division and combination of labor, and (5) social cooperation. As we shall see, these are not separate institutions. They are mutually dependent: each implies the other, and makes it possible.
Thanksgiving Was a Triumph of Capitalism over Collectivism
This time of the year, whether in good economic times or bad, is when we gather with our family and friends and enjoy a Thanksgiving meal together. It marks a remembrance of those early Pilgrim Fathers who crossed the uncharted ocean from Europe to make a new start in Plymouth, Massachusetts. What is less appreciated is that Thanksgiving also is a celebration of the birth of free enterprise in America.
Nationalism is Racism, So Why the Schizophrenia?
Racism is rightly denounced in American society. That’s not to say there isn’t racism, but when its not covert or closeted, it’s publicized as one of the most despicable beliefs a person could hold. Even when you pay millions of dollars to athletes of another color, as in the case of Donald Sterling of the Los Angeles Clippers, you become public enemy number one.