Louis XIV had hundreds of servants who prepared him dinner. Today, my supermarket offers me a buffet Louis XIV couldn’t imagine. Thanks to trade and property rights and markets, each of us lives as if we had more servants than kings. We also live longer.
Tag: class
Money as a Geopolitical Weapon
People who seek to rule over and control others learned long ago that controlling money and trade is the best way to do it. On a global level, there are open conspiracies among controlling interests that go about doing just that.
Does Nearly Everyone Favor Industrial Policy?
When you walk around, you see no economy. It is not a thing like a machine, a building, or a vehicle. When we say economy, we mean individual persons acting in a series of continuing and more or less regular relationships that involve money in transformation of stuff from less-useful to more-useful forms, as consumers view things. Government officials don’t regulate an economy; they regulate individuals–us!–thereby interfering with our lives, liberties, purposes, and pursuit of happiness.
Biden Administration Prioritizes “Woke-ism” and Critical Race Theory In Schools
The Biden administration is taking new steps to promote Critical Race Theory and The New York Times’s controversial 1619 Project in US education programs. In a proposed federal rule issued on Monday, the US Department of Education indicated that it will be using taxpayer funds to award millions of dollars in American history and civics education grants that prioritize the belief that America is systemically racist.
These Parents and Teachers Have Had Enough of Woke Classrooms and Critical Race Theory
More parents are waking up to the “woke” ideology that is seeping into their children’s classrooms and curriculum. Increasingly, they are speaking up and opting out.
Are Organizations Unlibertarian?
A few weeks ago YouTube suggested that I watch a 1988 episode of William F. Buckley’s PBS TV show, “Firing Line,” featuring Ron Paul, who at the time was the Libertarian Party candidate for president. I had to chuckle right at the top when Buckley introduced Rep. Paul by striking an ironic pose: while “libertarians specialize in non-organization…,” Buckley said, “to run for president of the United States, which Dr. Paul is doing on the Libertarian ticket, does require organization, to be sure uncoerced.” (Emphasis added.) Buckley flashed his trademark impish smile while his guest remained silent looking bemused.
I Won’t Accept a Vaccine Passport
I’ve said for a long time that libertarians may be headed for a fate of being second-class residents, as the tracking demands get more numerous and more rigid, to a point where more of us simply can’t comply. This is just another move in that direction. What are you going to do about it?
Robert Higgs: The State Is Too Dangerous to Tolerate (58m)
This episode features a lecture by economist and economic historian Robert Higgs from 2013. This is an intellectual tour de force from Higgs, where he demolishes many of the popular misconceptions about (and justifications for) the state.
Time to Get Government Off Our Lawns
Xeriscaping, ornamental and vegetable gardening, etc. are increasingly popular alternative approaches to yard use. But for those of us who really want to be done with lawns, an important first step is getting governments off of them.
Tom Woods: The Calamity of Anti-Capitalism (45m)
This episode features a lecture by historian and Austro-libertarian Tom Woods from 2008. He talks about anti-capitalist thought and the disasters that flow from it, from American history.