Guest post by Peter Gray. The question worth debating is this: Is forced education–and the consequential imprisonment of children–a good thing or a bad thing? Most people seem to believe that it is, all in all, a good thing; but I think that it is, all in all, a bad thing. I outline here some…
Tag: prison
The First Execution for Religion on American Soil
Guest post by Murray Rothbard. The first Quakers to arrive in America came to Boston in July 1656. They were two Englishwomen, Ann Austin and Mary Fisher. Although no law had yet been passed in Massachusetts prohibiting the arrival of Quakers, the two women were immediately imprisoned and searched carefully for “witch-marks.” Deputy Governor Richard…
You Didn’t Build That Bureaucracy!
Guest post by Nima. If you’re a successful bureaucrat, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t get there on your own. I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I lied…
Discipline, Respect and Obedience
Guest post by Ted Olson. Many of us parents have a traditional view of discipline, respect, and obedience. That is, children must be taught to obey and to respect their elders. Discipline measures vary, but range from time-outs to spanking. Many of us grew up in homes where kids were to be seen and not…
Chapter 26 – Why Do We Hurt Our Children?
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Five – Chapter 25 – “Childhood: The Unexplored Source of Knowledge” by Alice Miller 26 Why Do We Hurt Our Children? by James Kimmell As a psychologist who specialized in working with emotionally disturbed children, and as a person who has a special fondness for children, it is extremely troublesome…
Chapter 25 – Childhood: The Unexplored Source of Knowledge
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Five – Chapter 24 – “Natural Born Bullies” by Robin Grille 25 Childhood: The Unexplored Source of Knowledge by Alice Miller Probably ever since civilization began, people have been debating about how Evil came into the world and what we can do to combat it. There has always been a…
Chapter 9 – For Conscience’s Sake
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Two – Chapter 8 – “The Historical Origins of Voluntaryism” by James Luther Adams 9 For Conscience’s Sake by Carl Watner George Smith, in his essay “Philosophies of Toleration,’’ reviews the history of freedom of religion and identifies the moral axiom of “righteous persecution,” which has been part of most…
Chapter 7 – The Origin of Religious Tolerance
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section One – Voluntaryist Resources 7 The Origin of Religious Tolerance by Wendy McElroy In 1733 the philosopher credited with ushering in the French Enlightenment, François Marie Arouet de Voltaire, published Letters Concerning the English Nation. It was a pivotal work. Although written in French, the 24 letters were first issued…
Chapter 1 – Persuasion versus Force
Table of ContentsPrevious – Introduction 1 Persuasion versus Force by Mark Skousen & Jo Ann Skousen Sometimes a single book or even a short cogent essay can change an individual’s entire outlook on life. For Christians, it is the New Testament. For radical socialists, Karl Marx’ and Friedrich Engels’ The Communist Manifesto is revolutionary. For…
Re: A Moral Challenge
I am getting increasingly frustrated because so very few seem to comprehend my moral argument that taxation is theft. Even members of my own family don’t seem to get it. It appears to me that there are two components to the argument that taxation is theft.First is the moral argument: If you define theft as…