I’m reading a terrific anthology of individualist thought edited by George H. Smith and Marilyn Moore. One essay was written by Oscar Wilde and focuses on individualism being the least selfish among alternatives. Let me put it this way: I am an individualist first, voluntaryist second.
Tag: values
Never Give Anything to Government
This past year has been hard on liberty.
It started with world-wide government overreaction to a pandemic. This was still going strong when some focus shifted to choosing a politician to run your life.
Recently, as the pandemic hype began to fizzle i…
American Education: Child Indoctrination, Struggle Sessions and Debt Slavery
Seemingly overnight, a large segment of America has gone insane. We’re not talking about the culture of paranoia and safety that has metastasized in the wake of COVID-19 hysteria. We’re talking about the ideological shift, particularly on cultural issues, that has occurred since the start of the Obama Administration.
How Three Women Sought to Sway Americans Away From Socialism
In 1943, as collectivist policies were ascendant, an extraordinary thing happened. Three women published three books that year that would jolt Americans from their socialist stupor and remind them of the fundamental American values of individual liberty, limited government, free-market capitalism, and entrepreneurship. This Women’s History Month is an ideal time to reflect on how Rose Wilder Lane, Isabel Paterson, and Ayn Rand helped to catalyze the 20th century libertarian movement.
Woke Educators Release Letter Declaring Objective Math a Form of ‘White Supremacy’
Here’s how parents can push back on the alarming ideology that’s infecting our children’s classrooms.
Woke Classrooms Show Why US Parents Should Be Free to Choose on Schools
Families that value liberalism over critical theory should be free to choose different educational options.
Political “Unity” is Neither Necessary Nor Desirable
“[T]o restore the soul and to secure the future of America,” President Joe Biden said in his inaugural speech, “requires more than words. It requires that most elusive of things in a democracy: Unity. … This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward.” The bad news: Where politics is concerned, “unity” is a pipe dream.
Let January 6th Events Be Wakeup Call
(My Eastern New Mexico News column for January 20, 2021)
No matter how you feel about them, U.S. presidents are both too powerful and figureheads without any real power. It seems contradictory, but it’s true.
A president has the power to sign…
A Sea of Counter Conformity
We live in a sea of conformity and signaling. We are drowning in it, and, to some degree, this is okay. We are a social species, and we need to accept that the social nature of the species expresses itself in this way. I am on the far side of the spectrum that feels moderately comfortable being unacceptable, but I am an aberration. Even in myself, I feel the same social impulses everyone feels.
Convenience vs. Social Desirability Bias
Convenience has a massive effect on your behavior. You rarely shop in your favorite store, eat in your favorite restaurant, or visit your favorite place. Why not? Because doing so is typically inconvenient. They’re too far away, or not open at the right hours, so you settle for second-best or third-best or tenth-best. You usually don’t switch your cell phone company, your streaming service, or your credit card just because a better option comes along. Why not? Because switching is not convenient. Students even pass up financial aid because they don’t feel like filling out the paperwork. Why not? You guessed it: Because paperwork is inconvenient.