From time to time I’m going to try to summarize a few of the many outrageous property rights violations and restrictions of freedom that appear in the news. It shouldn’t be hard to find material. Up this week:
Bolivia’s president Evo Morales wants to ban used clothes. Used clothes get sold around the world, and many [...]
There are two basic problems that all government programs face. The first is a problem of efficiency; the second is one of morality.
The problem of efficiency has to do with the fundamental problem of central planning. This was best described by Friedrich Hayek in his many works. In short, government programs are inherently worse than [...]
I’m pretty sure Latin America is doomed. I guess I’ve always known this at some level, and recent political events in South America certainly haven’t done anything to change my mind on the subject. The difference is that now I have a framework to understand why this is so. Hint: it has something to do [...]
I think I’m beginning to understand why libertarians don’t do very well politically. It’s not just the extremes to which the logic of personal freedom can take you. It’s having to overcome the massive economic illiteracy that’s constantly being drummed into people on a daily basis. The level of ignorance is truly astounding, as well [...]
One of the things that attracted me to libertarianism in the first place is the fact that there is a coherent philosophy underpinning it. I’d like to go into that aspect in a bit more detail here, but in doing so, I make no claim to being any kind of expert. I’m merely describing the [...]
Here is a list of some of the titles that have kept me entertained lately, and I highly recommend them to anyone interested in libertarianism, natural rights, limited government, or free-market economics:
Free to Choose: A Personal Statement – Milton Friedman
Libertarianism: A Primer – David Boaz
Common Sense – Thomas Paine
The Political Writings [...]
I’m not sure exactly what set me off, but over the past few years I’ve come to a crossroads in my political philosophy. Or maybe I just realized that what I thought was a philosophy was really just a grab-bag of issue positions. But suffice it to say that I’ve been seriously disappointed with the [...]
Welcome to A Beginner’s Guide to Freedom. Through this blog, I hope to discuss a wide range of topics from a libertarian perspective. The title reflects the fact that I am fairly new to libertarianism myself, and do not claim to be any kind of expert. If you’re interested in the experts’ [...]
