“The United States is the freest country on earth.” It is a comforting story Americans tell ourselves when we feel our position in the world challenged, or when chest-thumping nationalists mount the platform to brag about “American exceptionalism”, or when we need to excuse our behavior internationally. But is it true? How does the United States stack … Continued
Non-belief isn’t a sound basis for a community.
Many people think of the 1970s and Watergate as low-water marks in America’s political history, but personally, I think of it as one of our finest hours. For once, the system worked. The president and vice president were forced to resign in disgrace for their crimes. The attorney general and deputy attorney general resigned on principle, … Continued
There’s become something of a cottage industry recently of blogs listing “questions libertarians can’t answer” or “knockdown arguments” against libertarianism (see Salon, The New York Times, Psychology Today, Bloomberg, et al). Having read an impressive fraction of these articles, I’ve concluded that most of their authors do not have a clue what libertarianism actually is. … Continued
Everybody Hates John Boehner The other day, two seemingly contradictory stories appeared in my inbox almost simultaneously. The first was yet another story on how unpopular the Republican Party is right now, thanks to their doomed, incoherent budget strategy: “NBC/WSJ poll: Shutdown debate damages GOP.” The short of it is that only 24% of Americans … Continued
I recently got an email from a student from Norway with five questions about libertarianism that I thought were worth a response. They cover a broad range of subjects, so I’ll try to be brief. My answers are not intended be definitive of “the” libertarian position, but they represent my current thinking on a number … Continued
My friend Libertarian Girl asked me what I thought libertarians should be doing more of when it comes to communicating with the public. This is a quick list of things that I’ve noticed to be either effective or counterproductive. It isn’t exhaustive or perfectly phrased, and shouldn’t be taken to be an indictment of all libertarians–in … Continued
You bet: McDonald’s just added 7,000 touch-screen kiosks to handle ordering and cashier duties in its European stores. The move is designed to boost efficiency and make ordering more convenient for customers. In an interview with the Financial Times, McDonald’s Europe President Steve Easterbrook notes that the new system will also open up a goldmine of … Continued
