Posts dedicated to philosophy of society, civic governance and general ideas.
A debate erupted in the liberty movement after Libertarian presidential nominee Jo Jorgensen tweeted out a message claiming it’s not enough to be not racist, but everyone must strive to be actively anti-racist. Putting aside the controversy over what she meant, her tweet raises an interesting question: how should libertarians handle racism? Intuitively, laws punishing…
In a recent article for American Compass, Patrick Deneen criticized George Will and Brad Thompson for their defense of the classical liberal tradition’s role during the Founding. Part of Deneen’s article defends the idea that the Founding isn’t as libertarian as some are led to believe. While that’s an interesting question, Deneen makes a…
COVID-19 is likely to change forever how we manage our everyday activities. It should also change how we value the work of first responders and the many low-wage workers who deliver our goods, stock grocery shelves, greet us at the cash register, and assist in hospitals and nursing homes. In a pandemic, the corporate CEO…
The coronavirus has taken the lives of more than 154,000 people. This is profoundly sad and sobering. I sometimes feel we lose sight of this tragedy in the midst of the debate over “reopening” the country. But I also know governments’ response to the crisis has life and death implications. And we need to be…
COVID-19 has temporarily changed many aspects of our lives, sparking a firestorm of criticism about the best way to deal with the current crisis. While there are plenty of claims and decisions to debate, I’m especially interested in those involving matters of faith. I’ll address four that I’ve come across over the last several days….
People on the left, right and center are constantly criticizing Donald Trump for his juvenile comments and behavior—and rightly so. The president’s inclination toward hurling insults at others is malicious and needlessly divisive. Underlying the criticisms of the president’s words is an important principle that should be widely shared: treat everyone with dignity. The political…
In a recent article for National Review, Oren Cass introduced readers to a new organization dedicated to helping conservatives “recover” from “market fundamentalism.” This new venture is a solution in search of a problem. A commitment to bigger government is the prevailing orthodoxy in the halls of Congress and the premiere D.C. think tanks offer,…
Libertarians are inclined to make the following argument in defense of liberty: “I don’t care what you do as long as your decisions don’t violate my rights.” Although crude in description, this philosophy is second to none as it relates to state action. It respects the right of each person to live their life as…
A major theme running throughout the Democratic Party’s presidential primary is the problem of income inequality. The argument is an appeal to fairness—a value most Americans share. It’s also a distraction from a more insidious inequality: the power the state has over the rest of us. Power inequality is a bigger threat to an egalitarian…
Rocky Ferrenburg I was listening to Dave Smith’s podcast, Part of the Problem, and they brought up a topic that seems to be a spot of contention for Libertarians: Intellectual Property. Intellectual property is the concept that someone owns an idea and that others cannot reproduce that idea without the owner’s permission. Being a musician,…