Liberty and Power

• Mar 11, 2007
  

  Refuting Today's Miserabilist View of the Human Success Story That Is Longer Life

  by Liberty and Power

  As you would expect, I don't advocate state provision of pensions and medical services for the retired. Of course, this is not to say that I support the idea that individuals be _required_ to direct some part of their Social Security contributions into private investment vehicles to provide for their retirement. Nor do I wish to identify with the hyperbole, dishonesty, lapses of logic, and factual errors that all too often characterize this proposal.
  
  For this reason I offer a qual
  

• Mar 10, 2007
  

  Cleopatra on Mars; or, Our Forgetful Experts

  by Liberty and Power

  [cross-posted at Austro-Athenian Empire]

  I remember how, when the Viking lander first began sending photos back from Mars, scientists were amazed to discover that the Martian sky is pink. Initially the sky showed as white, but the Viking project’s scientists quickly noticed that the colour of the lettering on the lander itself was off, and when they corrected the colour, the sky bl

  

• Mar 10, 2007
  

  Look Away, Dixie Land

  by Liberty and Power

  [cross-posted at Austro-Athenian Empire]

  On LRC today, Tom Woods points out that the Northern political establishment which now demonises the South and its historical heritage used to treat these with admiration and respect instead. Tom quotes, for example, Clyde Wilson’s observation: “I have seen a photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt mak

  

• Mar 10, 2007
  

  Exporting the Welfare State

  by Liberty and Power

  So George II is in Latin America bragging about how much"social justice money" the"generous" American taxpayers have provided countries in the region. Social justice money?"In other words, it's money for education and health," Bush said. Right, he's exporting the welfare state.
  
  Then he announced an ethanol deal with Brazil, enlisting that country in his campaign to
  

• Mar 10, 2007
  

  Free to Migrate

  by Liberty and Power

  No matter what the advocates of free immigration say about the natural individual right to move without government permission, many people remain unconvinced because they expect theory and practice to diverge. Open borders may be good in the abstract, we're told, but the theory doesn't reflect what happens in the real world. To begin, we ought to be suspicious of any claim that a good theory and practice part ways....

  The rest of this week's

• Mar 9, 2007
  

  Crane and Niskanen on Neoconservatism

  by Liberty and Power

  A welcome article from the leaders of the Cato Institute on the dangers to liberty posed by neoconservatism:

  During his campaign, Mr. Bush said many sensible things about foreign policy, including the need for the US to have"humility" in its relations with other nations. But since September 11, neoconservative influence on US foreign policy has reached new heights. We have grave concerns over the doctrine of preve