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Liberty and Power

  • Dec 8, 2006

    Global Warming and the Layman

    by Liberty and Power

    Global warming is a divisive issue. People are either believers or skeptics, with each side viewing the other with apprehension. I've sided firmly with the skeptics, but lately I have had a nagging concern. Like most people, I am not an atmospheric scientist. I have no firsthand way to evaluate a scientific claim for or against the existence of global warming. So what grounds have I for believing what one scientist says against the thesis over what another one says in favor of it?
  • Dec 8, 2006

    What the Neocons Have Wrought

    by Liberty and Power

    Martin Jacques explains how the neocons have finished what the Vietcong started. He argues that Vietnam traumatised the U.S. but left its power intact. Iraq, however, will be far more serious for the superpower.
  • Dec 7, 2006

    Maybe Huey or Louie?

    by Liberty and Power

    This is one of the stupidest essays from the Chronicle I’ve seen in a while. It argues that Hannah Arendt seems so great because all the rest of 20th century political philosophers were lame. I don’t know Arendt well enough to have an opinion about whether or not she’s overrated; it might well be true. The author notes that her “two most famous books make opposite points,” and that she gets a lot of unearned
  • Dec 7, 2006

    On Greatness and Tall Economists

    by Liberty and Power

    The photo shows George Stigler on the left, Milton Friedman in the middle, and John Kenneth Galbraith on the right.

    "All great economists are tall. There are two exceptions: John Kenneth Galbraith and Milton Friedman." --George J. Stigler

    Via Catallarchy.

  • Dec 5, 2006

    Questions on Mises IV: Updates and a Challenge to Historians

    by Liberty and Power

    First I must say I have been thoroughly enjoying the public reading/discussion of Mises' Theory of Money and Credit. As I mentioned by e-mail to one discussion participant, a critical, public, written engagement with a text, carried out as you read it, constitutes a new form of reading, one that barely existed a few years ago and that certainly came into being during my lifetime. This way of engaging a text is not a book review, nor even a book discussion group, although the latt
  • Dec 5, 2006

    Is Any War Civil?

    by Liberty and Power

    Whether Iraq is embroiled in a civil war is a matter of some controversy. News organizations such as NBC have dramatically announced that, indeed, it is. Pundits solemnly the debate the question on cable news talk shows. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell says yes. Present Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says no.

    Of course, the president of the United States agrees with Rice. He has two good reasons for doing so. If President Bush admits we have a civil war on our han

  • Dec 4, 2006

    Books for Holidays

    by Liberty and Power

    Okay, your overcoat is hung up and dripping on the floor, you've sat down in front of the warm fireplace. Of course, your first thought is what do you want to read. Perhaps something deep enough to help you forget the cold chill in your bones while you dry off:

    Republicanism: A Shared European Heritage (Cambridge U.

  • Dec 4, 2006

    Liberaltarians, Anyone?

    by Liberty and Power

    In today’s Washington Post Sebastian Mallaby discussesBrink Lindsey’s article in the current issue of The New Republic. There Lindsey argues that libertarians should ditch the Republican Party in favor of the Democrats.

    Evidently Brink Lindsey defines libertarians in the very
  • Dec 4, 2006

    South Park and the Free Market

    by Liberty and Power

    As I’ve mentionedbefore, a lot of work being done these days on intersection of philosophy and popular culture is being done by libertarians and conservatives. It’s not all left-wing postmodernist nihilism. L&P readers might be familiar with the work of Paul Cantor, who often tries to incorporate insights from Austrian analysis into his work on both high and pop culture. He has
  • Dec 3, 2006

    Update on Litvinenko

    by Liberty and Power

    According to a story in Sunday's Observer, Litvinenko was planning to blackmail senior Russian spies and business figures. If true, it's not surprising he was bumped off.
  • Dec 2, 2006

    Hagel and Bringing Back the Draft

    by Liberty and Power

    Chuck Hagel is shaping up to be the favorite of antiwar libertarians for 2008. It is not hard to understand why. On a range of issues, from gun control to the Iraq War, he outshines the other candidates in both parties.

    Before antiwar libertarians get too carried away, however, they should ponder what Hagel had to say in 2004 on bringing back the draft .

  • Nov 30, 2006

    Michael Fry: Scotland Alone

    by Liberty and Power

    Michael Fry, makes the case for Scottish Independence. It's well worth reading and very informative.

    Although he is no longer a Tory, Fry remains"a conservative in a social, economic and moral sense." He is the author of several books, including The Dundas Despotism (1992/2004), The Scottish Empire (2001), How the Scots Made America (2005), and
  • Nov 30, 2006

    More on Hagel from Washington Post

    by Liberty and Power

    I don't know if I'd ever vote for Chuck Hagel but, thus far, he is clearly the best candidate in a depressing presidential field. Here
    is what David Ignatius has to say in the Washington Post:

    What would make a Hagel candidacy interesting is that he can claim to have been right about Iraq and other key issues earlier than almost any national politician, Republica