On February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin commenced a brutal, full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Two years on from this calamity, let’s examine and debunk some of the bogus justifications put forth by the fascist regime in Moscow and Putin’s alternative “history” that he uses in his attempts to delegitimize the Ukrainian nation. The two main reasons for the war are plain to see: An authoritarian dictator, facing numerous domestic issues, sought to unify the Russian public against the imaginary threat of a belligerent, Western-backed, “Nazi” regime on their doorstep. The
From the series: Debunking Myths about the Soviet Union Since they first seized power, Soviet leaders have claimed their “democracy” to be
Ever wondered why the price of college feels like it's on a perpetual escalator to the heavens? Well, you're not alone. The soaring costs of higher education
Mr. Sanders: In last-night’s debate you said: “I was on a picket line in the early 1990s against Nafta, because you didn’t need a Ph.D. in economics to understand that American workers should not be forced to compete against people in Mexico making 25 cents an hour.” I’m told that you’re a principled man who […]
With all the excitement of the 2016 presidential election ramping up, it’s even more important to think critically about proposed government policy. Not only are voters biased, they’re often swayed by policies which sound good, but which don’t always have good results. Randal O’Toole, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, illustrates the careful balancing […]
More than 11 percent of Americans claim Irish heritage, the second largest ancestry group in the country after German. But on St. Patrick’s Day, everyone — as the saying goes — is Irish for the day. For many, that means enjoying Irish music, food, and beer. But the Irish product the U.S. should really be […]
If you want to get experience (and maybe even some cash) this summer, it’s not too late to apply to summer internships! We’ve compiled a list of just a handful of great organizations with upcoming summer internship deadlines. Manhattan Institute (New York) Deadline: March 15 Mackinac Center (Michigan) Deadline: March 31 Ayn Rand Institute (California […]
You might have heard some news stories about how the FBI wants Apple’s help to get into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters. But what’s the big deal with this story, anyway? What’s going on The FBI has asked for Apple’s help to break into a locked iPhone which belongs to one […]
Wouldn’t it be great if seeing a doctor was as quick and as easy as calling an Uber? That’s the question that Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow Adam Thierer asks in the new Learn Liberty video on Permissionless Innovation. This concept states that people should be allowed to innovate and make products that improve our […]
A common theme among liberty-minded thinkers is a high degree of skepticism toward state administered education. They’ve often come to the conclusion that public schools act more to create a population of subservient factory workers with little skills in the way of critical thinking. To learn more about how the public school system harms students […]
Sure, you did well in Econ 101, but what does that have to do with your day-to-day life if you aren’t an economist? You probably glazed over terms like “opportunity cost” and “gains from trade”, and we really couldn’t blame you. But what if you could apply those concepts to the things you do for […]
What do we learn if immigrants lower the wages of American high school dropouts? That we should restrict immigration? No. We shouldn’t. First, if immigrants reduce the wages of high school dropouts, it sends a very clear message: don’t drop out of high school. Indeed, this is how people have responded to competitive pressure from […]
The following post by Bryan Caplan appeared over at EconLog on March 1st, 2016. In 2007, I published The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies. Every presidential election year, people ask for an update, and I normally say, “Nothing’s changed.” But 2016 really does look like an outlier. My thoughts: 1. […]
March 8th was International Women’s Day. Festivities included rallies, museum dedications, and even a Google search doodle to mark the occasion. In the spirit of the day, many commentators have called to re-double efforts for gender equality around the globe. In a less known spirit of the day, commentators also called on governments to step […]
From The Atlantic’s Marian Tupy: Let us start at the well of the socialist renewal, the Vermont senator. Sanders, as everyone knows, calls himself a “democratic socialist.” The word “democratic” is fundamental here, because historically socialism has not, typically, come about as a result of free and fair elections. In most socialist countries, like the […]
Do you want to be a leader on your campus? Are you excited to make a difference about issues you care about? Do you want to get involved, but aren’t sure where to start? Below are just a few great student groups to check out. Find a local group or chapter today, or start your […]
On Thursday, just hours after the UN passed tough sanctions on North Korea in response to the country’s recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch, North Korea further escalated tensions by firing short-range missiles off its east coast. It’s unclear how effective these sanctions will be; the behavior of North Korea’s government is unpredictable at […]
Another election year, another debate over the future America’s health care system. Though some of us may have thought we put this debate behind us with the passage of the Affordable Care Act, it has reared its ugly head again. For good reason. Health care costs in America are ballooning much faster than inflation, and […]
“Is Now the Time to Kill the $100 Bill?” That’s the title of a Wednesday, February 17 article in the Wall Street Journal, prompted in part by a blog post from former Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence H. Summers.The article states that the Treasury Department has no current plans to eliminate the $100 bill, so […]
Nobody likes taxes. But not all taxes are equally bad. From a moral perspective, some taxes are more unjust than others – imposing costs, for instance, on precisely those people who are least able to afford them. And from an economic perspective, some taxes are more inefficient than others, distorting economic activity by discouraging work […]
What is the best way, if at all, for medication to be regulated? How do you balance the right of consumers to purchase what they want with protection of consumers from dangerous or fraudulent medical treatments? Professor Howie Baetjer tackles this question in the following Learn Liberty video, but what do you think?
Frank Underwood is coming back in season four of the Netflix political drama House of Cards and just in time for the presidential primary season. You know what that means; it’s time to brush up on public choice theory. What better way to do that than to take (or retake) our House of Cards On […]
“The best response to micro-aggression is macro-aggression.” So says Cal State University Los Angeles Professor Robert Weide in response to an editor from the news website Breitbart giving a speech before students at Cal State University. Let’s unpack that statement, shall we? Micro-aggressions, defined as real or perceived everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, […]
Reason recently shared their video on dying patient and the right to try, noting that the Goldwater Institute will be releasing a study this week on the failure of the FDA’s Expanded Access program. Though the program is intended to let terminally ill patients try experimental drugs which have not yet cleared the FDA’s approval […]
If you’re a fan of Learn Liberty, you’re probably interested in learning more about libertarian ideas and discovering the libertarian perspective on topics like history, economics and philosophy. But did you know you can learn more and discuss and debate those ideas with other students and Learn Liberty professors? IHS Summer Seminars are week-long summer […]