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Civil Liberties
Foreign Agents Bill in Georgia: What to Know and Why It Matters
I was wearing sandals. I was wearing sandals … and I was scared. That’s why, when I had the chance to protest in front of the Georgian parliament one night in Tbilisi, I didn’t go. Because … What if I had to run? Now, I’m regretting it. I think. On Tuesday, May 14, 2024, 84 members of Georgia’s parliament voted to pass a bill that will require organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from foreign sources to declare themselves as such. Only 30 members voted against it. The terminology is a tell: As I learned from the safety of a hotel bar about a mile from
Civil Liberties
Who’s Running for President in 2024?
The Lesser-known Presidential Candidates and Parties November 2024 will see the American electorate picking a new head of state. Despite low levels
Civil Liberties
My Experience with Campus Climate at a Liberal Arts College
William F. Buckley famously authored God and Man at Yale in 1951. In it, he decried his alma mater’s overt efforts to undermine what he called good,
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LGBTQ
The libertarian position on gay marriage: a matter of expression?
While it would be unfair to say that libertarians hold some kind of monopoly over the fight for gay marriage, but there is no denying the great contribution made by libertarian logic to this movement. Marriage is individual expression; it is not the faculty of anyone else to restrict it.
Politics & Policy
The dangerous simplicity of polarization
We cannot claim to want a better and more tolerant world while simultaneously creating distance between ourselves and those with whom we disagree. To overcome the exercise in collective insanity that is political polarization, we must separate the politics from the individual.
Basic Economics
How to prepare yourself for hyperinflation: tips from the Venezuelan experience
While true hyperinflation does not happen often, it’s always good to know the measures you could take to overcome the challenges presented by hyperinflation if ever it occurs in your country (and the chances are never quite zero.)
Civil Liberties
What’s happening in China: is the communist regime in trouble?
At present, whenever the world’s attention is not on the controversial Qatar World Cup, it is firmly on what is happening in China. The authoritarian, communist regime, ruled with an iron fist by Xi Jinping for the past decade, is seeing protests on a scale not seen in generations. As more cracks appear, will China’s illiberal model prove unsustainable?
Basic Economics
The top five reasons why socialism doesn’t work
The socialism vs. capitalism debate is tired and stale. If you look at any media on the topic, you’ll find people rehearsing the same, boring arguments. “Socialism doesn’t work because human nature is flawed! Socialism doesn’t work because nobody would be incentivized to work! Socialism is inefficient!” Of course, these statements are true. However, they are not convincing for those who don’t believe them. Next time you find yourself into a debate, use these arguments to tackle the root cause of what you’re discussing…
Basic Economics
Why economics is not just graphs and charts
In economics, unlike in math, constant relations not only are not possible, but can’t exist. Because economics involves the behavior of human beings, not numbers or inanimate objects.
Human Rights
The dark side of the Qatar World Cup
The idea of excusing Qatar’s terrible human rights abuses on the grounds of cultural differences is not only anti-liberty and anti-reason. It is disingenuous and utterly reprehensible.
Philosophy
Why cosmopolitanism is essential to liberty
Cosmopolitanism is the belief in universal human rights, regardless of time or place. That each of us is a citizen of the world first, country second. It also denotes a law and morality that transcends all, and must be applied to everyone equally. But cosmopolitanism is more than just a recognition of the universal rights of others.
Basic Economics
Socialism: the failed idea that never dies
Why have socialist ideas become so attractive again, despite the fact that all socialist experiments, without exception, have failed over the past 100 years? The 2019 book by Dr. Kristian Niemietz, ‘Socialism: The Failed Idea That Never Dies,’ provides convincing answers.
Environment
Here’s why population growth is an opportunity, not a threat
The United Nations recently announced that the world’s population is now estimated to have reached 8 billion — up from 7 billion as recently as 2011. This latest milestone has seen renewed alarmism from those who believe that the planet is already overpopulated.But is population growth really such a threat to humanity? There are many reasons to believe that, quite the opposite, population growth actually amplifies opportunities for tackling humanity’s greatest challenges.
Free Speech
Elon Musk’s ego will always trump free speech
Elon Musk, who has described himself as a “free speech absolutist,” has stated in the past that there should be no permanent bans on the platform. Despite these promises, mere days into Musk’s term at the helm of Twitter, things already spun wildly out of control. Kathy Griffin has already been permanently banned from Twitter for a parody tweet, “impersonating” Musk and encouraging his followers to vote Democrat in the recent midterms.
Monetary Policy
Libertarian solutions to inflation
As long as half of the country believes that inflation is caused by the war in Ukraine, COVID, corporate profits, or that inflation like this is new and temporary, there will never be proper solutions. At best, it will be viewed as one of those random problems we must deal with when we have a crisis. At worst, policies like price controls and other government interventions will gain steam. Instead, we must move to cure inflation with more liberty.
Monetary Policy
Stop stealing our future: why inflation matters for everyone
Today, after record prices hit the everyday goods Americans use – food, housing, gas; everyone is familiar with the I-word. However, Americans are struggling to understand how inflation happens and why it matters so much.
Environment
How the sharing economy protects the environment
To protect the environment, the way forward is through the promotion of markets and innovation, including the sharing economy, which can solve the problem far more effectively than state regulation.
Healthcare
Lessons from Covid about healthcare and sin taxes
Europe is often praised for its public healthcare systems that rely on sin taxes and collectivizing costs. But the Covid emergency propelled into the public debate important flaws in this type of healthcare system
Role of Government
A world unsafe for autocracy
It is clear that more prudent and proactive statecraft is needed; a doctrine that accepts that the sword cannot solve every problem and a retreat from world affairs will only leave space for uncertainty. Rather, the US should embrace the prospect of working alongside diverse partners to make the world more resilient to the forces that seek to undermine free societies.
Poverty & Inequality
5 ways market competition can reduce global poverty
Economic competition in functioning market economies it the best surefire way to reduce global poverty. That, and letting people leave poor countries for rich ones.
Philosophy
Five myths about Ayn Rand and Objectivism
Objectivism is consistently mischaracterized and stereotyped in popular media, and is blamed as responsible for any right-leaning political development. Here are five common myths that you may have heard about Ayn Rand.
Human Rights
A time of reckoning: what’s happening in Iran?
In Iran, people across all generations and backgrounds are demonstrating together with one voice. As the weeks go by, Iranians are remaining resolute in demanding real change.
War on Drugs
Biden’s pardon of those convicted of marijuana possession is a huge step
President Biden has made the momentous decision to issue a pardon for all those convicted under federal law for possession of marijuana. This long overdue course of action is a huge step in the right direction.
Democracy and Voting
For a freer future, we must move beyond the culture war
In the hyperpartisan culture war, increasingly radical and uncompromising political factions seek to leverage division to cement their own power
Announcement
Why Congress is broken
At LibertyCon International, former Congressman Justin Amash will sit down with Reason’s Katherine Mangu-Ward to discuss how a broken political process and the concentration of power in a few congressional leaders has resulted in this increased polarization and greater distrust of governing institutions.
Free Trade
A perfect storm for maritime policy: the Jones Act five years after Hurricane Maria
As world maritime trade increases, and the ocean’s critical role in human affairs grows, the United States will continue to fall behind. Congress should end or fundamentally alter the Jones Act. To do otherwise would be unjust.
Philosophy
Western cultural myths about China prevent us from seeing reality
Just because something’s ancient doesn’t mean it’s wise. And just because Confucius (or even some other thinker of renown — even if that’s Ludwig von Mises!) said something, doesn’t mean it’s beyond reproach.