Category:Role of Government
Do government employees have a right to religious liberty?
April 1, 2017 | Post
Religious liberty is a fundamental right, but what should happen if the law asks bureaucrats to choose between their religion and their job?
The Filibuster: A Primer
March 28, 2017 | Post
Most legal scholars agree that Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch has the necessary experience, expertise, and temperament to be confirmed as Justice Scalia’s replacement. But suppose the Democrats decide to filibuster the nomination and Republicans can’t get the 60 votes needed to break the filibuster? If that happens, you can expect the Republicans to “go […]
How regulations block economic progress
March 27, 2017 | Post
To discover the Next Big Thing, you need to think outside the box.
Anne Hutchinson: The spirit of religious liberty
March 27, 2017 | Post
Opinions of Anne Hutchinson have, shall we say, covered the waterfront. In his masterful tome, Conceived in Liberty, 20th-century economist and libertarian historian Murray Rothbard cast her as a staunch individualist and the greatest threat to the “despotic Puritanical theocracy of Massachusetts Bay.” John Winthrop, the 2nd, 6th, 9th, and 12th governor of the Massachusetts […]
Promises and the right to resist injustice
March 26, 2017 | Post
The fact that government agents have promised to obey the government does not excuse them when they obey unjust orders, nor does it relieve them of moral culpability for following those orders.
Where did the presidency get all these powers? From Congress.
March 24, 2017 | Post
Why would the legislature want the executive to have more power? Why would they voluntarily cede some of their power?
Reddit AMA with Lauren Hall, scholar of women and the family
March 22, 2017 | Post
Join us for a conversation on Reddit this Wednesday, March 29th at 3pm EST where you can ask her anything!
Liberty and "social" justice for all is impossible
March 19, 2017 | Post
To provide benefits under the umbrella of social justice, the government will have to violate individuals’ rights to themselves and their property.
The moral dimensions of liberty; Why goodness requires freedom
March 16, 2017 | Post
Freedom is an essential component of human morality at all levels.
Why don’t humans kill each other like we used to?
March 16, 2017 | Post
Pinker claims — but fails to prove — that early states significantly increased human welfare by reducing the rate of war death.
The battle to make America wet again
March 8, 2017 | Post
The forgotten story of how American women turned the tide against Prohibition and reclaimed the moral high ground from the dry movement.
Here are 10 classic films that will make you question government
March 5, 2017 | Post
Whether you’re a casual moviegoer or a diehard cinephile, you will learn a lot about government from watching these ten great movies, all of which are rated as being some of the best of all time by IMDb and the American Film Institute.
What federalism does for individual liberty
March 1, 2017 | Post
The state’s comprise the federal government; not the other way around.
Was Marbury v. Madison a judicial power grab?
February 28, 2017 | Post
Judges’ duty is to interpret the law, discover the facts, and apply the Constitution — no exceptions.
Is taxation theft?
February 27, 2017 | Post
I have my doubts about the “taxation is theft” meme making the rounds on my Facebook feed.
Individual liberty for a diverse society: Public reason liberalism
February 27, 2017 | Post
Even well informed people of good will have very different religious, moral, and philosophic views.
What you should know about the Non-Aggression Principle
February 24, 2017 | Post
Libertarians talk about the non-aggression principle a lot, but what does it mean?
Rawls the Irrelevant
February 21, 2017 | Post
My thesis is simple: If you want to square libertarianism with social justice, John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice is probably not a book you should reach for.
A (Revised) Theory of Justice
February 21, 2017 | Post
Although Rawls is part of the liberal tradition, he is arguably the pinnacle of the “high” liberal tradition, which is a far cry from the “classical” side I’m more comfortable with.
Was Jeremy Bentham a Classical Liberal at heart?
February 15, 2017 | Post
Jeremy Bentham was born on Feb. 15th, 1748, in Spitalfields, England. One of the main early advocates of utilitarianism — the ethical view that, roughly, an act is right insofar as it promotes happiness, and wrong insofar as it does not — he is best known for his view that “it is the greatest happiness […]
War, diplomacy, and global uncertainty in the Trump era
February 14, 2017 | Post
Are Trump’s cabinet full of generals, his openness to torture, and the “peace through strength” message from the White House all signs that he plans to rely on military power.
Civil servants should not lose their jobs for committing thought crimes.
February 14, 2017 | Post
A government commission has recommended that a civil servant be removed from his post because of his thoughts. A scene from George Orwell’s 1984 or the dystopian novel Kallocain? Alas, no. Welcome to present-day Oregon. On January 25, 2016, Oregon’s Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability recommended that Judge Vance Day be removed as a […]
Constitutional crisis or the Constitution at work?
February 10, 2017 | Post
We’re seeing the Constitution raise its craggy head and shake itself awake after having been essentially shoved in a corner to nap for the last few decades.
Judicial "Activism" vs. Judicial "Engagement"
February 10, 2017 | Post
The Director of the Center for Judicial Engagement at the Institute for Justice, Clark Neily, and an editor at the Library of Law and Liberty, Mark Pulliam, recently debated the role of the judiciary in American constitutional democracy over at City Journal. At issue is which judicial philosophy conservative and/or libertarian-minded people should support. Pulliam […]