Tag: history
The KGB still runs Russia and always has
January 18, 2023 | Post
The KGB still runs Russia. In its structure of power, the same organization that inflicted terror in Soviet times is still calling the shots.
Is social media a modern-day Tower of Babel?
January 6, 2023 | Post
As social media platforms use artificial intelligence to curate users’ feeds with the content they are most likely to engage with, this erects barriers to communication among people of differing opinions.
How gay pride is a celebration of liberty
December 23, 2022 | Post
Every time someone does not conform to what is attempted to be imposed on them; those people are celebrating pride in being themselves. That’s why gay pride is so special. It is resistance against those who do not love the freedom of others.
Is AI our generation’s nuclear fission?
December 20, 2022 | Post
Developments in AI, such as the recent creation of ChatGPT, can be seen as world-changing in ways that should not be taken lightly. However, it clearly has immense potential for humanity, so long as we choose the right path. What are the parallels between the advent of nuclear fission and the rise of AI?
Socialism: the failed idea that never dies
November 21, 2022 | Post
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.
Five myths about the Great Depression
September 27, 2022 | Post
The Great Depression is one of the most misunderstood periods in American history. Once you do a little digging, there’s more than meets the eye to this desperate time. Here are some of our top myths about the Great Depression:
Why democracy is good for liberty
September 15, 2022 | Post
There is a growing tendency among libertarians to attack the concept of democracy, and blame it for America’s problems. But this is reckless: we need to address the issues within our system and provide alternatives instead of burning the entire thing down.
The Gadsden flag: a historic symbol rooted in classical liberalism
July 29, 2022 | Post
Those who care about the ideas of liberty represented by the Gadsden flag must resist its co-option by forces that are completely at odds with what it stands for. The truth about its classical liberal origins must prevail.
LGBTQ+ rights in Ireland: a redemption arc
June 22, 2022 | Post
The redemption arc around LGBTQ+ rights in Ireland shows the possibility of rapid social change in favor of greater liberty.
The Prague Spring: planting the seeds of freedom
April 6, 2022 | Post
The Prague Spring of 1968 has a legacy that proved influential in the downfall of the Eastern Bloc a generation later, and continues to inspire to this day.
What makes Ayn Rand so significant
February 28, 2022 | Post
When we think of terms such as capitalism, individualism, or selfishness, one name comes to mind: Ayn Rand. But what makes Rand so significant?
Why modernity is unthinkable without capitalism
February 2, 2022 | Post
Modernity is unthinkable without capitalism, yet Ayn Rand defined capitalism as an unknown ideal, one whose benefits people did not understand
Zora Neale Hurston: a genius of the south and anti-imperialist voice
March 30, 2021 | Post
Within and beyond her literature, Zora Neale Hurston was an outspoken anti-communist who opposed both the New Deal and interventionism abroad
How this screwy IRS policy kickstarted the American health care crisis
September 6, 2017 | Post
As a believer in small government, I usually favor anything that reduces taxes. But this tax break has wreaked havoc on American health care.
Highlights from our Reddit AMA with Professor Sarah Burns
May 19, 2017 | Post
Did you miss our recent Reddit AMA with Professor Sarah Burns of RIT’s political science department? You can find the whole conversation here, or check out some of the highlights below. Dr. Burns is a regular contributor to the Learn Liberty Blog, and starred in our series on America’s Founding. Adama82 Hi, thanks for […]
Reddit AMA with Professor Sarah Burns, scholar of the American founding
May 5, 2017 | Post
Sarah Burns is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Her research examines the intersection of political liberalization and American constitutional development with an eye toward policy implications for democratization across the globe. Professor Burns was featured in Learn Liberty’s America’s Founding series. She has also written on American history (1), American foreign policy (2,3), elections (4,5), […]
The Progressive War: Woodrow Wilson and the US entry into WWI
April 6, 2017 | Post
The American entry into the war was the apotheosis of progressivism — the high-water mark of its crusading zeal.
Elinor Ostrom, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, and learning to see the women who have shaped the world
March 31, 2017 | Post
Well-behaved women seldom make history, but they should.
6 women who should be on the $20 bill
March 29, 2017 | Post
We reached out to Learn Liberty professors for suggestions on great women whose achievements should earn them a place on US currency.
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 […]
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 […]
Mercy Otis Warren: Conscience of Great Causes
March 25, 2017 | Post
Two centuries before “women’s lib,” in the run-up to America’s Revolutionary War, Mercy Otis Warren was already a liberated woman by the standards of her day. And she did the liberating herself. In the latter half of the 18th century, Warren was an accomplished poet, playwright, pamphleteer, and historian — though much of what she […]
History, progress, and the fate of gay marriage
March 23, 2017 | Post
The future belongs to everyone, and the arc of the universe bends nowhere in particular.
Mary Wollstonecraft: Libertarian Feminist
March 21, 2017 | Post
Almost two centuries before the women’s lib movement and a full century before the suffragettes, not all women were quiet subordinates to men. In this 1996 essay, historian Jim Powell provides us with an illuminating account of the brilliant Mary Wollstonecraft, an 18th-century author and philosopher who never minced her words in defense of equal […]