Tag: history
How urban planners broke Brooklyn
March 17, 2017 | Post
Zoning and landmark laws have frozen much of New York into a life-size historical diorama: neighborhoods frozen in time, where the only thing that goes up is the rent.
What should libertarians think about the Civil War?
January 1, 2017 | Post
Instead of looking for a “side” to champion, we are better served by recognizing that even amid the unbridled horrors of slavery and the devastation of war, there may still be a few who are fighting for something better than their country’s cause.
Liberalism reconstructed for a world divided
December 31, 2016 | Post
So 2016 is limping to an end with an assassination of an ambassador, another “inspired” attack on innocents at a Christmas market, and the formal election of a master crony-capitalist to the office of the presidency of the United States.
How U.S. economic warfare provoked Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor
December 7, 2016 | Post
There’s more to the story than your U.S. history teacher told you.
How schools and the media cover up communist crimes
November 21, 2016 | Post
An astonishingly high percentage of millennials do not know who communist leaders like Mao Zedong and Vladimir Lenin were.
A hero is worth 1,000 words
November 12, 2016 | Post
Truly virtuous behavior cannot be compelled. Demonstrating virtue and consequently inspiring people to be virtuous is a fundamental and necessary component of a free society.
Hamilton Tells the Story of a Great Historical Figure, but Misses Some of the History
September 12, 2016 | Post
Hamilton the Musical takes liberties with American history.
Modern Libertarians Have a Lot to Learn from This Moment in History
July 16, 2016 | Post
Though I become more and more convinced—daily, if not hourly, and, sometimes, by the minute—of the inability of the political state to accomplish anything well, anything humanely, anything merely decently, or even anything without ultimately destroying the non-political spheres of life, I do think the finest possible state and political form of governance for a […]
Podcast: Prof. Sarah Burns Explains Exactly How America Was Founded
July 14, 2016 | Post
Oppressive taxation. Forcible quartering of soldiers in civilian homes. Lack of representation in government. What happens when a small group of rebels decide to declare freedom from the most powerful government in the world? The story of the American Revolution seems so second nature to many people that one may disregard the notion of listening […]
Why the American Revolution Was Really an Economic Revolution
July 7, 2016 | Post
Political slogans tend to obscure more than they enlighten. Barack Obama’s 2008 call for “Change We Need,” for example, turned out to mean almsgiving rather than substantive policy reform. Similarly, the American Revolution’s most famous slogan, “No taxation without representation,” failed to capture the essence of what colonists sought, or what, as freemen, they soon […]
What to Reflect On This Independence Day
July 4, 2016 | Post
On the Fourth of July, we are celebrating 240 years of American independence. In light of that anniversary, we should take a few moments and reflect on the meaning of that day and the idea of America. The idea of America was a consensus around the belief in individual liberty and a government by the […]
Americans Owe It to Themselves to Consider Reparations for Marginalized Minorities
June 22, 2016 | Post
Property rights are key for a free society. Since they set out what belongs to whom, they are the foundation for human freedom. Property norms tell us who can do what, with what, and to whom. When securely guaranteed, property rights offer a basis (if not the best basis) for predictability and stability. As social […]
How One Image Showed the World What Heroism Really Means
June 3, 2016 | Post
The collective thought it could use military force to conquer individuality. It took unknown individual to prove otherwise.
This Year’s Passover Is an Especially Good Time to Celebrate Freedom from Slavery
April 27, 2016 | Post
This week marks the Jewish holiday of Passover, which, at least in part, celebrates freedom from slavery. As we observe it, let’s not forget those who fought for freedom in our own country. For instance, this year’s Passover follows last week’s announcement from the U.S. Treasury that abolitionist Harriet Tubman will be featured on the […]
Historical Inspirations Behind Star Wars
January 22, 2016 | Post
It took Star Wars: The Force Awakens just 20 days to become the number one North American movie of all time. Obi Wan Kenobi might say the movie has become more powerful than we could possibly imagine. But there are a few things about the movie franchise that even hardcore fans may not know. For […]
Remy Explains Democracy to Dictatorship through Star Wars
December 17, 2015 | Post
Star Wars, whose next installment opens this week, includes many important themes. One of the most relevant today is that a democratic republic is precious thing. If it is not guarded, it can quickly turn into a dictatorship. People often forget that pre-Nazi Germany was a constitutional democracy and that Hitler came to power by […]