Homines libenter quod volunt credunt
Posted in Classical Liberalism on Feb 11th, 2022
From Frederick Douglass’ Plea for Freedom of Speech in Boston: Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one’s thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist. That, of all rights, is the dread of tyrants. It is the right which they first of all strike down. They know its power. Thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism on Jul 4th, 2021
It is, and always was, a great idea. Here is an excerpt from Jefferson’s first draft of the Declaration: he has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating it’s most sacred rights of life & liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism on Jun 3rd, 2021
Here is Madison in Federalist #62: “In another point of view, great injury results from an unstable government. The want of confidence in the public councils damps every useful undertaking, the success and profit of which may depend on a continuance of existing arrangements. What prudent merchant will hazard his fortunes in any new branch […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism, Education, Racism and Anti-racism on Mar 25th, 2021
Wherein Cornell tries to put the locomotive back on the tracks. I doubt it will do much, it may be performative too, but at least they are recognizing the cancer. Cornell Policy Statement on Academic Freedom and Freedom of Speech and Expression Cornell University respects and is committed to fundamental principles of academic freedom and […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism, If I Really Hated the Poor ..., Movies and Documentaries on Mar 24th, 2021
Posted in Classical Liberalism on Jan 18th, 2021
Frederick Douglass, December 9, 1860. Boston, MA: No right was deemed by the fathers of the Government more sacred than the right of speech. It was in their eyes, as in the eyes of all thoughtful men, the great moral renovator of society and government. Daniel Webster called it a homebred right, a fireside privilege. […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism, Disingenuous, If I Really Hated the Poor ... on Dec 3rd, 2020
I’d add, “just leave people the hell alone” and our world would be immeasurably better. Here is a bit from Alex Tabarrok’s tribute to Walter Williams: Our colleague, the great Walter Williams, died on Tuesday shortly after teaching his last class–which is exactly how he would have wanted to go. He was 84 and had […]
Posted in Central Planning, Classical Liberalism, Disingenuous on Nov 25th, 2020
Posted in Caring, Classical Liberalism, Extended Order, Religion, Tribalism, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Aug 20th, 2018
Gifts are the original sin of commerce. My theory is that this is why “the gift economy” is so cherished by critics of anonymous, ephemeral, market exchange. Market exchanges allow us to free ourselves from the power that our families and others exercise over us. The wider the extent of market competition, the less we […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism, Economics Problems, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Nov 11th, 2017
I’m getting too used to Twitter, so the idea of a full-length blog post is less attractive today than in the past. On the other hand, a solid blog post probably has a lot more influence today than it did at the height of blogging before social media really kicked into gear. I wanted to […]