Cliché of socialism #2: “If we had no social security, many people would go hungry.”

This cliché often, but not always, precedes an ad hominem along the lines of the defender of individual liberty being selfish, greedy, callous or worse. However, it fails because of a few assumptions and misunderstandings: it exalts an illusion of security above liberty, presumes individuals cannot save or monitor their financial situations and accuses libertarians …

Cliché of Socialism #1: The greater complexity, the greater government control

I’ve decided to embark on a new project, inspired by a book published by FEE in 1970. As a way to confront economic myths and flimsy political arguments encouraging limits to individual liberty, FEE published a book which addresses 76 “clichés of socialism,” in an effort to help liberty advocates answer these claims. In that …

Green subsidies and social change theory

Subsidies slow green energy growth Advocates for green energy investment gloss over a few important points: Job creation is not synonymous with wealth creation, government investment is another form of corporate welfare and government investment is usually, if not always, inefficient. I love the false dichotomy of vote or do nothing. It’s a fundamental misunderstanding …

Wednesday Links

I’ve lagged on original commentary and writing, I’ll correct that soon. In the meantime, links! Who’s the extremist? And so it goes. The Democratic mayor of Washington, Vincent Gray, called on citizens to “fight back against oppression.” What oppression, you ask? Riders to the 2011 federal budget would end taxpayer funding for abortions and allow …

Monday Links

Peter Thiel on alternatives to the higher education bubble Like any good bubble, this belief– while rooted in truth– gets pushed to unhealthy levels. Thiel talks about consumption masquerading as investment during the housing bubble, as people would take out speculative interest-only loans to get a bigger house with a pool and tell themselves they …

The socialists are right

…during World War I, as illustrated by Schenck v. United States (1919) .  Charles Schenck, the secretary of the Socialist Party of America, was responsible for the distribution of a pamphlet advocating opposition to the draft.  For such a heinous crime against American military intervention, the Supreme Court upheld Schenck’s conviction under the Espionage Act …

Post column and Libya

I’ve slacked on updating the blog lately, but here’s a few updates: I now write a column for The Post which runs every Monday this quarter.  My first column discusses the perils of government intervention in the economy. CIA Operative in Libya to gather intelligence on rebel fighters The Obama administration has sent teams of …

Isabel Paterson link aggregation

Lately I’ve received hits from individuals searching for Isabel Paterson, which has led me to attempt an aggregation of online information about Paterson.  If I’ve missed any, leave a link in the comments section or e-mail.   Literature Archive (Mises Institute) A Woman with impact Twitter account for Paterson quotations Finding Atlas I.M.P. (abbreviated biography in …