Author Archive | Jim

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The Hill: Trump’s Liberal Critics Increasingly Unhinged?

The Hill, November 14, 2017 Do Trump’s liberal critics seem increasingly unhinged? By James Bovard, opinion contributor Last week’s anniversary of Trump’s election sparked widespread teeth-gnashing by the nation’s pundits.  Trump is supposedly the gravest threat to American democracy since the secession of the Confederacy. His presidency, probably, continues to be a boon for antidepressant […]

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Freedom-in-Chains

Political Accounting Makes Paternalism a Mirage

The following essay is excerpted from Freedom in Chains (1999) and was also published in The Freeman in September 1999.  I tweaked a few sentences but have otherwise not corrected glaring flaws. * Many federal agents have zero curiosity about the impact of their actions on private citizens. Collateral damage voids no pensions. Political Accounting  […]

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USA TODAY: More Iron Fists to Save Democracy?

USA TODAY, November 8, 2017 Trump election anniversary and progressives’ delusional race to save democracy by James Bovard Some liberals think increasing government power will repair our broken civic life. But it would destroy the tattered remnants of federal legitimacy. Responding to the anniversary of Donald Trump’s election, The Washington Post Magazine presented “38 ideas for […]

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Comecon-Chaos-11-06-2017

Communist Burlesque: The Comecon Trade Trainwreck

Mises Institute, November 6, 2017 International Trade Under the Soviets: A Comedy of Errors by James Bovard One of Ludwig von Mises’ great contributions to modern thought was his proof of the inability of economic calculation under socialism. This core truth should be recalled as many leftists seek to restore communism’s cachet. Perhaps nothing more […]

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Freedom-in-Chains

Property and Liberty

On the hundredth anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, here’s an essay I wrote on why private property rights are the foundation of individual liberty.  Where private property rights are nullified, people  live at the mercy of bureaucrats and politicians.  This spinoff from my 1999 book Freedom in Chains, was published by the Freeman in 2000 […]

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The Hill: Facebook Farce Shows Congressional Deviousness & Demagoguery

The Hill, November 4, 2017   Facebook farce shows lawmaker deviousness, demagoguery by James Bovard  The 2016 election was the first time in history that goofy advertisements were considered an act of war. The frenzy on Capitol Hill over a smattering of Russian advertisements would be comical except that most of the American media has […]

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