Counterpunch, July 22, 2020 Losing Thoreau in Boston by James Bovard Henry David Thoreau has inspired generation of Americans to live fuller, freer lives. From his story of spending a night in jail as a tax protestor in “Civil Disobedience” to his chronicle of solitary living in Walden, Thoreau reached higher ground by going against […]
Karl Marx and the Great Socialist Revival by James Bovard January 9, 2019 Socialism’s popularity is reviving in America. Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez captured a seat in the new Congress and is calling for confiscatory tax rates at the same time Democratic Socialist candidates are thriving in many areas of the nation. The Washington Post reported […]
It’s a coin toss which is more damnably confounding – contemporary journalism or contemporary philosophy. Reminded of this conundrum by the latest New Yorker article whooping up Elizabeth Anderson, a University of Michigan philosophy professor, as the great hope for American equality. The 8000-word profile was an exercise in faith building which failed to sway […]
USA TODAY, May 5, 2018 Don’t celebrate Karl Marx. His Communism has a death count in the millions. James Bovard, Opinion columnist Published 6:00 a.m. ET May 5, 2018 It’s Karl Marx’s 200th birthday, but there’s nothing to celebrate. His dream of a utopia lead to millions of deaths at the hands of tyrants. […]
Forty years ago, my first article in a national publication appeared in the Freeman. This was also the first piece of mine which paid something other than free copies of the periodical. Actually, the five cents a word pay rate was more than enough to cover a month’s rent. The Freeman, published by the Foundation […]
Henry David Thoreau was born 200 years ago this week. His books and essays had a huge influence on my own life and writing. At its best, Thoreau’s writing is utterly captivating – series of vivid images and one thought after another driven home with a sledgehammer. In my late teens and early twenties, I used some […]
Brian Wilson and I had a rowdy chat on his Libertas Media Podcast this afternoon. After his great opening bit, I didn’t have the heart to tell Brian that Raging Bitch is no longer my favorite beer. After a discussion of Freedom in Chains and a foray into the Shenandoah Valley for “redneck ethnic cleansing,” […]
