Tag Archives | socialism

Freedom-in-Chains

“Freedom from Want” is Slavery for All

The Mises Institute reposted a 1999 article I wrote for Sheldon Richman at The Freeman on how government handouts can subvert freedom. That piece was adapted from my book, Freedom in Chains: The Rise of the State and the Demise of the Individual (St. Martin’s Press).  Looking back on this 20 years later, I am […]

Continue Reading
JPB 1987 NYT screenshot for blog

New York Times 1987: Eastern Europe, the New Third World

Some folks think that I have only recently become cynical.  Actually, my skepticism has a long pedigree… xxx New York Times, December 20, 1987 BUSINESS FORUM: ECONOMIC COLLAPSE; Eastern Europe, the New Third World By JAMES BOVARD     IN the wake of the summit talks between President Reagan and the Soviet leader Mikhail S. […]

Continue Reading

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 […]

Continue Reading
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 […]

Continue Reading
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 […]

Continue Reading
the-vice-guide-to-the-first-democratic-debate-1013-body-image-1444751959-size_1000

Democratic Debate Hoots & Huckstering

Tonight’s Democratic candidate debate was everything a cynic could have wished for.  Government retained its power to perform miracles, though no one explicitly promised that it could raise the dead. It is amazing to see how far & easily both Hillary Clinton and Martin O’Malley ran from their records in office.  Following are some of […]

Continue Reading