Following Supreme Court decisions, commentators often claim that a law is now "settled public policy." This is a tactic to silence dissent, and draws on fanciful ideas about the permanence of federal law. In real life, no political question is ever settled.
Law professor and bureaucrat Cass Sunstein makes the case for what he calls "Libertarian Paternalism" in his new book Why Nudge? The problem, David Gordon explains, is that Sunstein's plan assumes rationality and good faith among the government agents who do the "nudging."
Recorded in Lake Jackson, Texas, on Saturday, 15 August 2015.
Both the left wing and right wing in the United States today use nullification as a tactic against federal law, even though nullification is clearly illegal according to modern legal interpretations. Nullification isn’t a legal tactic, though. It’s a political one.
Ron Paul's message of peace is a critical component in limiting the power of the state. Unfortunately, few ever question the branch of the state known as "the military" and assume that militarism and empire can be compatible with a free society.
Bernie Sanders says immigrants are "taking our jobs" and that the state must act to "help [American] poor people." Predictably, Sanders's "solution" is to give more power to the same government that has created the very problems Sanders identifies with too much immigration.
Full-on anti-capitalism is again fashionable. The supporters of the latest surge in socialist sympathy relies on the idea that socialism can better deliver a decent standard of living. But without functioning markets, such a goal will prove impossible.
Recorded at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, on 24 July 2015.
Murray Rothbard discusses the veil of sanctity that has been wrapped around Gandhi by his numerous disciples and exposes his thoughts to the rigors of individual freedom and genuine civil disobedience.
Many commentators focus on immigrants when declaring that people who live off government spending should not be able to vote. However, there is no lack of longtime citizens who also have an incentive to keep the tax money flowing as long as possible.
