Through the 1600s, the English established colonies along the North American coast. Of course, these colonies shared much in common: shared language, shared appreciation for English citizenship and rights, and a shared commitment to Protestant Christianity (though, with different denominational and traditional commitments). But, it is worth considering just how different these colonies were.

As Étienne de la Boétie pointed out, the state is absolutely dependent on ideological support, without which it could not even command an army to force obedience from the public.

David Hart, former head of the Liberty Fund’s Online Library of Liberty Project, continues to build new archives of important documents from the history of liberalism. This includes new additions to the Leveller archives. the Levellers, according to Rothbard, were “the world’s first self-consciously libertarian movement.” Indeed, one frequently sees the influence of the Levellers in the American Revolution and documents like the Bill of Rights.  

Hart writes:

Grizzly bears are no where near being truly “endangered” yet they continue to receive federal protection. 

Eric Winsberg’s recent paper on “bureaucratic science” is a gift to anyone who’s spent the last few years watching “The Science™” harden into a credentialed priesthood with a budget, a comms shop, and a taste for policing dissent. Winsberg’s core move is to treat pandemic-era “gatekeeping” not as a mysterious moral lapse or a one-off emergency overreach, but as the predictable output of institutional incentives—exactly the sort of thing public choice theory was built to explain.

Auto loan delinquencies are rising and the average amount owed on underwater trade-ins hit an all-time high of $7,214.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released new December employment numbers last week, showing another month of disappointing job growth and a labor market moving sideways.

[Why Schools Fail by Bruce Goldberg (Cato Institute, 1996; xi + 124 pp.)]