Michael Munger, a political scientist and economist who teaches at Duke University, argues in his excellent essay “Libertarianism and Public Choice,” included in The Routledge Companion to Libertarianism, that public choice offers a more persuasive defense of free-market libertarianism than natural rights. In this week’s article, I’m going to look at some of his arguments.
Indian tribe sovereignty has long been a much neglected, yet important, tool in decentralizing and limiting government power in the United States. Since the early nineteenth century, it has been recognized by US courts and policy makers that—at least in theory—US governments have very limited jurisdiction within tribal lands beyond what is granted by treaties between the US and each individual tribe. Thus, in theory, tribal lands within the US function to limit the territorial sovereignty of both the US government and the state governments.
If anyone doubts that human trafficking is a problem, the events of the last couple weeks here in south Texas should disabuse them of the notion. By now we know of the fifty-three migrants who lost their lives in a boiling-hot 18-wheeler here in San Antonio.
This article is the second in a two-part series. Check out part 1 here.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to argue that private property rights, as understood by classic liberal thinkers, by those who embrace Austrian economic theory, and by all members of an enlightened society, are not only the cornerstone, but also the last defense of human civilization and the Western way of life in particular. Nothing stands a chance without this premise. No prosperity can ever come about or even be maintained, none of the civil liberties and human freedoms we so often take for granted these days, no innovation in business, technology or science.
The market is betting on recession and subsequent Fed pivot. A sound bet… but there is one flawed assumption.
Dec 22 and Mar 23 Eurodollar futures have inverted. In layman’s terms, the market is predicting a Fed rate cut in Q1 of 2023:
