The literal meaning of coercion is of little philosophical use, as it could mean anything that anyone feels under pressure to do against his will. The word “force” is often used conversationally in that broad sense—“they ran out of the style I wanted, so I was forced to buy a different style.” During the covid lockdowns there were heated debates over whether people had been “coerced” into complying with the vaccination mandates as, predictably, those who enforced the mandates later claimed that no one was “forced” to comply.

From its very beginnings in the seventeenth century, the classical liberals (also known as “libertarians,” or, historically, “liberals”) have been primarily focused on limiting the powers of the state. It has been state powers—not the powers of church or family or employer—that has been the great occupation of the classical liberals. After all, the movement was born in opposition to mercantilism and absolutism. 

[A selection from Man, Economy and State.]

“Other Forms of Coercion”: Economic Power

In the natural sciences, a laboratory experiment can isolate variables, various particles and their movements. Similarly, the employment of an econometric model is an attempt to produce an economic laboratory where controlled experiments could be conducted. The idea of having such a laboratory is very appealing to economists and politicians. Once the model is built and endorsed as a good replica of the economy, politicians can evaluate the outcomes of various policies by the model.

The Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War organization has joined with the Daughters of the Confederacy to advocate the restoration of the Confederate Memorial statue, also known as the Reconciliation Statue, to Arlington National Cemetery.  The beautiful monument, the work of Confederate Veteran sculpture Moses Ezeliel, was taken down during the burst of cultural Marxist communism during the Biden regime.  Now that the whole world knows that Biden was senile when he ran for office and declined year after year, it is clear that his administration was controlled by so-called

As former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said back in 2011, Israel is an “ungrateful ally” that gives “nothing in return” for American guarantees, military support, and intelligence sharing.

Zuckerberg runs an illegal school in his hometown. This should be legal for everyone, but only the billionaire class gets away with it.