USAID’s Legacy of Failure

President Donald Trump’s decision to retire the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has sparked debate across policy circles. Yet, a close examination of USAID’s operational history—its ineffectiveness in achieving economic development, lack of transparency, and its entanglement with politically-connected contractors—reveals that the decision is not only justified but overdue.

A Closer Scrutiny of Affirmative Action (Reservation) Programs in India

India has the longest history of affirmative action programs in the world and they have become the center of heated controversy between two clashing viewpoints. On one hand are followers of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who was responsible for making an affirmative action program targeting the untouchable castes legally enshrined in the constitution.

The Classical Liberals Were Radical Opponents of War and Militarism

One of the most disastrous elements of the post-World War II conservative movement in America has been its commitment to severing the ideology of “classical liberalism” from its historical roots in antiwar and anti-interventionist foreign policy. What we now call classical liberalism—the ideology of John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, Frederic Bastiat, Richard Cobden, and Herbert Spencer—was consistent in opposing state power in all spheres, both international and domestic.

The Salem Witch Tariffs: How Economic Witch Hunts Undermine Liberty

We all know the timeless account of the Salem Witch Trials. At least I believed that to be the case, along with countless other historical affirmations of what fear and ignorance can achieve with the swipe of a pen. The late 17th century town of Salem, Massachusetts devolved into authoritarian madness, not because of witches, but because of fear.

The Tragedy of War

In seeking to understand why nations go to war, we often search for rational motivations such as the quest for money, or power, or territory, or that most elusive of goals—justice. But the truth is that often there is no reason behind descent into war other than the hostility and animosity between one nation and another.