[Bruno Leoni (1913–1967), an Italian classical-liberal political philosopher and attorney, was a professor at the University of Pavia, president of the Mont Pèlerin Society, and author of Freedom and the Law, expanded 3d ed. (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1991 [1961]). This paper was originally published in English, under the same title in Il Politico 31, no. 3 (1966), pp. 535–38, and has been only lightly edited for publication here.

Now that the hoopla and the hosannahs from Camp David have died down, we are in a position to evaluate what actually happened there, and what the agreements portend for the future of the Middle East.

The July issue of Reason has a new format, which improves the layout of the publication. But what about the content? Unfortunately, on that ground, the new Reason seems to be worse than the old.

In the 1940s and early ‘50s, a school of establishment historians existed who made it their business to extol the virtues of the “Great Presidents.” This was a childishly transparent attempt to turn a bit of left-liberal politicking into the verdict of history.

[Excerpted from Defending the Undefendable]

Everyone knows that the Obama administration’s decision to suspend consideration of applications to drill in the Arctic is driven by political considerations, some attempt to “respond” to the BP mess in the Gulf. But what strikes me as just how willy nilly the state acts toward the goods and services that fuel civilization itself.