Charles Blow writes of the work ahead for those many citizens who now find themselves compelled to defend their rights: I fully understand that elevated outrage is hard to maintain. It’s exhausting. But the alternative is surrender to national nihilism and the welcoming of woe. The next four years could be epochal years in the history…
Liberty
America, Authoritarianism, Liberty, Russia
Alexei Navalany Announces Run for President of Russia
by JOHN ADAMS •
If Alexei Navalany is willing to fight against Putin, in a society where Putin’s authoritarianism is much advanced, then we in America who are the fortunate & blessed heirs of a democratic tradition (where authoritarianism is yet only nascent) have no justification for reluctance to join our own fight. We’ll find those we can support, from among…
Economy, Federal Government, Free Markets, Liberty, State Capitalism
Who Runs the Economy?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Consider this Twitter exchange between liberty-oriented Republican Justin Amash and a Trump supporter, over the suitability of Trump’s cabinet appointments: The Trump supporter thinks that the credentials of a cabinet nominee justify the appointment; Rep. Amash rightly sees that credentials do not define the scope of legitimate state action.
America, Authoritarianism, Labor, Liberty, Politics, Right-wing Populism, Trump
In a Principled Opposition, the Basis for a Grand Coalition
by JOHN ADAMS •
Writing at The Week, Jeff Spross nicely summarizes Why Trump’s Cabinet poses a unique threat to the working class. Spross both explains Trump perceptively & succinctly, and in the same post implicitly holds out the prospect of a grand coalition (principled liberals, conservatives, and libertarians) to oppose him. (For an explicit call for broad opposition, from…
City, Culture, Ethnicity, Liberty, Politics, Race
Philosophy or Identity?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Imagine a choice between living in a universally free society where one was of the racial or ethnic minority, or living as a member of the racial or ethnic majority in a universally oppressive society. Which society should one choose? A man or woman, committed first to liberty, would choose to live in a free…
Law, Liberty, Right-wing Populism
Republicanism Without Principle
by JOHN ADAMS •
Writing at Commentary, Noah Rothman has a short, but powerfully insightful, post entitled Republicanism without Principle. The essay is, immediately, about Trump and the Republican party, but it applies as nicely to republicanism as a form of government under the pressure of radical populism. (It’s worth noting that Commentary is a conservative publication; one finds…
Liberty, Politics, Trump
Saletan’s Faint Hope of Manipulating an Autocrat
by JOHN ADAMS •
Somewhere, there’s sure to be someone insisting that a hooligan who beat someone unconscious only did so from insecurity, envy, or bad toilet training. That explanation should be of no comfort to a victim (should the victim even recover). The one thing of which one can be sure is that someone attacked another, causing severe injury. In…
America, Liberty, Politics
Evan McMullin’s Ten Points for Principled Opposition to Authoritarianism
by JOHN ADAMS •
On Twitter, conservative @Evan_McMullin lists ten principles for political opposition under a Trump Administration. Libertarians would do well to embrace, and live each day, all ten. McMullin’s ten tweets began on December 4th at 12:08 PM and concluded at 12:12 PM. (Points Six and Seven are especially important: it’s a grand coalition that we’ll need,…
Alt-Right, Libertarians, Liberty, Politics
Libertarianism is Enough: Goodbye to the LP
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a saying that some libertarians are born and others are made (as a result, tragically, of experiencing misconduct at the hands of the state). Libertarianism of both origins, especially those of us from movement (old) libertarian families, has been around long before the Libertarian Party – the LP – was formed in late 1971. Needless to…
History, Immigration, Law, Liberty
Trump Surrogate Defends Precedent of Internment Camps
by JOHN ADAMS •
Carl Higbie, a Trump surrogate, while speaking to Megyn Kelly on Fox News suggested the internment of the Japanese during the Second World War as a precedent for a registry of Muslim immigrants to America. Kelly rightly rejected the precedent, as the internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War and the Korematsu decision…
History, Law, Liberty, Politics, Presidential race 2016, Trump
Kevin Drum on Trump and the End of Reconstruction
by JOHN ADAMS •
Blogging at Mother Jones, Kevin Drum – like many of us, of whatever politics – seems uncertain about the consequences of a Trump Administration. (In fairness, much has happened in a short time, and it’s hard to make sense of it all.) Still, Drum’s thinking has shifted significantly over the last few days, in ways…
America, Immigration, Liberty
Americans Support a Diverse Society
by JOHN ADAMS •
From a March survey of several countries, America stands out as expecially supportive of a diverse society: I’m not a bit surprised: much of our unmatched greatness lies in our embrace of universal principles and cosmopolitan values, offering as they do a free & equal place for newcomers from the world over. (We are now…
Libertarians, Liberty
On Libertarianism
by JOHN ADAMS •
In an essay from 2013, Aaron Ross Powell describes libertarianism, succinctly and well: In medical ethics, there’s the principle primum non nocere. “First, do no harm.” It’s one libertarians keep very much in mind when approaching politics. Most government “solutions” don’t simply not work. They actually make things worse than if they hadn’t been enacted…
Blogging, Law, Liberty, Local Government, New Media, Newspapers, Public Records, Wisconsin
4 Points About Public Records Requests
by JOHN ADAMS •
So a local paper complains that a local school superintendent won’t comply with a public records request, won’t put the paper on a media contact list, and simply ‘must’ improve communications. A few points — 1. Compliance with a public records request isn’t a ‘communications’ issue; it’s a legal issue, of rights of residents…