WeblogBahamas.com

Lessons in Freedom: The Trump Idiocy

by Tibor R. Machan* So Donald Trump wants to keep "cheap" (foreign made) goods and services from reaching Americans! But the rub is that when barriers to trade are established, such as tariffs or quotas, folks are deprived of the chance to save and then purchase items they would like... Read more →

Lessons in Freedom: The Logic of Equalization

by Tibor R. Machan This morning my TV news station reported on how the Federal Communications Commission drafted an order to visit broadcast newsrooms and make sure they treated news items fairly, that they make balanced presentations of the pros and cons on various public policies. The order was, however,... Read more →

Lessons in Freedom: The New York Times is Wrong Again

by Tibor R. Machan Here is the opening salvo in The New York Times of a lengthy piece on Rand Paul. And it is dead wrong: “As Rand Paul test-markets a presidential candidacy and tries to broaden his appeal, he is also trying to take libertarianism, an ideology long on... Read more →

Lessons in Freedom: My Internet Confusions

by Tibor R. Machan I have been fortunate to have lived a fairly long life during which I have produced not just a bunch of books and articles published quite respectably but also innumerable short pieces, columns and notices, that in time I began to collect in various “places” of... Read more →

Lessons in Freedom: Some Pros and Cons of a Syrian Attack

by Tibor R. Machan Why should one powerful nation attack another that is following intolerable policies -- e.g., gasing its own citizens? Some argue that this is because when others act violently toward innocent people, those who can prevent this from happening have an obligation to step in and help... Read more →

Lessons in Freedom: Once Again, Freedom is at Fault with the 1%

by Tibor R. Machan "The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance," was how John Philpot Curran put it. Sure enough, but there is vigilance and there is vigilance and the sort I am familiar with is not what people usually think of when they... Read more →

Lessons in Freedom: Involuntary Servitude

by Tibor R. Machan I now have three grandchildren. The latest, the young son and my own son and his wife, was born just a few days ago. The other two, my oldest child’s, also boys, are now two and three years old. I am reluctant to bring them into... Read more →

Machan's Archives: Coping with Smoking

by Tibor R. Machan Laws forbidding business proprietors from permitting smoking in their offices, cinemas, aircraft, stores, etc. are now legion. But such government-mandated prohibitions ignore the rights of those who don't mind smoking as well as those who wish to live in a tolerant society. No doubt, smokers can... Read more →

Lessons in Freedom: Christie’s Demagoguery

by Tibor R. Machan In his put down of Senator Rand Paul for the latter’s defense of limited governmental powers in foreign policies, Governor Chris Christie has not produced arguments but engaged in demagoguery. Bringing up the grieving of relatives of 9/11 victims amounts to just that. The issue is... Read more →

Lessons in Freedom: Policy Sans Ethics

by Tibor R. Machan Yet another ancient political debate concerns whether public policy needs to be based on certain norms, or ethical principles. Classical and a few modern political philosophers -- e.g., Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Spinoza, John Locke, et al. -- argued that to learn how to govern, one... Read more →