There are some great libertarian themes in Catch Me If You Can , the DVD of which was released earlier this month. Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the more-or-less true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., a kid and master of deception who managed to work as a teacher, a physician, an attorney and prosecutor, and an airline pilot, all before his 18th
The libertarian tradition stands solidly against conscription, a form of public enslavement imposed mostly for the purposes of “public service” or waging war. Aside from the known waste and inefficiency of these programs, no government can be trusted with such a power, which is inherently contrary to individual rights. For that reason, we can
The drive to war, the threat of terrorism, the stock-price meltdown, the continuing recession, and the decline of liberty—all add up to a moment of grave insecurity in which government power thrives and grows. Underneath it all is widespread confusion about what happened to turn the prosperous and relatively peaceful 90s into the current madness,
During the airport-security reform debate of 2001, Congress had the option of permitting the airlines more discretion in securing themselves from the threat of hijacking . Airline security had been imperfect—Federal Aviation Administration regulations prohibited commercial pilots from carrying guns, for example—but airlines themselves were
Delivered at the 2003 Mises Institute Supporters Summit. There once was a time, not too long ago, that in order to have light, one had to rely on the sun or a burning flame to provide it. So too, there was once a time when, in order to read a text of anything, you had to have a physical copy in your hands. It had to be sent through the mail or
David Frum did not intend to write a send-up of the state. His goal was not to demystify the White House. But that is the effect of his chatty little book, The Right Man: The Surprise Presidency of George W. Bush (NY: Random House, 2002). It has very little substance, and no content of grave historical import. It mainly consists of goofy stories
It is slowly dawning on people that to understand George W., one must understand his religious impulses, which all evidence suggests are intensely important to him. His views are no different from that of the typical evangelical who absorbed his faith from the American Baptist culture . But they merit closer attention when they are held by an
Thomas Woods recently wrote on LRC , “It still frustrates me that some people who really believe themselves to be conservatives are so enthusiastic about the impending war with Iraq.” We’ve all encountered this in our private lives, people with whom we have agreed with on a huge range of economic and cultural issues are just downright wrong on the
Ah, Spring, the time when the landscape appears as if it were painted by a great artist, when the birds make music of symphonic quality, and when the very air we breath feels air conditioned. That last point is particularly important, because it is only true so long as we are outside. If we are inside, it is a different matter altogether. Most of
Many people in my generation suffered enormous trauma at some point in our teen years. It was something our generation had to endure as a matter of technical necessity. It only lasted a few months, it’s true. It’s also true that we do not regret the final benefits that came from enduring the pain. But it left deep emotional scars which, to this
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.