Birzer does not grasp the importance of states’ rights in preserving liberty against the leviathan central government. In Randolph’s words, “I love liberty; I hate equality.” However, readers will learn a great deal from reading it.
If you have time to read only one book about the American Revolution, it should be this one. It formed the basis for Rothbard’s conclusion that “in the deepest sense, the American Revolution was a conscious majority revolution in behalf of libertarianism and against power."
The Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution it launched were unique because they were focused on decentralization, liberty, and limitations on state power. This movement did not “create a nation.” Rather, it seriously challenged and limited the Hobbesian state.
Contained within Rothbard's multi-volume history of the American Revolution, Conceived in Liberty, is an extended argument against the dominant conservative narrative on the American Revolution and the French Revolution.
A common misconception about the French Revolution is that it was some sort of classical liberal or libertarian revolution.
To argue for a full gold standard is to risk being classed with the dodo bird.
Some claim that if socialists understood economics they wouldn't be socialists. This is doubtful since the larger motivation is often political control.
We remember the Declaration's first paragraph and forget its last—the one where thirteen separate states declare themselves free and independent. Larsen Plyler on a legacy that got lost.
The liberal phase of the French Revolution—the part an American would recognize—lasted about six months. Everything after was its opposite. Ryan McMaken on why liberalism keeps getting blamed for a Terror it didn't cause.
Dr. Wanjiru Njoya argues that private property is the indispensable cornerstone of liberty and civilization, and that anti-discrimination laws—however well-intentioned—are a form of aggression against property.
