Ian Milhiser at ThinkProgress has written an article on the recently concluded Federalist Society National Convention, where he claims it shows that conservatives have embraced wideranging “judicial activism.” He also includes a summary of a discussion he had with me, at the convention. The summary is accurate in so far as it goes, but omits […]
Archive | Libertarianism
How Murray Rothbard Became a Libertarian
Via Matt Zwolinski at Bleeding Hearts Libertarians, here is a video of the late Murray Rothbard, who is as responsible as anyone for the existence of the modern libertarian movement, describing his libertarian history. I have my issues with Rothbard, including what I think of as his inane views on foreign policy adapted from bad […]
Why is the Obamacare Rollout Failing?
Why, it’s obviously because President Barack Obama and his top aides hate government, and therefore can’t be trusted to run a major government program. When the government is run by political forces committed to the belief that government is always the problem, never the solution, that belief tends to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Key priorities […]
The Problem of Confusing Political Terminology
Co-blogger Eugene Volokh’s excellent post on the sometimes confusing multiple meanings of the word “Jew” call to mind similar confusions in political terminology. For example, the term “conservative” is routinely used to refer to 1) people who are in some sense on the political right, 2) people who oppose changes in the status quo, 3) […]
Is there a Generational Divide over “Judicial Restraint” Between Reaganites and Libertarians?
By Ilya Somin on September 19, 2013 4:23 pm in Conservatism, Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Judicial Power, Libertarianism
Various commentators such as Garrett Epps, Mark Tushnet, and recent guest-blogger Josh Blackman argue that there is a generational divide among right of center jurists between Reaganite advocates of “judicial restraint” and later, more libertarian figures who are less willing to defer to legislatures and more eager to strike down laws they consider unconstitutional. They […]
Interesting Interview with George Will
Reason TV has an interesting interview with famous Washington Post columnist George Will. Among other things, Will describes how and why he has become more libertarian over the years.
My Upcoming Talk at the Introductory Meeting of the George Mason Law Students For Liberty
This post is mostly intended for George Mason law students. On Monday, September 16, from 5-6 PM, I will be speaking at the introductory meeting of the George Mason Law Students for Liberty, for which I am the faculty adviser. Students for Liberty is the nation’s largest and most successful libertarian student organization, and the […]
The Colorado Recalls Explained
By David Kopel on September 11, 2013 3:16 am in "Bullying" Bans, Constitutional Law, Fifth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, Guns, Libertarianism, Popular Constitutionalism
Yesterday voters in Colorado recalled two State Senators. One result was not a surprise, and the other is a shock. Of course the votes are Second Amendment victories for the right to arms, but more fundamentally, they are Fourteenth Amendment victories for Due Process of Law. Former State Senate President John Morse represented Colorado Springs, […]
A “Libertarian” Case for Conscription?
There are a number of standard arguments for military conscription. But Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry’s recent essay for Cato Unbound is unusual for claiming that conscription can be justified on libertarian grounds. With the possible exception of strict pacifism, it’s difficult to imagine an ideology more antithetical to conscription than libertarianism. As it turns out, most of […]
Libertarianism and the Supreme Court
By Ilya Somin on July 29, 2013 6:14 pm in Commerce Clause, Federalism, Libertarianism, Property Rights, Supreme Court
Simon Lazarus of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center is correct to point out that the Supreme Court’s decisions have trended in a somewhat libertarian direction over the last year. I also agree with many of co-blogger Randy Barnett’s explanations for why this has happened. In addition to the cases cited by Lazarus, it’s also worth […]
Former “Southern Avenger” Jack Hunter Resigns from Rand Paul’s Staff
Jack Hunter, the Rand Paul aide once known as the “Southern Avenger” has resigned from the senator’s staff in order to avoid being a “distraction.” Hunter has a history of pro-Confederate and borderline racist statements, though he has repudiated them in more recent years. In addition to creating a political problem for Rand Paul, the […]
Why Some Libertarians Sympathize with the Confederacy
I heartily agree with everything my co-bloggers have said about how very unlibertarian it is to sympathize with the Confederacy. One factor that I don’t think was mentioned as to how some otherwise bright, non-racist libertarians might find themselves promoting the Confederacy’s cause is how much some libertarians hate “the Union,” that is, the federal […]
Libertarianism, the Confederacy, and the Civil War Revisited
By Ilya Somin on July 16, 2013 8:34 pm in Civil War, History, Libertarianism, Racial Discrimination, Secession
Revelations that Rand Paul aide Jack Hunter has a history of racist and pro-Confederate statements during his days as a radio shock jock have rekindled the longstanding debate over libertarian attitudes towards the Civil War. Hunter has repudiated many of his former statements and attitudes. But that hasn’t stopped the controversy from continuing. This uproar […]
Julian Sanchez on Pilon and Epstein’s Defense of the NSA Electronic Data Collection Program
Last week, Roger Pilon of the Cato Institute and famed libertarian law professor Richard Epstein published an op ed defending the NSA policy of collecting data on millions of Americans’ electronic communications. Pilon and Epstein may be the only prominent libertarian defenders of the NSA on this issue; though, obviously, that doesn’t necessarily mean they […]
Irony Alert: Michael Lind on Lochner
If you are going to accuse a critic of being “astonishingly ignorant of history,” your response to said critic should not include this: State and local licensing rules and trade laws governed economic life in detail, down to the size of spigots in wine casks, in some cases. It was precisely these state and local […]