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Why Facebook Works, and Democracy Does Not
We can learn from Facebook and all other social networks that the Internet has brought us. These are more than websites; they are models of social organization that transcend old forms. Make the rest of life more like a social network and we will begin to see real progress in the course of civilization. Persist in the old model of forced democratic community and we will continue to see decline.
The Great Monetary Debate
When National Public Radio airs a segment on the gold standard, you know that the debate over the quality of money has reached the …
How Change Happens
My brother is teaching a semester in London, and he casually video Skyped me last week to show me around his apartment, which is …
Ninety-Nine Years of Evil
January 3 of this year was the 99th anniversary of the signing of the 16th Amendment to the Constitution. It enshrined into law an …
A Public Service Announcement for Internationals Visiting the U.S.
Reprinted from the Daily Reckoning First up, a quick public service announcement for our International Reckoners: For Australians, that means no “cracking onto” members …
The Speakeasy Economy
Reflecting on the sheer vastness of this sector of life, one realizes the fiction, for example, embodied in official government statistics that record only the on-the-books sector of economic life. These agencies are pumping out half-truths and whole myths every day. One further realizes the immense damage that would be done to humanity in general should there come a time when government actually managed to enforce all its edicts. It would be catastrophic. We owe much of our prosperity to people’s willingness to enter the rebel class.
The Transformation of Banking
There is a scene in the Parable of the Talents in which the returned master berates the shabbiest of his three servants. Discovering that …
The Death of File Sharing
Last week’s violent government attack on the hugely popular site Megaupload — the U.S. government arresting Belgian citizens in New Zealand, of all places, …
Zero Percent Uber Alles
We are getting a sense of what life is like with the new Fed policy of openness. It means that the chairman tries to …
The Alleged Serving-Size Scandal
When you eat Oreo cookies, if you do eat Oreo cookies, how many do you eat? Three sounds sort of reasonable to me. Surely, …
It’s Treason to Disagree
A horrifying aspect of modern life is how nearly daily threats to fundamental freedoms and human rights require that citizens become politically aware and …
Capitalism Caused What Crisis?
The Financial Times continues its series on “Capitalism in Crisis.” We’re getting a little tired of it. We were hoping at least one of …
The Fed’s Men Behind the Curtain
The debate about the Fed is under way, and thank goodness. But as with many policy debates, there really shouldn’t be a debate at …
Power vs. People in the Digital Age
The government seems determined to turn out the lights on the digital age. And this is with or without SOPA or the other bills …
Violating Rights in the Name of Property
You know that anti-piracy video you sometimes see at the beginning of movies? It explains how you wouldn’t steal a handbag, so neither should …
Protesting Government Digitally
There’s been a long debate over digital technology. Does it help or harm the cause of liberty, individualism and human rights? People who say …
Blackout Wednesday: The Time Has Come
The two dominant trends of our time are, on the one hand, the darkening of the physical world ruled by governments and, on the other hand, the re-enlightening of the world thanks to the spontaneous order of digital media controlled by everyone else. Governments are seeking to drag it down and shut off the lights. The protests against these proposed controls constitute a mighty statement that we will not let the raiders, the barbarians, the vandals, have their way.
What Does Liberty Really Mean?
It is at times useful to imagine how a truly laissez-faire society, one entirely emancipated from the shackles of state coercion, might exist and …
Mere Mortals at the Fed
The secrecy of the Federal Reserve is legendary, but pressure in recent years has led to some opening up. Already in the last 12 …
The Nickel-and-Dime Protection Racket
Governments at all levels in the United States have begun to master the art of extracting as much money from the public as possible in every conceivable situation, over and above what we normally cough up to states at all levels year-round (which is commonly 40% of our income).
The Nearest Thing to a Permanent Thing
You can find a coin shop in nearly every town in the United States. The proprietor is unlike any you will find in any …
Money or Capitalism in Crisis?
We are living under a form of monetary prohibitionism today, forbidden to use any means of payment other than that maintained by the state. And it is not unlike the alcohol prohibition of old. It redistributes wealth, steers gains to the unscrupulous, strengthens the state and promotes various forms of criminality.
The Monetary Metal that Just Won’t Die
For more than one hundred years, governments have been trying to kill gold’s role in the monetary system. They’ve dreamed of a day when …
Elections and the Illusion of Choice
The political season has unleashed its predictable frenzy, much to delight of people who make a living off it. But to what end? There …