Articles

Tackles the problem that is the so-called public schools, showing that they are fundamentally corrupt and unfixable, and must be abolished.

Craig Biddle introduces the Winter 2012–13 issue.

Almost forty years after animal rights advocates began asking us to put down our steak knives, plant advocates may start asking us to relinquish our salad forks as well. Plants have rights too, they say, and we ought to “reconsider our ethical approach to eating them.” Michael Marder, a philosopher…

On Thursday, the United States Postal Service reported a net loss of $15.9 billion for the year. As it becomes increasingly insolvent and increasingly dependent on taxpayer-funded support and bailouts, USPS continues to hold a legal monopoly on the delivery of standard and first-class mail—a monopoly that violates our rights…

Politicians never tire of the fantasy that political laws can somehow suspend economic laws. During the height of his state’s Superstorm Sandy crisis, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie took decisive steps to hamper the recovery. How’s that? James Stacey Taylor, associate professor of philosophy at the College of New Jersey,…

Here's a video of a speech I gave at Liberty on the Rocks in Lafayette, CO last Monday. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/embed/ot5OyZSuU34 Like this post? Join our mailing list to receive our weekly digest. And for in-depth commentary from an Objectivist perspective, subscribe to our quarterly journal, The Objective Standard. Related: Ayn…

What is the proper role of government when a product harms customers? The New England Compounding Center (NECC), a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy, reportedly produced a pain-killing steroid medication that sickened at least 338 people in 18 states, resulting in 25 deaths. A compounding pharmacy produces customized, mixed-drug products for individual…

Robert McNamara, who addressed a Students for Liberty conference in Denver on November 10, spoke to TOS about a court case he’s litigating to protect the rights of cab companies to enter the market. McNamara, an attorney with the Institute for Justice (IJ), represents Mile High Cab in a Colorado…

Many advocates of free markets and constitutional government are understandably upset about the reelection of Barack Obama, given the president’s enthusiasm for “stimulus” spending, corporate welfare, business regulations, taxes on “the rich,” and the like. However, a vote on a ballot measure in Virginia shows that many Americans care deeply…

It came all at once, without warning. . . . It was unexpected and unannounced, sudden and surly, inundating, devastating, mutilating, obliterating. It battered and bludgeoned the shore until there was no more shore, until it was all running water and milling debris, until almost every trace of a human…

Through the invention and sale of its Kindle e-reader, Amazon has brought incredible convenience to many readers. The compact, sleek, and affordable Kindle allows its owners to carry upwards of one thousand books anywhere. It enables easy searching, highlighting, and note-taking; instantaneous book purchasing; transferring of purchases to other devices;…

Last night I crawled into bed with my little girl, wrapped my arms tightly around her and wept for hours while she slept. I wept for the loss of a country that was once the envy of the world—a republic that stood for freedom, opportunity, justice, and individual rights protected…

Although I am disappointed by Barack Obama’s reelection, I am not surprised by it. Despite the ailing economy and the deeply troubled foreign policy that epitomize Obama’s presidency, Mitt Romney always faced an uphill battle—largely because he and his party alienate many women, Hispanics, gays, and others. Consider a report…

Lamenting predicted cuts under the Romney budget plan, Neal Lane, former director of the National Science Foundation, called for more “federal investments in science and technology” in a recent New York Times op-ed. “Scientific knowledge and new technologies,” argued Professor Lane, “are the building blocks for long-term economic growth.” According…

The popular notion that if you’re not living in a swing state your vote in this presidential election doesn’t really count is dangerously false. Although the presidency is ultimately determined by the Electoral College, the strength of the victor’s mandate is determined by the popular vote. And the mandate matters—a…