Spring 2013 • Vol. 8, No. 1

Debates the question, “Christianity: Good or Bad for Mankind?” D’Souza defends Christianity while Bernstein defends Objectivism, the philosophy that holds the requirements of human life as the standard of moral value.

Argues, via a mountain of evidence, that the ultimate purpose of central banking is not to “correct market failures” or “prevent financial crises” or the like, but to finance fiscally profligate governments and welfare states.

Surveys various problems inherent in focusing on the non-essential characteristic of government’s size rather than on the truly essential characteristic of whether and to what extent government protects or violates individual rights.

Mr. Natelson discusses state-driven amendments to restrain federal spending, the processes of proposing and passing or rejecting such amendments, the safeguards in place for preventing a “runaway convention” that might fundamentally alter the U.S. Constitution, and more.

It felt like Christmas had come early when I got my package of Buckyballs in the mail a few days ago. Buckyballs are small, super-strong spherical magnets made of the rare earth metal neodymium. A set of 216 Buckyballs fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. I stared amazed…

Though usually known for his leftist op-eds, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof on Sunday made a surprising admission of the failure of a government “antipoverty” program and praised a private charity organization. In his column, Kristof reported that U.S. Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a federal assistance program for low-income…

Why is it that Sam Harris, a committed utilitarian, sometimes sounds a bit like an egoist? In my recently published essay “Sam Harris’s Failure to Formulate a Scientific Morality,” I point out that Harris upholds as his standard of moral value the utilitarian precept of the greatest good (or happiness)…

An American who considers all the places he might have been born will conclude (if he values his life and happiness) that he was lucky to have been born in America, the Land of Opportunity, the Land of Liberty. Those born anywhere in the industrialized (or even semi-industrialized) world will…

In the aftermath of the horrific murders at Sandy Hook Elementary School—while various federal and state legislators have proposed numerous bills restricting the sale and possession of guns, magazines, and ammunition—many Americans have wondered about or discussed the propriety of self-defense and of gun ownership. My father, Linn Armstrong, is…

The blogger Publius makes an extraordinary claim: If in America “black men [were] murdered at the same rate as everyone else, the overall [homicide] rate would drop to 1.9 out of 100,000 population. That would give the United States the 147th highest murder rate in the world.” This raises two…

In The K-12 Implosion, Glenn Reynolds makes a commonsense argument that government-run schools are in a bubble—a bubble that is ready to pop. He notes, for example, that the government has spent ever-increasing amounts of money on K-12 education but can show for it no positive returns, only negative ones—and…

In his second inaugural address, Barack Obama claimed that the massive federal “entitlement” programs pushing the nation into unprecedented levels of debt—and threatening worse problems down the road—actually “strengthen us” as Americans: [W]e remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty and parents of a…

Today hundreds of thousands of people are rallying in Washington, D.C., to protest Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, reports USA Today. In the midst of this crusade, it is crucial for Americans to understand and emphasize that abortion bans are not “pro-life” but anti-life. The genuine…

The basic argument for restricting the manufacture, purchase, and possession of firearms runs as follows: Because some gun owners use their guns to commit crimes or suicide, or they use their guns irresponsibly, the rights of all gun manufacturers, sellers, and owners must be restricted. Thus, the case for restricting…

Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein argues that Barack Obama, like Franklin Roosevelt, supports “free enterprise, while also insisting on . . . fair opportunity and security for all.” Leave aside for now the obvious fact that programs such as FDR’s National Industrial Recovery Act—which imposed nationwide controls on wages, prices,…

With her husband, Quent, Linda Cordair operates the Quent Cordair Fine Art gallery, which aspires to help create “a rebirth of comprehensibility, beauty, romanticism and stylization to contemporary subject matter.” In addition to selling works of art, Linda also consults with businesses on placing artworks in office buildings and other…

Andrew Bernstein reviews Zero Dark Thirty, directed by Kathryn Bigelow.

Earl Parson reviews FrackNation, written and directed by Phelim McAleer, Ann McElhinney, and Magdalena Segieda.

Daniel Wahl reviews Jiro Dreams of Sushi, directed by David Gelb.

Ari Armstrong reviews Beyond Politics: The Roots of Government Failure, by Randy Simmons.

Daniel Wahl reviews The Little Book of Talent: 52 Tips for Improving Your Skills, by Daniel Coyle.

Joseph Kellard reviews The Island at the Center of the World, by Russell Shorto.

Dan Norton and Jenne Hiigel write letters in support of C. Bradley Thompson's article, "The New Abolitionism: Why Education Emancipation is the Moral Imperative of Our Time."