Most people on the Left and the Right misunderstand the essence of libertarianism. This should come as no surprise since even some libertarians misunderstand the essence of libertarianism.Libertarianism should not be expanded beyond what it is, by libertarians or anyone else. It should not be fused with any personal preference or extraneous ideology.[Click to Tweet]The nonaggression principleThe guiding principle undergirding the libertarian philosophy is what is known as the nonaggression principle. As explained by the great libertarian economist and theorist Murray Rothbard (1926–1995):The fundamental axiom of libertarian theory is that no one may threaten or commit violence (“aggress”) against another man’s person or property. Violence may be employed only against the man who commits

The latest boogeyman conjured up by the Biden administration is ghost guns.In his September 26 executive order on “Combating Emerging Firearms Threats and Improving School-Based Active-Shooter Drills,” President Biden mentioned these ominous “ghost guns”:One way to continue the progress on reducing gun violence is to stay ahead of emerging violent crime threats involving firearms. My Administration has always taken these threats seriously. In April 2021, one of my Administration’s first executive actions to reduce gun violence was directed at stopping the proliferation of firearms without serial numbers, often referred to as “ghost guns.”The executive order goes on to describe these ghost guns as “unserialized, 3D printed firearms — which can be used for illicit purposes such as gun

I occasionally read a writer and podcaster known as a conspiracy researcher who writes on a variety of subjects. Donald Jeffries is all over the map politically (reformer, idealist, libertarian, classical liberal, populist, and cultural conservative), has published several books, and has written a Substack column since 2021. His name is not important because it is his ideas, which are shared by a growing number of people, that I want to address.EntitlementsI think the first thing I read of his that put him on my radar was his defense of Social Security:Social Security had many problems from the very beginning. The idea of such a social safety net is attractive to many people, including me. No one wants the elderly literally left out in the cold after they can no longer work. That feeling

Libertarianism is a consistent and principled philosophy that is absolute in scope and universal in application.We can begin with this classic description of libertarianism by libertarianism’s greatest theorist, Murray Rothbard (1926–1995):Libertarianism is not and does not pretend to be a complete moral, or aesthetic theory; it is only a political theory, that is, the important subset of moral theory that deals with the proper role of violence in social life. Political theory deals with what is proper or improper for government to do, and government is distinguished from every other group in society as being the institution of organized violence. Libertarianism holds that the only proper role of violence is to defend person and property against violence, that any use of violence that goes

Former president and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump loves tariffs. In his 2011 book Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again, Trump included as part of his five-part tax policy “a 20 percent tax for importing goods.” During his first campaign for president, he called for a 35 percent tariff on cars and trucks imported from a proposed new Ford plant in Mexico and a 45 percent tariff on all imported goods from China “if they don’t behave.” Mexico is our largest trading partner, while China is third, contributing about 12 percent of total U.S. foreign trade.Although Trump once declared that trade wars are good, and easy to win, the trade war that he instituted during his first term as president was a failure. As explained by Erica York, senior economist at the Tax

During a campaign stop in Nevada early last month, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump promised that if elected, there would be no more federal tax on tips.Said Trump: “For those hotel workers and people that get tips, you’re going to be very happy, because when I get to office, we are going to not charge taxes on tips. You do a great job of service. You take care of people, and I think it’s going to be something that really is deserved.”According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), tips are taxable income and must be reported to employers. Four factors determine whether a payment qualifies as a tip:The customer makes the payment free from compulsion;The customer must have the unrestricted right to determine the amount;The payment should not be the subject of negotiations or

It’s that time of year again. The first military appreciation day of the year, otherwise known as Memorial Day, is coming up on Monday, May 27.On the Sunday before this day, many conservative, evangelical, and fundamentalist churches will have patriotic services where American flags are placed all over the church grounds and inside the building, the congregation recites the Pledge of Allegiance, hymns of worship to the state will be sung (including the blasphemous “Battle Hymn of the Republic”), current and former members of the military will be recognized, a video tribute to the troops will be shown, a military chaplain will speak, and more prayers than usual will be offered for “the troops in harm’s way.”Christian parachurch ministries will also jump on the Memorial Day bandwagon. I

In his state of the union address, President Biden expressed his desire for a $400 a month tax credit over two years for first time home buyers. I have argued for years that tax credits are a good thing, and still maintain that they are a good thing. Yet, I am leery of Biden’s tax-credit proposal.Biden’s proposal was one of several relating to housing:I know the cost of housing is so important to you.If inflation keeps coming down mortgage rates will come down as well.But I’m not waiting.I want to provide an annual tax credit that will give Americans $400 a month for the next two years as mortgage rates come down to put toward their mortgage when they buy a first home or trade up for a little more space.My Administration is also eliminating title insurance fees for federally backed

Conservatives are upset that the U.S. Military Academy—West Point—has removed the phrase “Duty, Honor, and Country” from its mission statement.The phrase comes from a farewell address that retired general Douglas MacArthur—who attended West Point from 1899 to 1903—delivered to West Point cadets in 1962. The old mission statement was first formally adopted by the Academy in 1998.The change was announced in a letter from West Point superintendent Lieutenant General Steven Gilland. The new mission statement reads: “To build, educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets to be commissioned leaders of character committed to the Army Values and ready for a lifetime of service to the Army and Nation.”According to the U.S. Army, its values are loyalty, duty, respect, selfless

Should employers have the right to discriminate in hiring on the basis of obesity? The Washington State Supreme Court recently ruled that “it is illegal for employers in Washington to refuse to hire qualified potential employees because the employer perceives them to be obese.”

Malcolm D. Magee’s new book on Woodrow Wilson examines a much-neglected topic: the role of Wilson’s religion in his enthusiasm for war and his goal to “conquer, convert, and change the nations.”This audio Mises Daily is narrated by Dianna Keiler.