Smith explains how government is responsible for many of the current controversies over religious freedom.

Smith interviews the spirit of Adam Smith, soliciting his opinion of David Hume and other matters.

Did Johnson betray his own principle that writers who accept a pension from the King are merely “state hirelings”?

This is the second part of Smith’s discussion of how Samuel Johnson made a living as a free-lance writer in 18^th century London.

Part one of a lengthy article on Samuel Johnson, originally written in 2001, is a result of my interest in freelance, or market, intellectuals.

Smith discusses Spooner’s secular theory of natural law and his belief that no legislation is valid unless it conforms to natural law.

Smith discusses Lewis’s rare insights on Spooner’s personal life, and his libertarian case against prohibition.

Smith continues his discussion of Spinoza by explaining how he defended freedom of religion and speech.

Smith discusses Spinoza’s controversial ideas about God, religion, and his criticism of the Design Argument.

Smith explains some tactics that early freethinkers used in the attempt to avoid punishment for blasphemy and other religious crimes.

Smith explains Burke’s argument against majority rule and a constitution based on the consent of the governed.

Smith explains Paine’s views on paper money, price controls, self-interest, and exploitative governments.

Smith explains some of Paine’s ideas about the nature of a republic and the benefits of a representative form of government.

Smith explains Paine’s constitutional theory and why he believed that Britain had no constitution.

How the libertarian ideas of Richard Price motivated Burke to write Reflections on the Revolution in France, and how Paine dealt with the controversy.

Smith discusses Thomas Erskine’s ideas on libel laws and freedom of the press, and how he incorporated those ideas during his defense of Thomas Paine.

In 1792, Thomas Paine was tried for seditious libel. In this essay, George H. Smith discusses the prosecution’s case.

Smith discusses some background of the debate between Paine and Burke, and the furor created by Paine’s Rights of Man.