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

A new book from Eric Posner and E. Glen Weyl avoids many mistakes commonly seen in modern arguments, only to resurrect other, long-buried, errors.

Because fascists have evil ends in mind, their malevolence is obvious. For socialists however, their ill intent is more insidious.

The medieval thinker John of Salisbury explored the relationship between virtue and the state, concluding that the good life requires freedom.

Is history education, before an advanced mental age, really just a propaganda problem? The way out is creative, individualist history.

The Ancient Roman Cicero’s idea of natural law has much to teach us about the evolution of liberty

Confused about where Jordan Peterson fits into the political landscape? Just ask F.A. Hayek.

Democratic socialism isn’t the same as autocratic communism, but there are problems with socialism that democracy can’t solve.

Smith explains the thinking of James Birney when he liberated his slaves.

Smith discusses Birney’s eventual opposition to the American Colonization Society and why he embraced abolitionism instead.

The modern state is a contingent historical development, born in blood—not a permanent or inevitable feature of human society.

The annual event throws the differences between libertarian and conservative thinking into sharp relief.

Smith discusses the interesting case of James Birney, who freed his slaves and became a prominent abolitionist.

Pining for a golden age of liberty that never existed is analytically and rhetorically disastrous.