columns
Garrison on the Right of Secession
Smith discusses what Garrison meant by the “right of secession,” and how he reconciled his views with his condemnation of secession by the southern states.
Explore
Free Thoughts
Is the DEA Trippin’? (with Rick Doblin)
Rick Doblin joins us to give a primer on the medical uses of psychedelics.
essays
After Nestor: The Mother of Violence
After surveying a string of possible arsons (by communists, for insurance fraud) and the Haymarket Square bombing, Tucker advises against all violence.
Excursions
Freethought and Freedom: The Christian Theory of Property
George H. Smith discusses the traditional Christian theory of private property and how it was viewed as the result of original sin.
columns
Be Careful What You Wish For: Marginalized People Would Bear the Brunt of Stricter Gun Control
Empowering the state so that it can “make us safer” often results in oppressive law enforcement crackdowns on minorities.
Liberty Chronicles
Rumps and Buffaloes
By the Fall of 1837, both Tammany Hall Democrats and the Locofocos loved Van Buren’s administration so a reunion was now a real possibility.
essays
After Nestor: Fetishizing Ballots & Bombs
Tucker advised anarchists to stay away from both ballot boxes and cartridge boxes. Using force only ever causes more trouble and weakens liberty.
columns
Conflicts among Peace Advocates during the Civil War
Smith discusses how peace activists and pacifists justified their support of the North during the Civil War.
Free Thoughts
The Pope’s Politics
Robert Whaples joins us for a conversation on the Pope’s earnest call to build a caring society.
essays
After Nestor: Making Anarchy Happen
From withdrawing every sort of tax revenue to trans-Atlantic reform associations, Tucker argues that ‘passive resistance’ can kill the state.
columns
“Makers” and “Takers” in Libertarian Thought
Libertarians have long drawn a distinction between those who produce wealth and those who expropriate it-but who is in which category has changed.
Excursions
Freethought and Freedom: Jean Meslier on Property
Was Jean Meslier a communist? George H. Smith explores this tricky issue.
columns
Don’t Be So Quick to Dismiss Public Choice (But Stop Caricaturing Autism)
Skoble addresses Nancy MacLean’s attempt to pathologize libertarianism.
Liberty Chronicles
Candlelight Conspiracy
During a state convention in Utica on September 1836, 93 delegates unanimously adopted a resolution to officially establish the Equal Rights Party.
columns
Garrison on the Civil War and Conscription
Smith defends the pacifist Garrison from the charge of hypocrisy for supporting the Union during the Civil War.
Free Thoughts
The Case Against Education
Bryan Caplan gives us the case against traditional education.
essays
The Lamb’s War: A Lamb’s Armor
Despite two decades (and more) of conservative suppression, radical Quakerism lived on over the ages thanks to pamphlets like Nayler’s.
essays
The Lamb’s War: How Primitive Quakers Turned the World Upside Down
For radical early Quakers like James Nayler, resistance was a way of life. In the “Lamb’s War” on Satan, they were called to open hearts, not end lives.