Topic: Authoritarianism

The Stockdale Paradox and the Future of Liberty

– October 28, 2022

“The Stockdale Paradox reminds us that when faith falters, turning to false optimism is not the path forward. Such optimism, wrote Frankl in Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything, ‘lull[s] us into complacency and… a rosy fatalism.’” ~ Barry Brownstein

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The China Challenge: What’s a Real Liberal To Do?

– October 26, 2022

“Americans must defend a free society at home and preserve a liberal peace abroad. They may be the only people able to do both.” ~ Doug Bandow

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“GramXi,” China, and the Long March through Multilateral Institutions

– October 20, 2022

“The ITU proceedings matter for liberty and privacy against the rise of Chinese tyranny and its long march through multilateral institutions. GramXi, indeed.” ~ Dominique M. Lazanski and Nikolai G. Wenzel

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Concocting Crises

– October 19, 2022

“The most dire crisis of all may very well be the ability of those seeking to usurp power to create the appearance of crisis from mere bat viruses, lucky strikes, and statistical shadows.” ~ Robert E. Wright

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Cities Sidestep Property Rights With This One Trick

– October 19, 2022

“If the goal is to fix a city’s image, attacking safe, ordinary small businesses is not the way to achieve it. Regardless of the excuses, amortization is ugly. U-Hauls look beautiful in comparison.” ~ Daryl James & Bob Belden

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The Economics of Envy

– October 14, 2022

“Hatred of the rich in the name of equality was probably responsible for more death and destruction in the twentieth century than any other political passion.” ~ Theodore Dalrymple

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When the Family Is Abolished, People Starve

– October 11, 2022

“Like the Chinese communists, Lewis sees no need for every family to cook, wash clothes, and raise children. For the Chinese, instead of paradise, the outcome was the worst man-made famine in history.” ~ Barry Brownstein

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To Defend Liberty, Cultivate Your Inner Freedom

– September 30, 2022

“Most will never appreciate liberty until it is lost. Do we value liberty? Are we willing to examine and shed faulty habits of mind? Until we do, as Montaigne put it, ‘No wind makes for him who has no destined port.'” ~ Barry Brownstein

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Luxury Beliefs Death Spiral

– September 27, 2022

“Short of welcoming the brutal circumstances that would force everyone to experience the immediate pain of decades-long cost shifting and debt spending, how can we reduce the social costs of sharing poor man’s beliefs?” ~ Max Borders

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Milk Crate Law?

– September 24, 2022

“Too many of us in this nation are willing to accept, even chuckle at, laws we know we’ll keep on breaking, confident the law will happen to someone else.” ~ Laura Williams

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The Great Authoritarian Arms Race

– September 22, 2022

“Now is not the time to ‘retire the both-sides-ism trope.’ It’s time that an anti-authoritarian coalition turns against affective polarization and the impulse to pick a team. It’s time we call out authoritarianism anywhere it rears its head.” ~ Max Borders

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Measuring the Spread of DEI

– September 19, 2022

“An old adage of management is that you can’t improve or fix what you don’t measure. Our diagnostic is a first attempt to create a simple way to measure the scourge of DEI ideology in American higher education.” ~ Bruce Gilley

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