In episode no. 14 of Agoric Cafe and in Part 2 of this 2-part interview, Roderick Long chats with Sheldon Richman about the Israeli occupation of Palestine; u.s. intervention in the Middle East; the meaning of Jewish identity; the relation between libertarian individualism and social cooperation; the communistic theories of Frédéric Bastiat; the theologico-political merits…

Classical liberalism recommends, in Thomas Jefferson’s words, “a wall of separation” between church and state. In his case for religious toleration, John Locke argued that separation protects people from the “compulsive force” of individuals trying to inculcate “certain doctrines” through “fire and sword.” Robert Audi later added that “if the state prefers one or more…

The laws of God, the laws of Man, He may keep who will, and can; Not I: let God and man decree Laws for themselves and not for me. –A.E. Housman Political Myth and Self-Hypnosis A rose by any other name Would never, never smell the same And cunning is the nose that knows An…

Over at Cafe Hayek, Don Boudreaux remarks on the arrogance of Pope Francis. Boudreaux is troubled by the Pope’s “jetting ostentatiously around the globe” telling other people how to arrange their economic affairs. Amen. Unfortunately, Boudreaux’s criticism is limited solely to the Pope’s economic pronouncements. More troubling is the monopoly all Popes, the Catholic Church,…

On May 3rd The Guardian posted a piece discussing a recently enacted statute, by the city of Madison, Wisconsin that would officially ban discrimination against atheists. The law passed with little publicity in early April, but has gotten significantly more attention since the Guardian’s report. The law explicitly includes non-believers in the city’s existing prohibitions…