I confess my reaction on Election Night, when it first looked like Trump might get in the White House, was sheer panic. It was a bit like Philip K. Dick’s “Black Iron Prison” closing down. On a personal level, I was about as terrified as the night I was arrested and put in jail. Now,…

[Di Sheldon Richman. Originale pubblicato su Center for a Stateless Society il 25 settembre 2016 con il titolo Neither Democracy nor Elitism. Traduzione di Enrico Sanna.] Quando noi libertari facciamo notare gli incentivi perversi della democrazia (come faccio qui), rischiamo l’accusa di elitarismo. Ma chi dà per scontato che l’unica alternativa al governo del popolo…

Whenever we libertarians point out democracy’s perverse incentives (as I do here) we risk being accused of elitism. However, those who assume that the only alternative to rule by the people is rule by an aristocracy reveal a tragically incomplete awareness of the choices before us. Rather than choose among rulers, we should ask why anyone…

The Obama Administration finally responded this week to a two-year-old petition on Whitehouse.gov requesting the pardon of Edward Snowden. 170,000 signatures and a wave of anti-NSA public sentiment later, the White House formally refused the pardon alleging unspecified damage Snowden’s leaks inflicted on American national security. The White House response made no mention of any public…