Labadie Reviews Nock Our Enemy, the State, by Albert Jay Nock* Mr. Nock begins with the vital distinction between the State and society, showing in the course of his work, that the State, every State, originated and functions for only one purpose—conquest and economic exploitation. Although resting upon violence, the State, in the final analysis,…

De Laurel Palmer. Original publicado el 17 de noviembre de 2020 con el título Daughters of the American Revolution. Traducido al español por Diego Avila. Este poema forma parte de nuestro artículo de poesía de otoño de 2020, «La rabia es una emoción positiva» Hace poco, dos mujeres describieron a mi abuelo con el siguiente…

Two women recently described my grandfather in the following stark language: “He was a monster.” My mother drapes herself in a denial she thinks is wisdom. My mother told me to see the good–see the full person. Well I see the whole person. And I see the man who shook my aunt until she dropped…

Oh dear, conservatives, you’ve been looking kinda confused and down recently. What a bind you’ve gotten yourselves into! You instinctively and viscerally oppose the popular uprising against the police state. But everything you can point to was done in the American revolution. It’s helpful if you curate your feeds to see only the worst examples…

“America’s Counter-Revolution: The Constitution Revisited” by Sheldon Richman. 2016.   The American abolitionist, and pioneering individualist anarchist Lysander Spooner once wrote of the US Constitution “…this much is certain – that it has either authorized such a government as we have had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case it is unfit…

The U.S. Constitution can reasonably be seen as a massive tax and mercantilist trade-promotion program. However, there’s a third leg to this stool. It was a national-security program as well — almost a proto-PATRIOT Act. Indeed, these three elements formed an integrated project: it gave the new central government independent power to raise revenue by…

Drawing on work by historian Gordon S. Wood, I recently suggested that we see the U.S. Constitution not as a landmark in the struggle for liberty, but rather as a move to introduce elements of monarchy and aristocracy into an American political system that had become too democratic — among white males with property —…

I am mystified that so many libertarians still see the U.S. Constitution as a landmark achievement in the struggle for liberty. On principle alone, they should have become wary in time. A document that is adored at virtually every position in the political firmament should arouse suspicion among libertarians. Moreover a smattering of historical knowledge…

Libertarians often insist Independence Day is really our holiday, which statists have no right to celebrate with a straight face. But perhaps this whole approach is misguided. Maybe the lovers of freedom should be the ones loath to bring out the fireworks. Surely, conservatives who cherish the Fourth of July while cheering today’s wars have…

Ross Kenyon experiences the July 4th, 2010 celebrations at the National Mall and reflects upon the monuments of Washington, DC.