Government is more than a territorial monopoly on aggressive force. It’s also the heir to a centuries-old manufactured mystique, reinforced through its schools and other institutions, regarding its sanctity and sacrosanctity. The mystique is generated by and tends to manifest itself in the dogma that one’s State is uniquely virtuous and deserves to be judged…

Even considering that no one is fit to be president — in that no one should be able to command a state, which rules by threatening and committing violence against innocents — Hillary Clinton is especially unfit. No one who has done what she has done as a government official should be rewarded with power….

Paul Mason. Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future (Allen Lane, 2015). Based on Mason’s preview of Postcapitalism in his article at The Guardian, I was predisposed to like it. And having read the book itself, I can’t say I’ve changed my mind much. Mason occupies a niche where there is plenty of room for more…

C4SS Feed 44 presents Grant A. Mincy‘s “Across the Sea” read by Joey Clark and edited by Nick Ford. War is the primary function of states. The resources necessary to build war machines and carry out global military campaigns are impossible by a community basis. Modern war exists because of the military establishment; the military…

C4SS Feed 44 presents Roderick Long‘s “Remembering Corporate Liberalism” read by Jeff Riggenbach and edited by Nick Ford. During the first half of the 20th century, there was a widespread perception that big government and big business were fundamentally at odds. Free-market individualists generally regarded themselves as defenders of peaceful business interests against the rapacious…

C4SS Feed 44 presents Grant A. Mincy‘s “Aylan’s Shoes” read by John Moore and edited by Tony Dreher. The current global conflict is responsible for the greatest refugee crisis since World War II. The war-torn Middle East is experiencing human destruction on a heart-breaking scale. One image of this war in particular has struck the…

L’esagerazione demagogica della “minaccia terroristica”, al centro dell’ultimo dibattito dei repubblicani, si sgonfia immediatamente alla prima riflessione. Che probabilità c’è che un residente in America si trovi esattamente dove si trova qualcuno che vuole uccidere nel nome dello Stato Islamico, al Qaeda o qualche altra causa? Scarsissima. In America è molto più probabile morire per…

In questo periodo la gente canta canzoni che parlano di pace e bene. Negli Stati Uniti, purtroppo, alle canzoni corrispondono scarse riflessioni. Altrimenti gli americani sarebbero in piazza a chiedere al presidente Obama di spegnere la macchina da guerra. E ripudierebbero quegli aspiranti presidenti, ovvero i principali candidati dei maggiori partiti, che difendono i fondamenti…

It’s the time of year when people sing about peace and goodwill. Unfortunately in the United States, too little thought accompanies the nice words. Otherwise Americans would be in the streets demanding that President Obama shut down the war machine. They would also be repudiating every presidential candidate who endorses the fundamentals of America’s criminal…

Pace in terra agli uomini che il Signore gradisce! In un mondo in conflitto, questa è l’ora della pace. Parlo dei nostri angeli pacifici ad ogni festività. Spero di poter sostituire presto “conflitto” con “amore”. Un altro anno è finito, un anno pieno di guerra. Non possiamo aspettarci la fine della guerra se prima non…

Peace on Earth and goodwill to all — in a world of conflict, tis the season of peace. I write about the peaceful angels of our nature every holiday season. I hope to replace “conflict” with “love” soon. Another year over, and it was full of war. But we cannot expect the end of war…

The demagogic exaggeration of the “terrorist threat,” which was the centerpiece of the last Republican debates, is easily deflated with just a moment’s thought. What is the chance that any particular resident of the United States will happen to be in the same place as someone who intends to murder in the name of the…

It’s about time someone challenged the phrase radical Islamic terrorism. The most objectionable part is the word radical since it is now popularly associated with aggression — violence against innocents — as an acceptable means to politico-religious ends. But nothing about the word radical implies approval of aggression or terrorism. Rather, the word signifies an approach that goes to the…

From the start, opponents of the American empire warned that the government could not violate the rights of foreigners without eventually violating the rights of Americans. An excellent example is William Graham Sumner’s post-Spanish-American War classic The Conquest of the United States by Spain. The anti-imperialists were spot-on, and the evidence for their case keeps…

Guardate, neanche i regimi autoritari e totalitari possono evitare il terrorismo interno. Allora, che speranze può avere una società relativamente aperta? Una società aperta abbonda di “facili bersagli”, ovvero di persone inermi che ogni giorno vanno e vengono liberamente. Sono un bersaglio facile per chi vuole il male, specie se gli assalitori cercano la morte….

Thanksgiving is truly a great holiday. I’ve always enjoyed the day — how it feels, smells, and of course, tastes. As a college instructor, I’m fond of Turkey Day because it comes at the end of a long Fall semester. Thanksgiving offers some needed down time right before the total chaos that rings in the…

In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, Beirut and Kenya, CNN Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta asked Barack Obama, “Why can’t we take out these bastards?” Acosta echoes many Americans who are hungry for revenge, and favor further military intervention in the Middle East. Ironically, those wishing to exact revenge with…

Look, even authoritarian and totalitarian states can’t prevent domestic terrorism. What hope do relatively open societies have? Open societies abound with “soft targets”; that is, noncombatants going about their everyday lives. They are easy hits for those determined to inflict harm, especially if the assailants seek to die in the process. We also know, as…

If you want to see how inhumane people can be, just watch those who make and execute foreign policy. We could spend all day discussing the cruelties that politicians and bureaucrats commit against people who live inside the United States. Think how many are caged like wild animals because they manufacture, sell, or consume disapproved…

Donald Trump’s indictment of the Bush II administration for failing to prevent the 9/11 attacks presents an opportunity for more of a bird’s eye view of American foreign policy in the Middle East, a policy that has killed many hundreds of thousands, maimed countless more, and laid waste to entire societies. As Peter Beinart reminds…