"Poverty has no causes; prosperity has many. As history attests, poverty is humanity’s default condition.... But prosperity is not natural; it does not just happen." —Phil Gramm and Donald J. Boudreaux To hear some people tell it, America is in the grip of a vast...
Sheldon Richman
TGIF: Immigration Control Threatens the Rule of Law
by Sheldon Richman | Aug 15, 2025 | Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Immigration control strikes at the heart of the rule of law. That fact is badly unappreciated, even by some libertarians. If for no other reason, people who cherish individual liberty ought to be appalled by what the Trump administration is up to. Trump did not invent...

TGIF: Socialist Confusion
by Sheldon Richman | Aug 8, 2025 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Recent polls indicate that many people under 30 view socialism and communism favorably. (For Marx, those words were synonyms.) It seems that socialism and communism are "in." What's going on? A self-described "democratic socialist," Zohran Mamdani, won the Democratic...

TGIF: By Right or Permission?
by Sheldon Richman | Aug 1, 2025 | Economics, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
"Trump administration approves sale of CBS parent company Paramount after concessions" —NPR If the deal struck by Paramount and President Donald Trump sickens you, your intuitions and perhaps your principles are in good working order. Make no mistake about what's at...

TGIF: What Is Capitalism?
by Sheldon Richman | Jul 25, 2025 | Economics, History, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
So, what is capitalism? The answer will depend on who's being asked. Language, like markets, basic law, and customs, is a spontaneous order. No one plans it. Words drift in their meaning in ways that probably can’t be fully explained. Language is a tool that people...

TGIF: Immigration and Free Association
by Sheldon Richman | Jul 18, 2025 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Immigration. Despite other headline-grabbing news, this issue persists. How could it not? Trump's masked goon squad, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), abducts peaceful people off the streets, from their workplaces, and from Home Depot parking lots, then...
TGIF: Israel and Jabotinsky’s Iron Wall
by Sheldon Richman | Jul 11, 2025 | Featured Articles, History, Justice, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky (1880-1940) was a key figure in the development of the Zionist movement, which led to the founding of Israel in 1948. After breaking from mainline Zionism, Jabotinsky, born in Odessa (Ukraine), established Revisionist Zionism, a more openly...
TGIF: Liberty Requires Nationwide Injunctions
by Sheldon Richman | Jul 4, 2025 | Featured Articles, Justice, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
The government is always a threat. This we must never forget. In that light, I want to examine the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. CASA, the 6-3 decision that sided with the Trump administration's position that a federal district court exceeded its...