December 2012
Volume 62, 2012Want to escape the reach of the State? Ivan Osorio says pirate radio and seasteading show how to vote with your boat; Tom Bell says a Honduran Supreme Court decision might have closed an option to do it with your feet (without leaving the country); and Bill Walker says maybe there's still hope right in the U.S.; in a Freeman interview, Lee Valentine discusses how space development might take liberty to escape velocity; and much, much more.
FEATURES
"From the Sea, Freedom!"
NOVEMBER 19, 2012 by IVAN OSORIO
The seas might be the best remaining option for those seeking escape from the State's overreach. Ivan Osorio describes seasteading, pirate radio, and the prospects for voting with your boat when there's nowhere left to go with your feet.
What would it take for you to move to a seastead?
NOVEMBER 30, 2012 by THE FREEMAN
Five friends of FEE discuss what it would take to get them to move to a seastead.
No Exit: Are Honduran Free Cities DOA?
NOVEMBER 26, 2012 by TOM W. BELL
Honduran REDs seemed like the best bet to test out free-cities concepts, but the Honduran Supreme Court recently put the kibosh on them. Where does that leave the REDs and the free-cities movement in general?
The Next Frontier: An Interview with Lee Valentine
NOVEMBER 30, 2012 by THE FREEMAN
Dr. Lee Valentine discusses the difference between space exploration and space development, and says we're entering an exciting period of return to space travel's private roots.
A Natural Birth
DECEMBER 05, 2012 by MIKE REID
Eschewing some of the trappings of modern technology during childbirth is every woman's right, but it's by no means more "natural." Nothing, in fact, is more natural than human beings altering their world to make it easier--and more pleasant--to survive in.
School Buses, Teamsters, and Rent-Seeking
DECEMBER 03, 2012 by CHARLES W. BAIRD
If you live in Illinois, the school bus could be bringing union intimidation to a town near you. Charles Baird looks at freedom of association and unionization in the busing business.
The Enduring Lesson of "I, Pencil"
NOVEMBER 16, 2012 by NICOLE CIANDELLA
In honor of FEE founder Leonard Read, and in hope of a better economic future, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) has released a new short film adaptation of "I, Pencil." You can watch the film and help share it with new audiences at IPencilMovie.org.
The Nature and Origin of Money
DECEMBER 07, 2012 by ALEX SALTER
Arguments that money is a creature of the State are not only wrong, they're dangerous. Alex Salter explains how, perhaps more than anything else, money is the prime example of Hayek's spontaneous orders.
Blood and Gold
Frank Norris, McTeague, The Echo Library, 2006 (original publication date 1899) 227 pp.
NOVEMBER 28, 2012 by SARAH SKWIRE
Frank Norris's 1899 novel McTeague is one of the great neglected masterpieces of American Realist literature. Filled with so much jealousy, obsession, murder, blood, and gold that 20th century composer William Bolcom turned it into an opera, McTeague is a useful reminder that "realist literature" does not mean literature that is exactly like real life.
Technology: A Threat to Liberty?
DECEMBER 12, 2012 by LUCA GATTONI-CELLI
Technological progress can lead to some scary times. Fortunately, says Luca Gattoni-Celli, it places an unprecedented amount of power in the hands of ordinary people.
COLUMNS
Perspective—Jurisdictional Arbitrage
DECEMBER 13, 2012 by THE FREEMAN
People around the world are looking for opportunities to vote with their feet. Some would like to start a venture in an environment free of corruption. Others would like simply to practice their religion without fear. And what about those protecting their businesses from strangling regulations? Their savings savings from punishing taxation? Their children from failing school systems?
Peer Progressivism vs. Network Libertarianism
NOVEMBER 21, 2012 by MAX BORDERS
Progressivism is an authoritarian doctrine at root due to its reliance on state power. Does sprinkling in technology or adding "peer" to the front end fundamentally change that? My goal for this column is not to review Steven Johnson's book, but to clarify what we might call "network libertarianism."
Indivisible Liberty: Personal, Political, and Economic
NOVEMBER 27, 2012 by DOUG BANDOW
Economic liberty is no less important than freedom of speech, association, religion, or any other. In fact, it's essential to all of them.
How We Found Ourselves
NOVEMBER 29, 2012 by JEFFREY A. TUCKER
GPS devices have freed people from the profound problem of having no idea where we are or where we're going--and it was only possible once governments got out of the way.
CULTURE
The Enterprise of Law: Justice Without the State
DECEMBER 06, 2012 by GEORGE C. LEEF
A review of The Enterprise of Law: Justice Without the State, by Bruce Benson
Ladies for Liberty: Women Who Made a Difference in American History
DECEMBER 10, 2012 by WENDY MCELROY
A review of John Blundell's Ladies for Liberty.
E-mail Subscription