Paul Gottfried

A dispute recently erupted at a conference sponsored by the Mises Institute between right- and left-leaning libertarians, that is, between Jeff Deist, President of the Mises Institute, and Daniel Horowitz, who is something of a fixture at CATO. Since Tom Woods has provided a spirited defense of Deist’s position, which calls for a combination of liberty with traditional social morality and traditional community identities, I needn’t rush to Jeff’s defense. Although I’ve never (to my knowledge) met the Director of the Mises Institute, I fully share his perspective on the necessary preconditions for living in a free society under a… Keep Reading

I just witnessed on TV a crowd of Black-Lives-Matter demonstrators protesting the arrival of our newly confirmed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos at a predominantly black public school in Southwest Washington. The following questions immediately came to mind as I looked at this scene—in total wonderment. Why would Black Lives Matter zealots be up in arms against Ms. DeVos, who has done absolutely nothing to offend them? Why were, among other sometimes violent demonstrators, blacks screaming “shame!” at this middle-aged lady? If the demonstrators were concerned that policemen are unfairly targeting black youth, then the new Secretary of Education has nothing… Keep Reading

Let’s not imagine that Trump can alone pick up his popularity ratings. Several days ago I picked up the Inquirer while in Philadelphia and saw on the front cover, next to a puff piece for Michelle Obama, a headline that Trump’s popularity is now down to 40%. Although I’ve no implicit faith in polls, given the likely politics of the pollsters and given their obvious downplaying of Trump’s support throughout the presidential campaign, from what I’ve seen and heard, it seems that Trump’s approval rating is in fact well below 50%. Despite Obama’s longtime associations with onetime terrorists and raving… Keep Reading

Lately, I’ve been watching the blossoming lovefest between the conservative-Republican establishment and those on the Left who are raging over the Obama administration’s reaction to the UN resolution against Israel. Arguably, this resolution was an attempt to take away Israel’s bargaining chips in negotiating with the Palestinians. The UN Security Council, which passed the resolution, made unmistakably clear that Israel is illegally occupying both East Jerusalem and the territory on the West Bank that had been taken during the Six Day War. The resolution may also have the effect of justifying terrorist acts designed to dislodge Israelis from areas that… Keep Reading