Being Classically Liberal

The rhetoric of the alt-right is more predicated on exaggerating the threat immigrants (both legal and illegal) pose to American society than anything else. The evidence suggests that these people aren’t welfare magnets, they don’t steal our jobs, nor are they the overall inevitable harbingers of doom for civil society that some on the alt-right portray them to be.

By BCL Vote7 3

85% of economists agree (and 0% disagree) that free trade makes people better off in the long-run.

By BCL Vote4 1

Anarcho-capitalism in practice may theoretically be a disaster, but that hardly “debunks” libertarianism as a philosophy or poses a serious challenge to the beliefs of libertarians who aren’t anarcho-capitalists.

By BCL Vote14 10

A left-wing writer constructs and burns down a straw man version of Friedman and Hayek's economic philosophy.

By BCL Vote4 7

Classical liberals believe that society should avoid using coercive institutions, like the state, in order to change itself for the better. Progressives believe the opposite.

By BCL Vote59 17

[Note: This is a guest post by Ciarán Morrissey. Morrissey is a writer and student in the United Kingdom. He blogs on his personal website and can be found on twitter here.] Of all the disheartening developments of the 2016 Presidential cycle, the largest has been the flight of the libertarians to Donald Trump. We see this whenever it becomes obvious that a libertarian candidate isn’t going to win; their supporters, 90% of the time, flock to the nearest conservative, eat up their empty rhetoric, ignore their social policies, and wonder why they’re seen as closet conservatives by the rest of...

By BCL Vote10 4

The economists aren't impressed with a recent analysis claiming Bernie's proposals would result in explosive economic growth.

By BCL Vote8 3

Photo from campus reform.org The tribalism, cultural Marxism, and anti-liberalism that permeates the identity politics promoted by the regressive left is self-evident to anyone who has been paying attention to the metastatic growth of the contemporary "social justice" movement over the last few years. While liberalism as a philosophy has always supported things like freedom of speech and expression, civil discussion and the free exchange of ideas, and judging individuals based on their character, not superficial things like skin color or gender. On the hand, the illiberal left opposes all of these things, and in order to understand why, it is first...

By BCL Vote27 6

I've come across a number of empirical research papers which I find very interesting and relevant to many current socioeconomic debates. I figured I'd share them here, so that other people can use them as resources.

By BCL Vote22 78

A progressive meme suggests higher business taxes lead to more economic growth. The evidence suggests otherwise.

By BCL Vote5 2

Why the alt-right is wrong on immigration. Sep 5, 2016

The empirical case for free trade Sep 4, 2016

The Young Turks “debunk” libertarianism by citing a fictional scifi movie. Aug 29, 2016

Neoliberalism, the left’s boogeyman. May 10, 2016

Classical Liberalism vs. Progressive Liberalism Mar 19, 2016

Trump Is No Friend of Freedom Mar 18, 2016

Top economists say a glowing analysis of Bernie’s policies is “deeply flawed.” Feb 27, 2016

Dozens of studies libertarians should know about. Feb 19, 2016

High taxes mean more economic growth, according to progressives. Here’s why that’s nonsense. Feb 12, 2016