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 Vote54 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 Vote26 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

The evidence shows that labor unions aren’t all they are cracked up to be. They benefit some workers but concurrently impose rather large costs on the economy as a whole, amounting to $50 trillion in lost economic output from 1947-2000.

By BCL Vote8 1

The natural experiment on the effectiveness of strict gun control measures, which the Australian's have provided us with, provides us with no evidence that such measures actually reduce firearm homicide. In this case, it seems as though gun control advocates have widely touted the effectiveness of laws which are, in reality, ineffective.

By BCL Vote31 2

A forgotten tradition in American history is being resistant to the centralization of political power. The men who fought off the armies of a great nation for their independence were resisting centralized power from Parliament and the King of Great Britain. The creation of the United States in 1787 was during the Age of Enlightenment, a time period which produced some of the finest philosophy about human freedom and government. But men are not perfect and the nation created in 1787 had many flaws which persist to this day.

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If Democratic Socialists actually care about democracy than they should accept the people’s decision to support free markets.

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More spending doesn't always mean better outcomes.

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There is nothing tolerant or liberal about contemporary leftism. Today's illiberal left is eager to discriminate against and shut up those who disagree with them and the majority of them are willing to use the government as an instrument to silence those who voice unpopular opinions. Any concept of freedom of speech and expression is clearly lost on these people.

By BCL Vote22 6

There is rather convincing evidence that freer trade policies lead to faster economic growth and less poverty and unemployment, contrary to the assertions put forth by protectionists. Furthermore, the adoption of free trade policies in the post-WWII period has been instrumental in reducing military conflicts, setting the world on path to peace. The benefits of freer trade seem undeniable, and it’s worth keeping them in mind when neo-mercantilists assert that the best means by which a country can grow rich is by engaging in protectionism and economic nationalism.

By BCL Vote18 0

LSR's video really is nothing more than a bunch of non-arguments arguments which he then attempts to, and fails to, debunk. The empirical evidence I've cited above is clear. Capitalism works more efficiently than the alternatives.

By BCL Vote14 2

1. The scariest guns kill the least amount of people. Despite the extensive coverage dedicated to “assault weapons” by the media following mass shootings, it appears as though such coverage excludes a few important details. For one, “assault weapons” are functionally no different from any other firearm. As one study has noted of the 1994-2004 “assault weapons” ban: “The AW [assault weapon] provision [of the ban] targets a relatively small number of weapons based on features that have little to do with the weapons operation, and removing those features is sufficient to make the weapons legal.” Hence, the difference between an assault weapon...

By BCL Vote23 8

Ever.

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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

Historically, Labor Unions have imposed huge costs on the economy while providing little social benefit. Aug 20, 2015

No, Australia is not an example of the effectiveness of gun control. (Sorry, Jim Jefferies) Jul 2, 2015

The forgotten history of American resistance to centralized power. May 7, 2015

The fantasy of ‘Democratic Socialism’ Apr 23, 2015

Michigan’s Proposal 1 Would Waste More Taxpayer Money Apr 14, 2015

The intolerant, illiberal, modern left. Jan 30, 2015

5 good reasons to support free trade. Jan 18, 2015

Rebuttal to: Top Ten Capitalist Arguments debunked Oct 5, 2014

Firearm facts and fallacies Jun 19, 2014

No, we never had 70+% tax rates on the rich. May 27, 2014