When I was still in graduate school and still in my early twenties, I was riding on the airport shuttle to an event at the Mises Institute when I encountered an interesting phenomenon. It was the phenomenon of the “libertarian” who is free-market in the small stuff, but embraces war and statism in the big things. 

Though the Western political class constantly criticizes the “authoritarian” nature of certain nations, one should sweep in front of his own door first, to paraphrase Johann von Goethe. Indeed, Western nation-states and international institutions have for years been gnawing at the freedom and rights of both individuals and businesses.

The first thing to know about Dr. Thomas E. Woods, Jr.’s’ book Our Enemy, the Fed is he’s giving it away. Click the link, get your copy and read the whole book. Clearly, such intellectual charity is not only rare but in the educational spirit of Mises.org.

Jordan Klepper: You need to-- you know what you need to do? You need to take some-- some THC or some DMT and let the MMT just wash over you. Let the paradigm shift come to you, Ronny Chieng.

Ronny Chieng : Yeah, I think I’m in it right now.

Klepper: I think you’re in it.

Driving home one Friday afternoon, I got stuck behind an elderly woman going twenty miles per hour under the speed limit. The speed limit was forty-five. We were on a country road, so I couldn’t pass safely, and I was frustrated that this person was standing between me and the beginning of the weekend. I could see the woman’s thinly snowcapped head, and I thought to myself, I can’t believe this old bat is licensed to drive. She’s probably half-blind and too frail to control the vehicle. An unsuspecting driver could ram right into her.

Many opponents of libertarianism claim to reject its philosophy because of its extreme individualist tendencies or because they believe it encourages selfishness. While there are libertarians who are individualistic in every sense of the word, libertarianism does not naturally reject community. Additionally, libertarianism does not encourage selfishness but recognizes that most humans are selfish and thus are wary of giving humans too much power. The term “individualism” also needs further clarification.

Over the weekend, the House of Representatives passed four foreign aid bills that will allocate a combined $95 billion to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and other “national security priorities.” House Republicans followed Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) lead and joined with Democrats to deliver all the foreign aid President Joe Biden wanted without requiring much of anything in return.