Archive for Robert James Bidinotto

Crime and Consequences

During the past Presidential campaign, the issue of crime loomed large—due, in part, to this writer’s Reader’s Digest article on the now-infamous Willie Horton case.[1] That story offers a fitting introduction to the subject of America’s seemingly intractable crime problem, and what’s wrong with our criminal justice and correctional systems.

1Jul1989 | | 0 comments | Continued

Howard Dickmans Industrial Democracy in America

Mr. Bidinotto is a free-lance writer in New Castle, Pennsylvania. Of the enduring myths of economic history, few have hung on as tenaciously as the necessity and desirability of labor unions. Consider a recent editorial in my hometown newspaper, typical of the conventional wisdom; “While unions today have a somewhat tarnished reputation, most historians generally [...]

1Feb1988 | | 0 comments | Continued

Perspective: Excusing Irresponsibility

Many people are angry at the common spectacle of convicted criminals escaping punishment for their crimes, on grounds that they were “not responsible” for the social or biological conditions which allegedly “provoked” their aggression. In recent years a new form of criminal has appeared: the international terrorist. Frequently sponsored by some collectivist regime, the terrorist [...]

1Jun1987 | | 0 comments | Continued

Morality Laws = Majority License

Mr. Bidinotto, a frequent Freeman contributor, is a full-time writer living in New Castle, Pennsylvania. One of the perennial criticisms of the free society is that, under laissez-faire capitalism, individuals would be allowed to engage in noncoercive, yet “immoral,” behavior. Government is the social institution which protects individual rights by serving as the final arbiter [...]

1Apr1987 | | 0 comments | Continued

Perspective: Speak for Yourself!

There are many reasons to support the free market system—a fact reflected in the divergent philosophies of the system’s advocates. For some, the rationale for capitalism is strictly utilitarian: it fulfills the economic wants of the greatest number of people. Others deny the possibility of any single standard of values for all people, arguing that [...]

1Apr1987 | | 0 comments | Continued

The Morality of Good Intentions

Mr. Bidinotto writes frequently for The Freeman and other publications. Cultural commentators have long remarked on the enormous generosity and compassion of the American people. Significantly, it was the era of laissez-faire capitalism which saw the rise of the great philanthropies. Not only were men more inclined to feel benevolent; with the unleashing of the [...]

1Mar1987 | | 0 comments | Continued

Should We Organize for Liberty?

© 1986 by Robert James Bidinotto. Mr. Bidinotto is contributing editor for On Principle, a biweekly newsletter of political analysis. The mark of the idealist is his desire to “do something,” to make over the world in the image of his ideals. But there is nothing more tragic than the idealist whose means contradict his [...]

1Dec1986 | | 0 comments | Continued

Paying People Not to Grow

Mr. Bidinotto is contributing editor for On Principle, a political newsletter, and received the 1985 Mencken Award in journalism for “Best Feature Story, Essay or Review.” Most Americans believe that the rewards of life should be individually earned. That is why few government programs have been subjected to as much public criticism as the policy [...]

1Oct1986 | | 0 comments | Continued

Book Review: The Ominous Parallels: The End of Freedom in America by Leonard Peikoff

(Stein & Day, Scarborough House, Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. 10510), 1982 • 383 pages • $16.95 Germany was the “land of poets and philosophers”—an educated, industrialized, civilized nation that took pride in its artists, thinkers, and culture. Yet it first appeased, then elected, then obediently followed a man who led it into a global, systematic campaign [...]

1Dec1982 | | 1 comment | Continued

A Guide to Principled Self-Defense

Mr. Bidinotto is a free-lance writer in Milford, Massachusetts. A friend approached me recently, concerned about a course he was taking that was being taught by a Marxist. My friend had been assigned a speech topic: “Who should own/control the workplace?” My friend accepts the free market philosophy, and knew of my special interest in [...]

1Dec1982 | | 0 comments | Continued

The Exploitation of the Virtuous

A young man reminds us that the chief victims of the welfare state are those robbed of their properties – including their integrity.

1Sep1968 | | 0 comments | Continued
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