Book Reviews – November 2003

Adam Smith’s Marketplace of Life by James R. Otteson Cambridge University Press • 2002 • 338 pages • $70.00 hardcover; $26.00 paperback Reviewed by Robert Batemarco One of the puzzles confronting students of the history of economic thought is the apparent inconsistency of the two masterworks of Adam Smith: The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and [...]

Book Reviews – June 2003

Dependent on D.C.: The Rise of Federal Control Over the Lives of Ordinary Americans by Charlotte Twight St. Martin’s Press/Palgrave • 2002 • 512 pages • $26.95 hardcover; $17.95 paperback Reviewed by James Bovard Charlotte Twight has written an excellent book to help Americans understand how the federal government is insidiously seizing control of their lives, year by year, edict [...]

Never Enough?

President Bush’s proposed $48 billion military spending increase for next year exceeds what any other nation devotes to the military. In five years the Bush administration would have the government spend $100 billion more annually than was proposed by the Clinton administration. But for some people, no amount will ever be enough. “Neither the administration [...]

Washington’s Inadvertent Support for Cuban Communism

Havana, Cuba—Roberto Alarcón, well-dressed but of unexceptional appearance, is thought to be the No. 3 man in Cuba, after only Fidel and Raúl Castro. He lazily sprawled in his chair before eight American journalists, fondling his cigar. Asked about Havana’s willingness to negotiate with the United States over its embargo against his country, Alarcón responded: [...]

Some Questions

I’m writing these words in the early-morning serenity of my home, two weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks. All appears peaceful, fine, and as it was before September 11. My son, Thomas, is upstairs sleeping the sweet sleep of a child too young to comprehend what is happening. The world that he understands is [...]

A Maturing Europe?

Doug Bandow, a nationally syndicated columnist, is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the author and editor of several books. Although the Bush administration has promised not to withdraw unilaterally from the Balkans, leading Europeans remain nervous about the administration. They recognize his reluctance to continue their continent’s free defense ride, especially as [...]

Bombing Without End

We bomb, therefore we bomb,” seems to be Washington’s policy towards Iraq. Ten years of sanctions and military strikes have failed to tame or oust Saddam Hussein. Yet the Bush administration thinks only of doing more of the same.

U.S. policy in the Persian Gulf has long been a pernicious muddle. A half-century ago Washington helped install the Shah of Iran, whose thuggery eventually spawned an Islamic revolution that treated America as the “Great Satan.”

NATO’s Disastrous Victory in Kosovo

A Year ago the administration was beating the war drums in the Balkans. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, in particular, had proved more interested in bombing Serbia than encouraging a settlement. And bomb the United States did, for 78 days. The result is a policy of failure veering toward disaster.

Mere Isolationism: The Foreign Policy of the Old Right

One of the “lost causes” to which libertarians are attached—and one of the most important—is that of the “isolationist” Old Right. As used by the late Murray Rothbard, among others, the term “Old Right” refers to a loose coalition opposed to the New Deal in both its domestic and foreign aspects. While not following a [...]