Is a Nation Something That Can Be Built?

In the wake of both the collapse of the Soviet empire and the more recent U.S. interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, we have seen a lively debate on nation-building. Many people who are ordinarily skeptical about the power of the U.S. government as a force for good, either at home or around the world, have [...]

Colossus: The Price of America’s Empire

It’s always easy to spend other people’s money. Unfortunately, some people have an equally easy time spending other people’s lives. Over the last decade, the United States has routinely, even frivolously, attacked countries, overthrown regimes, and intervened in civil strife where few or no American security interests were at stake. Particularly striking is that two [...]

The New Financial Imperialism

The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia defines imperialism as “the policy of extending a nation’s authority by territorial acquisition or by the establishment of economic and political hegemony over other nations. Because imperialism always involves the use of power, often in the form of military force, it is widely considered morally objectionable, and the term accordingly has [...]

Book Reviews – November 2006

• 
  "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;
  mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">Nation, State, and Economy: Contributions to the
  Politics and the History of Our Time
  by
  "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;
  mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">Ludwig von Mises "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;
  mso-bidi-language:AR-SA"> Reviewed
  by Richard M. Ebeling
• 
  1776
  by David McCullough
  Reviewed by George C. Leef
• 
  Active
  Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution
  by Stephen Breyer
  Reviewed by Michael DeBow
• 
  Making
  Great Decisions in Business and Life
  by David R. Henderson and Charles
  L. Hooper Reviewed by Philip R. Murray

The Persistent Influence of Bad Ideas

Sometimes books, and the ideas they contain, have a much longer-lasting impact than anyone would expect or realize. Long after the book itself has been forgotten and languishes unread in the reserve stacks of libraries or on the shelves of secondhand-book dealers, the ideas it puts forward continue to influence people and the way they [...]

A Republic, Not An Empire: Reclaiming America’s Destiny

“The year 1989 was the American moment,” writes Patrick Buchanan in A Republic, Not An Empire. The United States was supreme around the globe. “But such moments never last,” he continues. Rather than leaving others with no choice but to break U.S. power, Buchanan writes, “It is time to let go of empire.” A Republic, [...]

Against the Tide: The Life of Francis W. Hirst

Mark Brady, who was born and grew up in England but now lives in America, has been a libertarian for almost 30 years. Sadly, it is only an exceptionally well-informed reader who will recognize the name of Francis W. Hirst, whose stalwart advocacy of personal freedom, free trade, and peace during the first half of [...]

Military Follies and Memorial Day Memories

Mr. Bandow, a nationally syndicated columnist, is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the author and editor of several books, including Tripwire: Korea and U.S. Foreign Policy in a Changed World. Washington, D.C., is ever the city of contradictions. Eloquent speeches about freedom by legislators voting to limit liberty. Emotional promises to aid [...]