1999 – Joseph Bast | Writing

Dark Light

We homo sapiens are slow learners, but after two world wars and tens of millions of deaths at the hands of tyrants, utopians, and sometimes even democrats, we have found the principles of a free society.

Essays

Bitten by the Millennium Bug

December 1, 1999

We violate a cardinal rule of libertarian political philosophy when we assert the right to impose our help on those who do not want it.

Essays

Dear Bob: Sorry You Missed Our Annual Benefit

October 1, 1999

In a column published in early August [1999], Walter Williams urges states to establish federal-tax escrow accounts in which they would deposit and hold federal taxes collected from their citizens.

Essays

Williams, Have You Lost Your Marbles?

September 1, 1999

The managed growth movement of the 1990s is national, based on environmental and economic concerns, and (at least at the national level) quite political.

Essays

Who Will Decide Where We Live?

July 1, 1999

I may be at risk of losing some of my favorite things. But that inconvenience pales into insignificance compared to what we, as a society, are losing in the process.

Essays

Stop Messing with My Favorite Things!

June 1, 1999

As political victories finally arrive, our biggest challenge will be to overcome popular misunderstandings about how markets operate and what a privatized education system should look like.

Uncategorized

We Win! Victory for Vouchers in Florida

May 1, 1999

The most difficult of Carnegie’s principles for me to follow, alas, is Principle 1: “The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.”

Essays

Was it Something I Said?

April 1, 1999

The story of this typical politician--whom I will call “Bob”--illustrates the fundamental problem affecting all levels of government in the U.S. today.

Essays

The Problem with Bob

March 1, 1999

The best public policies will not be adopted if we allow the loudest and most alarmist voices in the debate to drown out the voices of reason.

Essays

Dear John: You’re Still Not Paying Attention

February 1, 1999

The wilderness protection issue is the foundation of environmentalism’s romantic appeal to the general public. It is a clear case where Old-school ideology conflicts with current scientific thinking.

Essays

Will the Real Environmentalists Please Stand Up?

January 1, 1999