Law & Liberty

I’ve always had great respect for the people who signed on for military service after September 11, 2001. They don’t get many accolades, because America is in the midst of an identity crisis, feels little pleasure in memories of Iraq or Afghanistan, and is even inclined to wonder whether we brought that pain on ourselves with all that incomprehensible meddling on foreign shor...

Rereading the 9/11 Commission Report triggers a flood of memories for anyone over 30. The “just-the-facts” description of the attacks brings back the agony and heartbreak of that terrible day and the days following as we searched desperately for the vict...

Daron Acemoglu won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2024 and is the third most cited economist of all time. Thus, the paradox of his new book, What Happened to Liberal Democracy?, is that its most serious analytic failures are econo...

Everyone with a plan to fix Congress wants to help it legislate again by making it easier for lawmakers to compromise. Some call for electing more moderates to serve in the House and Senate. And others want to empower party leaders to impose deadlines, block amendments, and limit debate. But they all share the same underlying goal: produce consensus before the conflict begins...

Much hinges on the liberty to build. A man who can’t build a factory loses his liberty to run a manufacturing business. A man who can’t find a house in his hometown (because they’ve outlawed building houses) loses his liberty to live, work, and raise his family there. Law and liberty come to a head at the local planning commission.

Nevertheless, every time I write ...