Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Individual Liberty

September 11, 2012

Do We Belong to the Government or Does that Government Belong to Us?

During the recent Democratic National Convention, the party played a video which stated, “The government is the only thing we all belong to.” Daniel Kelly explains what’s wrong with such claims: That one compact statement raises a question I thought we had settled quite some time ago: Are we a people who has a government, or a government that has a people? Continue Reading...
August 23, 2012

Baptists vs. Obama’s HHS

Louisiana College, a Baptist school in Pineville, La., is the most recent institution to file a lawsuit over the Obama administration’s contraception mandate. Kathryn Jean Lopez interviewed the the school’s president, Joe Aguillard, about the decision to sue the government: LOPEZ: The president contended last week that there is a compromise. Continue Reading...
August 15, 2012

Metaphysical Business

Work is at the core of our humanity, says Anthony Esolen, and our ownership of what we produce precedes laws demanding that we give it back to “community” in the abstract. Continue Reading...
August 10, 2012

What an Olympic Swimmer’s Choice Tells Us About Capitalism

The legal institutions of capitalism exist not to advance any particular purpose, says Robert T. Miller, but to facilitate the advancement by individuals of their various, often conflicting purposes: As this article in the Wall Street Journal explains, Missy Franklin, a seventeen year-old from Colorado who won the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke last week, has steadfastly refused lucrative endorsement contracts. Continue Reading...
August 02, 2012

The High Cost of Conscience

The Obama administration’s controversial contraception-abortifacient mandate goes into effect yesterday, creating a difficult choice for pro-life business owners. If employers don’t change their plans, they will be hit with fines of up to $100 per employee per day. Continue Reading...
August 02, 2012

HHS Mandate Round-up

The Obamacare HHS provision went into effect yesterday. Here is a round-up of posts with reaction to that. The Day After the HHS Mandate Kicked In Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review Online Kolesar is a part owner of this family business established in 1961. Continue Reading...
July 26, 2012

Self-Appointed Nannys of the Nanny State

Economists have always been moralists, but since the mid-20th century many have also become wannabe technocrats—unelected experts who make public policy decisions based on specialized information rather than public opinion. A prime example is the new “libertarian paternalists” (a group that is definitely paternalistic but not very libertarian) who believe that government should attempt to influence the economic choices of affected parties in a way that will make choosers better off. Continue Reading...