Reagan vs. Communism

With more and more potential 2012 GOP candidates making their way out of the woodwork, prepare your ears for a couple years of Ronald Reagan re-imagination. Now, most of this, I don't have a problem with. As long as they're comparing themselves with Campaign Reagan. Because Campaign Reagan was quite interesting. As was Campaign George W. Bush in 2000. Of course, neither acted consistently with the libertarian and small-government ideals they vowed to.

But, there's one specific piece of Reagan re-imagination that's really been bothering me lately. The idea that...

RONALD REAGAN KILLED COMMUNISM.

As if, in the 1980s, communism was simply an evil but equal alternative to capitalism. Both capable of winning over the world, but up to the Jedi stockpiling powers and elderly eloquence of a world leader with Reagan's gravitas in order to push the right political buttons to sway the world in the right direction. Completely ignoring the mass poverty and economic instability of all communist nations at the time.

You know what else would have killed communism, besides threats and weapons stockpiling? Communism.

Eric Olsen,
Regular Columnist, THL
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Critical Thinking Blog

Occupy Mordor or Destroy the Ring?

There has been mixed responses to Occupy Wall Street by libertarians. Some see the movement as a positive, while others see them as little more than lazy hipsters. But libertarians must be sensitive to why people feel the way they do about issues. The occupiers point out a legitimate concern that "the 1%" control vastly more power and wealth than "the 99%", and corporations have accumulated more power and privilege than is healthy for an open society. Some other concerns and demands are absurd, but the heart of the matter is on track. The question is why has this happened? While many on the left are quick to blame a nebulous thing called "greed", or lack of regulation, the matter is more complicated than that. This calls for a Lord of the Rings metaphor. Let's say that Sauron, the big cheese bad guy of Lord of the Rings, is the corporate hegemony. The 1%. Most people in Middle Earth agree that this is a problem, but there are a few differ...

I've Been an Outspoken Critic of Censoring Conservatives, But I'm Not Leaving Patreon Over Sargon of Akkad's Ridiculous Remarks

By: Wes Messamore The Humble Libertarian Photo: Gage Skidmore

Were The Founding Fathers Aided By Aliens?

Photo: Sebastian Bieniek, Dollarfaces https://www.b1en1ek.com/works/bieniek-paint/2015-dollarfaces/ Edit (2/1/26): No

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