Tagged: laissez-faire capitalism

Passing Thoughts on Walter Williams

I see that Walter Williams, an influential and distinguished American proto-libertarian economist, professor, and political columnist, has died. A few thoughts, as they occur to me. To be an American black man and a classical liberal at the same time is to put a big X on one’s forehead and one’s life, in contemporary political and “cultural” terms. Williams followed this path, unwaveringly...

How Libertarianism Refutes Itself

The problem with libertarianism, as an idea, is that it is grounded essentially in economic utilitarianism, which is to say in the presupposition that the free market in and of itself is sufficient structure to guarantee a good and healthy society. On other occasions, I have addressed the false premise supporting this fantasy, which we may call “The Free Market Fallacy,” namely that...