This issue defends the service sector, critiques population-control proposals, and examines how mandated benefits turn firms into agents of the state. Other essays expose protectionism’s economic and ethical costs, analyze bureaucracy’s expanding power, and explore Hong Kong’s uncertain future under Chinese rule. The issue also considers the morality of business regulation, competition in taxi markets, and the economics of video-store decline in the face of library lending.

This issue opens with a gripping escape from Soviet-occupied Czechoslovakia and continues with analyses of how weak socialist economies fuel militarism. Additional essays examine school censorship under state compulsion, propose private-sector models for judicial reform, and profile classical liberal leader John Bright. Articles also highlight early American industrial success, celebrate Booker T. Washington’s philosophy of self-reliance, and offer practical approaches to helping the poor.

This issue explores the moral consequences of compromise, the personal transformation sparked by discovering freedom, and the philosophical case for judicial protection of economic liberty. Other essays recount America’s first deep-sea salvage battles, chart the career of Charles Schwab and the steel industry’s evolution, and consider whether inequality arising from luck has any policy remedy. The issue also analyzes the roots of China’s hyperinflation and the global debt crisis of the 1980s.

This issue argues that modern policies invert true fairness by prioritizing results over process, questions the rationality of voting under expansive government, and features Milton Friedman on the historical relationship between Jews and capitalism. Additional essays expose how bureaucrats rig policy debates, critique the line-item veto, honor economist William H. Hutt, and recount John D. Rockefeller’s pioneering work in oil and philanthropy.

This issue examines how the Pilgrims’ Dutch experience shaped American ideas of liberty, self-government, and property rights. Articles explore the moral hazards of modern public relations, the economics of rising college costs, and the destructive effects of minimum-wage laws and labor legislation. Additional essays analyze the national banking crisis, defend decentralized governance, and argue for property-based broadcasting freedom. The issue also critiques claims of “cultural imperialism,” addresses software piracy and digital-audio regulation, and reviews recent works on economics, virtue, and classical liberal thought.

This issue illustrates how self-interest and regard for others reinforce each other in a free society, then broadens into reflections on the purpose of education and the classical “liberating arts.” Further essays analyze the decline of secondhand bookstores, revisit Ludwig Erhard’s postwar German economic reforms, and reinterpret the Soviet economy as a mercantilist system rather than true socialism. Additional pieces consider KFC’s arrival in China, evaluate the prospects of Gorbachev’s perestroika, and outline market-based solutions to the global debt crisis. The issue concludes with book reviews and the annual index.

This issue of The Freeman explores the foundations of individual liberty, focusing on private property rights as essential for economic freedom and justice. It examines how profit and loss function as necessary economic signals, critiques the economic damage caused by protectionism (tariffs and quotas), and defends the market process against government intervention and planning.

This issue explores the political and economic costs of excessive government power. It features articles on the ethics and economic consequences of redistributive taxation, the danger of inflation and its corrosive effects on capital formation, and a defense of sound money principles. The volume also critiques the history and inevitable failure of socialist systems and advocates for a government limited strictly to the protection of individual rights.

This issue highlights the dynamic power of the market, focusing on the crucial role of the entrepreneur in generating wealth and fulfilling consumer needs. It investigates the principle of spontaneous order—how complex societies function best without central planning—and provides sharp critiques of excessive government regulation (including licensing and environmental controls) for stifling innovation and competition. The volume also defends the benefits of free trade among nations.

This issue delves into the moral and social dimensions of liberty, asserting the necessity of individual responsibility for a functioning free society. It features critical analysis of the long-term, destructive consequences of the welfare state, arguing that it creates dependency and entrenches poverty. The volume also examines the philosophical relationship between moral virtue and the principles of economic freedom and limited government.

This issue emphasizes the need for sound economic education and dissects common economic fallacies often used to justify government intervention. Articles explore critical public policy areas, including the ethical and economic case for free trade and the need for a stable currency, while contrasting the effectiveness of private charity with the failures of government welfare programs.

This issue is dedicated to an economic and historical critique of central banking and the Federal Reserve System, arguing for its inherent instability. It explores the principles of sound money and competitive free banking, contrasting these concepts with the risks and distortions created by fiat currency and discretionary monetary policy. The volume emphasizes the crucial link between monetary stability and long-term economic health.