This is an excellent demonstration of the destruction government presses on harmless individuals through zoning laws. Whether it be with cooperative communities or individual homeowners, zoning laws are some of the most tedious and costly laws that directly eliminate prosperity on a local level. The individuals in this video face the wrath of an overreaching [...]
On the occasion when I explain my upbringing in Ananda Village, California, to fellow libertarians, I am often met with funny looks or a halfhearted, “That’s neat,” in response. Ananda, founded by J. Donald Walters (also known as Swami Kriyananda), is an intentional cooperative community celebrating its 43rd anniversary this year. The community of Ananda is, [...]
I had never heard the term “locavore” before coming to Berea College in 2010. I have been interested in localism and sustainability for quite some time, but I didn’t realize the local food movement had established its own descriptive term. The locavore movement presents an opportunity for people to reexamine how they live their lives; [...]
As a lifelong vegetarian, no style of meat production is particularly appealing or justifiable to me. However, despite my herbivore bias, I still see an ethical dilemma present in current industrial meat facilities. Little respect is given to the conditions and treatment of the animals in industrial facilities. Animals rarely see the light of day [...]
It is not easy to take a step back and seriously look at the world around me and ask, “Why are things done this way?” There are so many things, big and small, that I take for granted in my daily life. It’s even more challenging to consider the circumstances of hundreds of millions of [...]
People often use the quote, “The only constant is change.” Sometimes this phrase (or something similar to it) is used to bash over the head those who prefer liberty and freedom to government interventions. We are told that those who don’t embrace social change through government must love the rich, hate the poor, and enjoy [...]
“A farm includes the passion of the farmer’s heart, the interest of the farm’s customers, the biological activity in the soil, the pleasantness of the air about the farm – it’s everything touching, emanating from, and supplying that piece of landscape. A farm is virtually a living organism.” – Joel Salatin The deepest experience and [...]
True environmentalism is rooted in the individual; it is a movement based on education, connection with nature, and working to show people the sentimental side of nature that only comes through direct experience (not from Al Gore, a president, or some political rally). It is a movement based on individual liberty, responsibility, and localism. In [...]
Was it the “free market” that exploited Japanese Americans in World War II? Was it “capitalism” that drafted thousands of young men to be sent off to Vietnam, with many to return in body bags? Is it the free market that implements mandatory wage and price controls, takes a third of each American’s income, and [...]
James Cameron’s Avatar has shaken the entertainment industry in the past couple months, raking in more than $2.3 billion so far in the box office worldwide. I first saw the film in January and was blown away by the incredible visuals, a detailed exploration of the Na’vi culture, and what I thought was a masterfully [...]
