Source: Freedom and Flourishing
by Dr. Edward W Younkins
“The defense of a free society has emerged from diverse intellectual traditions. One line of argument, associated with thinkers such as Friedrich A. Hayek, Gerald A. Gaus, Jonathan Haidt, and John Hasnas grounds liberty in cultural evolution, spontaneous order, epistemic limits, and moral psychology. From another direction, Douglas B. Rasmussen and Douglas J. Den Uyl have developed a neo-Aristotelian justification of natural rights rooted in individualistic perfectionism, virtue ethics, and the metanormative structure of political morality. These two traditions have often been viewed as distinct and divergent: the former emphasizing emergent social complexity, evolved rules, the limits of reason, and epistemological humility; the latter emphasizing teleological ethics, virtue, and the normative structure of human flourishing.” (03/18/26)
“The death of Paul Ehrlich, at a decidedly selfish, resource-hogging 93, has elicited a resounding consensus on his legacy. He has been roundly condemned on both right and left as one of the most malign and unrepentant doom-mongers to sway public opinion and policy since the pre-war eugenics movement. Initially an entomologist specialising in moths and butterflies, Ehrlich became famous during the late 1960s and early 1970s for trying to prevent the spread of what he saw as an altogether more troublesome species – his own, mankind.” (03/18/26)
“Discussions of the Iran War’s economic effects understandably fixate on crude oil. The Strait of Hormuz, through which about 27 percent of the world’s seaborne petroleum supplies usually transits, has been effectively closed since the war started in late February, causing global oil and gasoline prices to spike — something both American drivers and politicians have surely noticed. … Yet the strait is a lot more than an oil pipeline, and the Iran War’s economic effects are about a lot more than just oil. Roughly 11 percent of global maritime trade transits the strait each year—a lot of it crude oil and liquid natural gas, yes, but also loads of minerals and energy-intensive commodities …. The Iran conflict has also spread beyond Iran and the strait itself, in the process threatening major Middle Eastern production and shipping hubs for other important goods.” (03/18/26)
“For over 250 years, Americans have relied on the United States Postal Service for timely processing of their mail, no matter the conditions. After we dropped it in a box or gave it to a letter carrier, we could count on our mail being postmarked on that date so that our bills and tax returns aren’t late and our election ballots are counted. Unfortunately, this trust is now increasingly risky, since we can no longer rely on USPS to postmark mail on the day it’s collected. As part of former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s broader cost-cutting and restructuring plan, the Postal Service has stopped its practice of picking up mail at the end of every day from all post offices. This means your ballot or bill payment could sit there until the following morning or even longer before being postmarked at a huge processing center.” (03/19/26)
“1968 was an interesting year. Several of us here at The Price of Liberty recall that rather fateful year. For us, the impact of events of 1968 still is resonating around the world, and especially the States, in 2026.” (03/18/26)
“In 2023, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party held a slim, single-seat majority in the Minnesota State Senate and control of the State House and Governor’s Mansion. It had been a decade since the last Democratic trifecta in the state, which like many similar moments of prior eras, produced only incremental wins for progressives and the Left. Since the financial crisis and Great Recession of the early Obama era, a core group of community and union organizers in Minnesota had been building what they called ‘alignment’. It would go beyond the traditional coalitions so many of us were used to — ones coalesced around a single fight but too pragmatic to inspire people to action. Real power building, I was told, would require something different: An ability to work across organizations and ideologies while holding up bigger sets of common, universal demands.” (03/19/26)
“It’s axiomatic that child care should promote child development and enhance the capabilities of working parents. Congress can take an important step forward in achieving these goals by reauthorizing the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program, which would expand the type of care available to parents, make child care more affordable to more families, and strengthen families and communities in the process.” (03/18/26)
“On February 28th, the United States launched Operation Epic Fury. The goal of this operation, according to the White House, is to eliminate the threat of the Iranian regime. This is yet another attempt at regime change in the Middle East. While Donald Trump boasts about his new gold curtains, eleven United States service members have been killed, and it is estimated that the first twelve days of the war have cost a staggering $16.5 billion. Donald Trump promised peace during his second term; instead, he has involved the United States in a new conflict. This war was initiated without congressional approval, is financially reckless, and could have been avoided. When Donald Trump won re-election in November 2024, he made the promise, ‘I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.'” (03/18/26)
“For all the impassioned impromptu defenses of the current war in Iran, there have been remarkably few that have used the traditional criteria Western (and many non-Western) theologians, ethicist, politicians, and soldiers have used to evaluate the righteousness of armed struggle, the ‘just war’ principles. Even those leaders who have called the war ‘just’ have not engaged with any of the specifics of just war reasoning. The paucity of such efforts likely results from the fact that this war cannot be considered a just war when all the relevant criteria are considered.” (03/18/26)
