Nobel-winning economist James Buchanan, one of the founders of public choice theory, died yesterday at the age of 93. As with most pioneers, it's a measure of his success that we no longer realise how controversial his ideas once were.
Category: Political issues
Courts, cattle and constitutions – Australia’s ailing federalism
Mountain cattle grazing in Victoria becomes a constitutional issue. The Federal Court upheld the ban, but indicated that there were still limits to Canberra's power on environmental issues.
More to liberty than gun rights
So if gun rights need to be defended as a safeguard against tyranny, why are conservatives so cavalier about trashing other safeguards?
The perils of insular thinking
Melbourne's ticketing fiasco reflects the same sort of insularity that gave us compulsory voting and a broken school funding system, among other things.
Free speech: just for nice people, or for crazy racists as well?
If you're compiling a list of salient political issues for 2012, free speech should probably get a prominent place. The debate that began last year in Australia with the Andrew Bolt case has continued, reaching a new pitch this month with apowerful intervention by former New South Wales chief justice (and new ABC chairman) Jim … Continue reading Free speech: just for nice people, or for crazy racists as well?
The World is Not Enough 