Dean Baker. The Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer (LULU, 2006)

It is a myth that the rich, or market conservatives in the author’s lexicon, unremittingly favor the operation of free markets with absolutely no government intervention. In fact, quite the opposite is the case. [...]

Many of us mistakenly concede to arguments that end with “Well this is what the majority believes, so it’s just too bad for gays/liberals/whoever.” We erroneously believe that a law, a policy or a practice can be justified simply because the majority agrees with it, because of the flawed notion that democracy, or majority rule, [...]

The government does not hate you. The government does not like you. It is indifferent. The government is not an entity with feelings, remorse, ethics or conscious. It is a collective of individuals working according to rigid flawed guidelines. The government is not an individual therefore the government as a whole has no rights whatsoever. [...]

Since I signed on as the campaign manager of the Lee Wrights for President Exploratory Committee I’ve taken some heat from some of my radical and anarchist friends in the libertarian movement, people I love and respect, for getting involved in electoral politics. Some of them have even called me a statist, which is very [...]

As someone who so obviously does not fit into the stereotype of a liberal academic, I believe that I have a special responsibility to advance the sort of liberal academic ideals I have outlined. It is quite possible that I can reach students that others cannot. At Ohio State we certainly have many students from [...]

Chicago’s now ex-mayor Daley is back in town. He’s talking about guns. Typically, those who want gun laws “abhor violence” and yet they use violence to try and get what they want. Ironic.

Yes, if there were no guns, there would be no gun violence. But let’s return to the real world for a [...]