Commentary and Outlook
Reflections on the modern world from a libertarian point of view. Articles, essays, and reviews in politics, philosophy, international relations, and culture. Contact: finn.andreen@gmail.com
Monday, November 18, 2024
Real Democracy Can Only Be Freedom
Friday, October 25, 2024
The Limits to Public Opinion and the Failure of Democracy
It is not so often admitted, but it is
nevertheless the case, that the people can never be successfully represented
politically. However, public opinion influences
politics, at times even strongly. In all political systems, the ruling minority
must take into account, to varying degrees, the public mood as expressed in town
halls, polls, elections, demonstrations, and now, social media.
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Why Democracy Has Such Staying Power
Friday, August 23, 2024
Smashing the Western Illusion of Democracy
In these politically turbulent times, the ”illusion of democracy is fading worldwide” as one pundit wrote recently. There is a growing sense, in the West, that democracy is not working well, but there is not yet a full and clear recognition of that fact.
Michel Maffesoli, honorary professor at the Sorbonne in Paris, has been saying already for
several years, that “the end of the democratic ideal is manifesting itself”. Signs
of this can be seen in the problematic elections that have taken place in his native France and other Western countries.
Thursday, June 27, 2024
Julian Assange and the Struggle for Political Freedom
Julian Assange's heroic but tragic life has taken an unexpected turn for the better with his recent liberation through a plea deal with the US government. It must never be forgotten that the Wikileaks founder was a successful publisher and a prized journalist, and yet was at risk of being extradited to the United States to be charged with espionage and imprisoned for life. Though many people around the world have followed Assange's hardships on and off for more than a decade, the many acts of his sham trial in London highlighted the importance of the struggle for political freedom.
Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Draghi’s Globalist EU Speech Urges Concentration of Power
A quite revealing speech about the future of the European Union was given in Brussels on April 16, 2024 by Mario Draghi, who some say is slated to become the next president of the EU Commission, replacing scandal-ridden Ursula von der Leyen. Draghi, former Italian PM and former head of the European Central Bank, gave policy recommendations for the future, directly to members of the EU Commission. In light of this year’s elections to the EU parliament, the content of this speech should be exposed, because it epitomizes so much of what is wrong today with the political direction of the European Union.
Sunday, May 5, 2024
The West Needs Radical Political Change Towards Freedom
This state of affairs is serious enough that it has been slowly dawning on parts of the “uninformed and disorganized majority”, to use Gaetano Mosca’s expression. It has happened in a large part thanks to the abundance of uncensored information and unbiased analysis on the internet that has accelerated the loss of credibility of mainstream news and the loss of trust in political leaders. Not surprisingly, exceptional measures are being taken by the Western ruling minority to rein in and muzzle free speech.
Thursday, April 4, 2024
The Danger of the Western Public's Neglect of Individual Rights
Though the Western political class constantly criticizes the “authoritarian” nature of certain nations, one should sweep in front of his own door first, to paraphrase Goethe. Indeed, Western nation-states and international institutions have for years been gnawing at the freedom and rights of both individuals and companies.
Firstly, the exorbitant fiscal and inflationary pressures on
Western populations should never be considered “normal” or “acceptable”; they
are severe violations of property rights in and of themselves. These pressures
alone help to explain the economic stagnation
and political decadence of Western societies. Additionally, previously
unthinkable powers have been given to Western police and security forces, many
of them now permanent. Wikileaks
and others
have revealed the programs of mass-surveillance of entire populations that is practiced
by unaccountable Western intelligence agencies.
Sunday, January 28, 2024
The Western Ruling Elite: Its Development and Its Betrayal
The Western ruling elite has become oligarchic in nature; its political and economic influence is disproportionate and even harmful to society. It is necessary, therefore, to review its historical evolution and expose its current goals.
First of all, it must be recognized that it is natural and
necessary for society to have an elite. Murray Rothbard wrote
about the ideal of "natural aristocrats", who “live in freedom
and harmony with their fellows, and rise by exercising their individuality and
their highest abilities in the service of their fellows, either in an
organization or by producing efficiently for the consumers.”
Monday, October 30, 2023
Libertarianism and the Importance of Causality
Even though support for the free market has become stronger in the last decades, libertarianism can still only be considered a fringe movement. Most people still believe that many social problems are due to “market failure” and therefore require State intervention to be “solved”. Despite the obvious flaws of modern socialism, with its unlikely combination of redistributive welfare state and globalist crony capitalism, and despite libertarianism’s robust philosophical and empirical foundations, the liberalism of Ludwig von Mises is still far from enjoying the majority support that it so amply deserves.
Thursday, July 6, 2023
Modern Socialism is a Forced Socialization
My article “The Education of the Modern Socialist” deserves a follow up. That first part showed that a change has occurred in the definition of "socialism"; a necessary one in view of the failures of this ideology during the last century. Socialism today is based on the ideology of "Statism" that is, the conviction that the State must play a fundamental role in society. This is Ludwig von Mises’ wider definition of Socialism as State intervention; a modern social State that is involved in most if not all the activities of society, whether commercial or not.
Sunday, May 28, 2023
The G7 in Hiroshima: the Latest Attempt to Impose a Unipolar World
The last G7 summit that took place from 19th to 21st May 2023 in Hiroshima deserves attention because it exposes the latest Western attempt to impose its unipolar world view. But first a bit of background on the G7.