Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Poverty

May 12, 2017

Free trade propaganda from … Communist China?

In the wake of the last presidential election, the American people appear to be fracturing and shifting on the long-held consensus about the benefits of free trade. Meanwhile, state-owned television in the People’s Republic of China is churning out pro-trade propaganda such as this (HT Pethokoukis): Yet the underlying irony is a bit overstated, I’d suspect. Continue Reading...
April 25, 2017

Taxes on unhealthy food do nothing but hurt the poor

Throughout history, societies have found peculiar ways to reinforce social hierarchies and class-based discrimination. A common way is to prohibit certain social classes from being able to purchase a good. These types of laws that regulate permitted consumption of particular goods and services are known as sumptuary laws. Continue Reading...
March 23, 2017

Venezuelans find a hero in big business

“Big business” has become a favorite target of public scorn and contempt in the United States, constantly decried for its impersonal forces, cronyist lobbying efforts, and supposed greed. In Venezuela, however, the country’s largest privately owned company has become a leading face of anti-government resistance. Continue Reading...