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Lawrence W. Reed

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Two Samurai Who Were NOT Japanese →

March 10, 2024

Did you know that at least two of the more famous samurai were not ethnically Japanese at all?

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Why the Meiji Restoration was Pivotal for Japan →

March 2, 2024

In 1867, Japan was a closed country with both feet firmly planted in the past. A half-century later, it was a major world power. This remarkable transition begins with the Meiji Restoration.

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The Code Breakers of Warsaw →

February 27, 2024

Hundreds of high-level, encrypted Russian military messages and signals were de-coded by the Poles, providing critical intelligence that made fools of the Russians on the battlefield.

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Bravo, Bertie Brown! →

February 19, 2024

From her cabin on Brickyard Creek in Fergus County, Bertie stirred up what locals of every color regarded as a mighty fine brew—in violation of Prohibition.

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Cicero and the Late Roman Republic: An Interview (Feb. 2024) →

February 18, 2024

When did the old Roman Republic die? And why?

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The Origins of Valentine’s Day and Some Reflections on the Holiday →

February 14, 2024

“Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired” – poet Robert Frost.

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Putin's Self-Serving Lies →

February 13, 2024

What he said about Poland in his interview with Tucker cries out for rectification.

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Japan: From High Culture to Samurai Warriors →

February 7, 2024

As “inscrutable” as the Japanese may at first appear, the more one learns about them the more one understands that common themes dominate human history everywhere.

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On This Date... →

February 7, 2024

No, not those dates!

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War Isn't Just a Western Notion →

January 28, 2024

A lust for power begets war, which begets disorder and destruction, which begets the “strong man” who then knocks heads together to bring order from the chaos.

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Happy Australia Day! →

January 24, 2024

On this Australia Day, I plan to raise a glass (of rum) in tribute to an extraordinary people.

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The Rise and Fall of Japan's First "Enlightenment" →

January 24, 2024

A little freedom goes a long way, as demonstrated by Japan’s “Muromachi Period.”

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The Failed Smear Against Horatio Nelson →

January 3, 2024

The Nelson Column must stand. Cancel culture and its twin evil of presentism must be torn down.

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Some Memorable Events of 2023 →

December 30, 2023

This essay originated with a question a good friend posed to me just days ago: “Name the top 5 things that happened to you in 2023,” he asked.

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A Merry Socialist Christmas? No Way! →

December 22, 2023

Many on the left argue that Christian teaching should spurn private property and endorse a socialist system of wealth redistribution. After all, isn’t that what those early Christians did? 

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The Plane That Landed Itself →

December 19, 2023

I wonder what Orville and Wilbur would think about the time when a plane landed in Montana without a pilot.

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Marcus Aurelius Didn't Have a High Opinion of Government Schools →

December 7, 2023

I have no desire to be a subject of any potentate but if I had to live under just one of the nearly 100 emperors of ancient Rome, I believe I would choose Marcus Aurelius.

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Indians, Property Rights, and Ayn Rand →

November 20, 2023

A festering question concerning Native Americans is that of property rights, the extent to which the various tribes and their individual members possessed them—both when white settlers first arrived and even today. 

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President Duda of Poland Bestows Upon Me the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland -- 11/11/23 →

November 17, 2023

November 11, 2023 was a day in Warsaw that I will never forget!

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Statement to the President and People of Poland, November 11, 2023 →

November 11, 2023

This is an award I shall proudly display as long as I live. I will use it to help tell the story of this nation’s brave people.

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Recent “Best of Web”

Featured
Government Shutdown Exposed the Biggest Lie in Education
Oct 31, 2025
Government Shutdown Exposed the Biggest Lie in Education
Oct 31, 2025

“For decades, teachers unions and the liberal allies they bankroll in D.C. have told the American people that without the federal bureaucracy, education would crumble,” writes Ryan Walters.

Oct 31, 2025
Millions Gather to Express Total Ignorance
Oct 18, 2025
Millions Gather to Express Total Ignorance
Oct 18, 2025

“We're going to join our voices together and let the message ring loud and clear that we are uneducated rubes in desperate need of a middle-school social studies class,” said one man. Problem is, they DID have middle-school social studies, at great expense to the taxpayer, and still turned out to be rubes. Maybe there’s a connection??

Oct 18, 2025
Argentina's Economy Didn't Collapse; It Roared Back to Life
Sep 25, 2025
Argentina's Economy Didn't Collapse; It Roared Back to Life
Sep 25, 2025

Writes Dionysis Partsinevelos, “Experts warned that electing a chainsaw-wielding libertarian outsider as president would push the country over the edge. Instead, the unthinkable happened: Argentina’s economy started working again.”

Sep 25, 2025

Recent Quotes

Featured
Murphy on America
Feb 11, 2025
Murphy on America
Feb 11, 2025

“The true meaning of America, you ask? It’s in a Texas rodeo, in a policeman’s badge, in the sound of laughing children, in a political rally, in a newspaper. ... In all these things, and many more, you’ll find America. In all these things, you’ll find freedom. And freedom is what America means to the world. And to me” — Actor, poet, and the most decorated American of World War II, Audie Murphy.

Feb 11, 2025
Mill on Freedom
Feb 1, 2025
Mill on Freedom
Feb 1, 2025

“The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental and spiritual. Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest.”

Feb 1, 2025
Best-Selling Japanese Novelist Eiji Yoshikawa on Do-Gooders
Mar 20, 2023
Best-Selling Japanese Novelist Eiji Yoshikawa on Do-Gooders
Mar 20, 2023

“There’s nothing more frightening than a half-baked do-gooder who knows nothing of the world but takes it upon himself to tell the world what’s good for it — from his book, Musashi.

Mar 20, 2023

Recent Blogs

Featured
From "I, Pencil" to "I, Smartphone"
Nov 6, 2025
From "I, Pencil" to "I, Smartphone"
Nov 6, 2025

The late Milton Friedman figures into this October 2025 video interview of me by Libertarianism.org. Topic: From “I, Pencil” to “I, Smartphone.”

Nov 6, 2025
Red Flags or Green Lights?
Nov 4, 2025
Red Flags or Green Lights?
Nov 4, 2025

Opposition arises every time new technology emerges. Often it is promoted by those whose livelihoods would be most directly affected. Their short-term, vested interest focus might grant them temporary security, but it does so at the expense of the well-being of everyone else.

Nov 4, 2025
I, Smartphone: Far Smarter Than You Ever Imagined
Oct 30, 2025
I, Smartphone: Far Smarter Than You Ever Imagined
Oct 30, 2025

You will be amazed at what goes into a handheld device that nearly everybody uses. Inspired by Leonard Read's famous piece, "I, Pencil," it will be a success if it becomes just a fraction of the classic Leonard's essay was.

Oct 30, 2025