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Lawrence W. Reed

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Lessons From Prohibition →

March 26, 2024

Did you know there were 32,000 “speakeasies” in New York City at the height of Prohibition? More on Prohibition here too: https://fee.org/articles/the-volstead-act-a-centennial-to-note-not-toast/.

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What State Boasts the World's Record for the Largest Snowflake? →

March 26, 2024

The word “snowflake” has taken on a new meaning in recent years.

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Liberty and Character: Two Sides of the Same Coin →

March 19, 2024

What’s the connection between the two? A lecture for the Hammond Institute for Free Enterprise at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri — March 14, 2024.

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Remembering Hayek's Remarkable Nobel Lecture →

March 13, 2024

Reducing complex human actions and interactions to numerical expression gives off airs of precision and deep sophistication. In fact, however, such efforts are usually nothing more than oversimplification magnified by hutzpah.

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Two Indians With Scottish Names →

March 12, 2024

During the 18th Century, Scots and Creeks were the principal players in a thriving transatlantic trade in which deerskins and furs from Georgia were exchanged for various European goods.

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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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Recent “Best of Web”

Featured
Rob from the Rich 100% and You Still Won’t be Able to Pay the Bills
September 10, 2026
Rob from the Rich 100% and You Still Won’t be Able to Pay the Bills
September 10, 2026

Sell the yachts. Sell the stocks. Sell the businesses. Empty the bank accounts.

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September 10, 2026
Schools Abandoned Teaching Perseverance and Personal Responsibility
September 7, 2026
Schools Abandoned Teaching Perseverance and Personal Responsibility
September 7, 2026

Education should prepare students for reality, not shelter them from it. A damning indictment of the schools.

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September 7, 2026
Suspicions Of Ayatollah's Death Rise After His Name Appears On California Voter Rolls
September 2, 2026
Suspicions Of Ayatollah's Death Rise After His Name Appears On California Voter Rolls
September 2, 2026

U.S. intelligence officials had previously been unable to assess with any level of certainty whether Khamenei was still alive, despite his prolonged absence from public view. Those uncertainties quickly faded after analysts discovered that he had registered as a Democrat in Los Angeles, Alameda, and Santa Clara counties.

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September 2, 2026

Recent Quotes

Featured
Reed on Socialist Thinking
September 2, 2026
Reed on Socialist Thinking
September 2, 2026

Socialists think there’s no such thing as a bad poor person or a good rich person. Among socialists, it seems there’s no such thing as a thinking person — Lawrence W. Reed.

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September 2, 2026
Murphy on America
February 11, 2025
Murphy on America
February 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.

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February 11, 2025
Mill on Freedom
February 1, 2025
Mill on Freedom
February 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.”

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February 1, 2025

Recent Blogs

Featured
Britain Should Spurn the Reparations Panhandlers
September 5, 2026
Britain Should Spurn the Reparations Panhandlers
September 5, 2026

I doubt there’s a soul on the planet who never had an ancestor who was victimized by somebody, but that’s no reason to find the victim’s innocent living descendants and make them pay for it.

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September 5, 2026
Poisoned History
September 2, 2026
Poisoned History
September 2, 2026

A country that uses its tax dollars to distort and vilify its own history is likely to embrace stupid ideas and elect a lot of bad people. The Smithsonian, unfortunately, is just the tip of the iceberg.

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September 2, 2026
Three Cheers for Dolly!
September 2, 2026
Three Cheers for Dolly!
September 2, 2026

Just days after she was laid to rest, we learned that somebody didn’t like Dolly.

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September 2, 2026