This week has been marked by devastating illustrations of why so much of the public distrusts the institutions of the state. On Tuesday, the FBI announced that, in spite of numerous legal precedents otherwise, Hillary Clinton would not be indicted for her mishandling of classified material. The incident was simply the latest example of how the laws of this country do not apply equally for those in power. As Ryan McMaken wrote: “No expense is ever spared when prosecution is politically expedient. When the target is a high-ranking member of the government class, however, then only the most delicate treatment will do.”
Tragically the week ended in violence, with five officers killed in Dallas Thursday during a protest sparked by highly publicized instances of men being killed during interactions with the police. Unfortunately these incidents and their aftermath are likely to only escalate tensions between law enforcement and citizens, further incensed by the withering away of civil liberties and the power enjoyed by un-Constitutional government agencies.
In light of Thurday night’s shooting of police officers in Dallas, Mises Weekends features a talk Jeff gave two years ago entitled “Whatever happened to Peace officers?”
The growth of the state, the militarization of police forces, and the increase in violence both by and against officers are interrelated — but as libertarians we should avoid the easy emotional clichés and sound-bite answers. We should be better than the left and right, who hijack every tragedy in service of their narrative.
Rodney King famously asked “Why can’t we all just get along”? It starts with dialing back state power.
And in case you missed any of them, here are the articles featured this week on the Mises Wire:
- Top Ten Most-Read Articles in June
- Brexit Shows Why Central Planning Won’t Work by Jason Morgan
- Abolish the FBI by Ryan McMaken
- The Supreme Court’s New Attack on the Fourth Amendment by Tate Fegley
- Social Darwinism and the Free Market by David Gordon
- Why Profitability Matters, and Market Forces Are Not Random by Frank Shostak
- “Gun Violence” as a Rhetorical Trick in the Gun-Control Debate by Ryan McMaken
- Was Mises a Cynic? by Paweł Nowakowski
- Why Hillary Clinton Wasn’t Indicted by Ryan McMaken
- Has Innovation Reached Its Breaking Point? by Per Bylund
- Elizabeth Warren Turns a Blind Eye to the Central Bank by Patrick Trombly
- The Right Government Policy Toward Entrepreneurship by Peter G. Klein
