History shows plenty of radicals who pushed too hard. We have plenty on today’s world stage
In the summer and autumn of 1789, the French National Assembly overturned 1,000 years of law and custom to produce a modern constitutional democracy. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen spelled out all the new conditions of civil life: the abolition of feudalism and aristocratic titles, freedom from arbitrary arrest,…
We can never forget the love of freedom and the demand for the respect of the rights of each individual that brought about its fall
Nov. 9 marked the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. This was most significant global event of my lifetime (I was born in 1962) and it’s worth remembering for many reasons. First, it’s significant to note why the wall fell. It simply couldn’t withstand the human desire for freedom. Throughout the communist…
Our perspective in marking Remembrance Day is definitely at odds with views of the day, but that doesn't mean the sacrifices weren't worthy
As rhetorical formulations go, ”the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month” packs a formidable punch. Signifying the coming into effect of the armistice that ended the First World War, the words have a striking resonance: eliciting solemnity, dignity and the sense of something very important. Much more so than VE Day or…By supporting cherished freedom of expression, Silver may have cost the league billions of dollars. It's a rare and welcome example of standing true to your principles
What more do people want from National Basketball Association commissioner Adam Silver? It seems nearly everyone – from the far right of the political spectrum to the far left – is upset with the NBA’s response to China’s hissy fit over Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey's support of Hong Kong protesters. Just days before…
How could I not be grateful that I have the freedom to question the practices of my government through direct contact with politicians and through the press?
I always get very excited at election time. This is the moment when we can freely choose who will represent us, the moment when we play a vital role in the direction of our government. As I read statistics on voter turnout, however, I’m confused as to why others don’t share my enthusiasm. Perhaps I…
The rule of law and its protection of property form the bedrock of economic freedom, but pressures from mainland China put those attributes in peril
By James Gwartney and Fred McMahon The Fraser Institute In the Fraser Institute’s latest Economic Freedom of the World ranking, Hong Kong again tops the list as the world’s freest economy. It has occupied this position almost without exception through the past half century – but will it remain there? The foundation for Hong Kong’s…
Every Canadian has the fundamental right to think and believe freely. But an Ontario court has sided with the suppression of the individual
Imagine being a feminist physician unshakable in your conviction that girls and women must be protected from patriarchal oppression. Now picture being asked to assist with a sex-selection abortion because daddy doesn’t want a female child and mother consents to his wishes. Up until May 15, reasonable Canadians would concur that you had every right…
It employs its great military, economic and seductive power to advance repression around the world
As we watch the chaos on the streets of Venezuela, it’s apt to revisit the latest Human Freedom Index, published in part by the Fraser Institute. The index highlights an old danger re-emerging: authoritarian seducers, regimes that promote their model of despotism internationally through charm, money, power, bribery, threats and violence. Since the rise of…
Economic freedom liberates people from dependence on the powerful so they can build better lives without fear
Is the world losing its taste for freedom as we move further into 2019? Two recent reports confirm the perception that freedom is under attack globally. The Human Freedom Index, a joint project of Canada’s Fraser Institute, U.S.-based Cato Institute and Germany’s Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, measures freedom on a zero to 10 scale,…
If you have an opinion, speak it out loud. Form a circle to discuss or promote it. Tell the politicians who represent you
You have opinions. I know you do. You have opinions about immigration, gun crime, people who let their cats run loose, and the prospect of a return of Major League Baseball to Montreal. You have deep thoughts about the Indigenous, levels of taxation, transsexuality and the state of the roads in your town. And I…