Free Republic

February 7, 2003 OUR NATIONAL GOON SHOW by Thomas Fleming In an ancient Goon Show skit (aired on March 13, 1956), listeners were warned of an epidemic of boot explosions that resulted from the depletion of "scradje" in the earth's crust. The government issued an emergency warning over the radio: To prevent yourselves exploding, remove your boots, reverse the buttons on your socks and walk backwards, holding a gas-stove above your head. I do hope this is only a temporary measure. Good night. The Goons (Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe) probably intended a satire on the Cold War obsession...

LIONS AND HYENAS by Thomas Fleming A recent series of exchanges on LewRockwell.com reveal the fissure that divides libertarians from conservatives. More precisely, as our colleague Clyde Wilson points out, it divides one group of "chirping sectaries" within the libertarian coalition from all those conservatives and libertarians who understand that a civilized social order is, at the very least, an essential precondition for political and economic liberty. Beyond this limited Hayekian insight, conservatives have also understood that freedom of choice is a trivial gift, if the choice is between hamburger chains or the name brands of junk sold at Wal-Mart...

The Reluctant Anarchist by Joseph Sobran My arrival (very recently) at philosophical anarchism has disturbed some of my conservative and Christian friends. In fact, it surprises me, going as it does against my own inclinations. As a child I acquired a deep respect for authority and a horror of chaos. In my case the two things were blended by the uncertainty of my existence after my parents divorced and I bounced from one home to another for several years, often living with strangers. A stable authority was something I yearned for. Meanwhile, my public-school education imbued me with the sort...