The Digital Library of Liberty & Power
incorporating the Guillaumin Collection of the Great Books of Liberty
For over twenty years I have been working on making “the great books of liberty” (or “GBL”) accessible and more widely known . These GBL are a subset of the larger “great books” program pioneered by the University of Chicago under the direction of Mortimer Adler (1902-2001) back in the 1950s. Like many people growing … Read more
Youtube clip I recently had to go into hospital for bladder surgery and had to stay an extra night as I had bleeding and blood clots. I was hooked up to a diabolical hydraulic machine which pumped 66 liters of saline in and out of my bladder for a day and a half to “irrigate” … Read more
Further research into the origins and meaning of the national anthem, “Advance Australia Fair” (henceforth AAF), is revealing some interesting facts. The Author: Peter Dodds McCormick (c. 1834-1916) The author Peter Dodds McCormick (c. 1834-1916) (his nom de plume was “Amicus” – so shouldn’t this be “nom de tune”?) was a Scottish immigrant who came … Read more
A shorter version of this essay appeared on the American Institute for Economic Research website. Titian, “Sisyphus” (1548-49). Introduction There are several deep intellectual and cultural issues which underly the bad policies being introduced by governments all around the world in response to the present crisis. This is only the most recent crisis in a … Read more
“Unfortunately, no one listens to economists” (1852) I have written some short essays on the following topics. The idea is to dip into the past to see what I can find which is relevant to things which are going on today. Jeremy Bentham on rule by “disinterested experts” or “the fallacy of authority” (1824) here … Read more
Something to cheer us up on a bright and sunny day. Observation Post I am back at my post observing the traffic on Pittwater. Yes there is traffic in spite of the lock-down and $1,000 on the spot fines. I am taking note of the boats’ ID numbers to make a full report to the … Read more