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It might seem logical to cause a child pain in order to teach him what pain feels like, so that he'll refrain from hurting himself or others. Unfortunately, when a caretaker intentionally hurts his child, he's doing far more than teaching him what pain feels like, as well as ignoring the alternatives to teaching him to be safe and to keep his hands to himself. I'll explore both scenarios to see why spanking is unnecessary. Read the rest at EVC.

Many parents justify their use of spanking and punishments as a way to prevent what they perceive as misbehavior. They believe that children won't learn to behave properly if their misbehavior is not met with undesirable consequences. Children dislike being hit, so it's believed that children will cease behaving improperly in order to avoid getting hit. Let's put aside any empirical evidence on the effectiveness of spanking for this reason, and instead focus on why it's unnecessary. Read the rest at EVC.

Here we are at the conclusion of this series. I began by defining several important concepts, each of which I've used here and there, except for moral outrage. (Alright, I used it once.) That is the topic of this final installment, and the culmination of my thesis on how to build a culture of liberty. Let's go. Read the rest at EVC.

The practice of spanking children in particular, and child punishment in general, was abandoned in my family in August of 2011. We've never looked back. Sure my children have had their hard moments, but I've managed to find better ways to help them through than with spanking or time-outs. In every case, I either found and dealt with the unmet need that caused the problem, or failing that, got them through their trouble with empathy, compassion, and humor. I am now completely unconvinced that spanking, or any punishment of children, is ever necessary. So I thought I'd write this six-part series examining the reasons people give for these deplorable practices, with emphasis on the worst form of child punishment, spanking. Let's begin! Read the rest at EVC.

In January 2015, LPL sold 541 books across North America and Europe. Here are the top 5: 84 copies,  For a New Liberty  - Murray Rothbard 34 copies,  Principles of Economics  - Carl Menger 29 copies, Economics for Real People  - Gene Callahan 24 copies,  Our Enemy, the State   - Albert Jay Nock 17 copies, Chaos Theory  - Robert Murphy LPL's all-time top 10 bestsellers are: For a New Liberty - Murray Rothbard Our Enemy, the State - Albert Jay Nock Principles of Economics - Carl Menger The Mystery of Banking  - Murray Rothbard Economics for Real People  - Gene Callahan Fascism vs. Capitalism - Lew Rockwell Bourbon for Breakfast - Jeffrey Tucker Great Wars and Great Leaders - Ralph Raico The Politics of Obedience - Etienne de la Boetie Economic Thought before Adam Smith - Murray Rothbard