Freedom and Slavery

More important than the size of government is the kind of power it wields over its people — and whether it exercises arbitrary power over others, writes David Boaz. So people who wax eloquent about the golden age of liberty in early America (pointing to low taxes and fewer government agencies) are overlooking some key elements. “Slavery and conscription, among other things that marred parts of our American past, loom very large,” he writes.