Michael Austin

Professor-turned-administrator and political commentator. Author of six books including "That's Not What They Meant! Reclaiming the Founding Fathers from the American Right" (Prometheus Books).

Why Conservative Utopias Don’t Work any Better than Liberal Ones

It turns out that Ayn Rand believed in Utopia too—what she described as the “Utopia of Greed.” This was my big takeaway when I read Atlas Shrugged last year

By Michael Austin

February 19, 2014

Why Conservative Utopias Don’t Work any Better than Liberal Ones

Tonight We're Going to Party Like It's 1699

By every objective measure, this is a good time to be really rich in America. The federal tax burden is at one of its lowest levels in history. The Supreme

By Michael Austin

February 15, 2014

Tonight We're Going to Party Like It's 1699

By every objective measure, this is a good time to be really rich in America. The federal tax burden is at one of its lowest levels in history. The Supreme

By Michael Austin

February 15, 2014

There Are No Religious Objections to Treating People with Dignity

Tuesday, the Kansas House or Representatives passed a bill HB 2453, with the short title “Protecting religious freedom regarding marriage.” The bill is now being debated in the Senate, where

By Michael Austin

February 13, 2014

There Are No Religious Objections to Treating People with Dignity

Tuesday, the Kansas House or Representatives passed a bill HB 2453, with the short title “Protecting religious freedom regarding marriage.” The bill is now being debated in the Senate, where

By Michael Austin

February 13, 2014

"Creation vs Evolution" Is Not a Debate -- It's Two

My hat is off to the Science Guy. Even though most of his fellow scientists told him not to debate the merits of evolution with the noted young-earth creationist, Ken

By Michael Austin

February 6, 2014

"Creation vs Evolution" Is Not a Debate -- It's Two

My hat is off to the Science Guy. Even though most of his fellow scientists told him not to debate the merits of evolution with the noted young-earth creationist, Ken

By Michael Austin

February 6, 2014

Why Should the Government Fix Economic Inequality? Because the Government Created It

"As riches increase and accumulate in few hands. . . the tendency of things will be to depart from the republican standard."--Alexander Hamilton at the New York Ratifying Convention,

By Michael Austin

February 2, 2014

Why Should the Government Fix Economic Inequality? Because the Government Created It

"As riches increase and accumulate in few hands. . . the tendency of things will be to depart from the republican standard."--Alexander Hamilton at the New York Ratifying Convention,

By Michael Austin

February 2, 2014

Thomas Jefferson and the Great Executive Overreach

You have probably heard by now that Barack Obama intends to raise the minimum wage for employees hired to fulfill new government contracts--and that he will do this under his

By Michael Austin

January 30, 2014

Thomas Jefferson and the Great Executive Overreach

You have probably heard by now that Barack Obama intends to raise the minimum wage for employees hired to fulfill new government contracts--and that he will do this under his

By Michael Austin

January 30, 2014

Faust in the Free Market

Faust Adam Smith was right and Karl Marx was wrong. Free markets are much better than command economies at creating wealth and distributing goods and services. The 20th century’s

By Michael Austin

January 29, 2014