Author: Walter Block

Defining the Boundaries of Free Speech: Threats, Libel, and Blackmail in Society

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of free speech. It is imperative for society and even more important on campus. After all, the latter is the place where ideas and the search for the truth are held to be particularly precious. Without untrammeled free speech, it is difficult to see how this mission can […]

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King to Gay: Universities Dismiss Black Plagiarism

Claudine Gay is the present poster child for plagiarism. Although presidents of Harvard University are never too far from public attention at any time, heightened focus on her came about based on her views on anti-Semitism and free speech. A long-time advocate of “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” she saw nothing contrary to Harvard principles in […]

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From Sexual Segregation to Gender Integration

Once upon a time, long, long ago, in a land that now seems alien to us, sexual segregation was the order of the day. There were men’s bathrooms, and there were women’s bathrooms, and never the twain would meet. Dormitories at colleges were separated by gender. Strictly so. Some were for males; others were for […]

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Affirmative Action for Intellectual Diversity?

Give credit where credit is due. The campus lefties are now whining, and they are doing an excellent job of it. Nay, superlative. What is the complaint? It is that elected state officials, governors, and legislators are sticking their snouts where they do not belong. Namely, they have the audacity to dictate what should and […]

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Israel is an Apartheid Country? No

What is apartheid? If we take this word literally, etymologically, the “apart” element indicates a separation, while the “theid” aspect refers to the practice of extrication of one set of people from another. There are separatist movements in Canada—some citizens of Quebec wish to go their separate ways from the rest of the country. Some […]

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On Gene Editing and the Free Market

In December, Dr. He Jiankui was sentenced to a three-year prison term, fined $430,000, and fired from his position as Associate Professor of Biology at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China. Did he grope a patient? No. Poison a client? Again, no. According to the official Chinese Xinhua News Agency, Dr. […]

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