Freeman Ideas on Liberty

Those who like politics and don't mind bias will like Freeman: Ideas on Liberty. This publication comes to you courtesy of the Foundation for Economic Education and it offers an intellectual take on some of the pressing issues of the day. These issues are usually economic in nature, like problems with regulations, the explosion of the national debt and its ramifications, and other like topics. But the articles can sometimes cross into the social and philosophical realms as well, with columns on subjects like homeschooling, morality of war, homelessness, and other social topics.

The Freeman is very different from your standard newsstand reading for countless reasons. First, it touches on subjects that are not often talked about in most magazines. Second, it often offers a perspective that is very different from mainstream magazines. In many ways, its articles are more like those found in a newspaper, since they tend to cover current events and economics/politics. However, unlike the typical American publication, the articles in The Freeman are more intelligent and require a higher level of understanding. Most of the articles in The Freeman would not be included in the average newspaper because they are a little too deep and require a little too much thinking and this is precisely why I like this magazine as much as I do. But most important and obvious among the differences between The Freeman and the average magazine or newspaper is the opinions presented. The Freeman and its many contributors do not hold back when it comes to opinions. They do not attempt to offer a balanced viewpoint or try to sound politically correct. The articles in this magazine are politically charged and they take a consistently libertarian position on all matters, both economic and social. Most every article is a persuasion piece, with the journalists stating in an intellectual and convincing way why their opinion is correct and everyone else is wrong.

One fact about The Freeman that I wish was different is its low number of pages. But there is one valid reason for this: Lack of advertisements. In a typical issue, there might be two small ads at the most, and these ads are usually for the Foundation for Economic Education or ads for books that share the magazine's economic philosophy. This is very nice for those who get tired of flipping through the pages of most magazines and seeing an advertisement on every other page. The Freeman is paid for by the members of the Foundation for Economic Education and through private subscriptions and while the price is higher per issue than most other magazines, the reader gets the enjoyment of having a magazine that is almost completely adfree and dedicated to economic and political talk.

The Freeman is, overall, a solidly intellectual magazine that I will continue to read each month. It offers stimulating reading material from a perspective not often found in magazine publications and it is not a magazine for those who like to read unbiased viewpoints. It would be nice if the issues were a little longer, but The Freeman is still a magazine I recommend to everyone who likes some thoughtprovoking reading material without all the advertisements.