FROM THE ARCHIVES.

• Position: Katherine Mangu-Ward, Brian Doherty, Rick Henderson and other editors

15 YEARS AGO

January 2007

NewSpacers have passed out of their whiny adolescent phase and into industrious young adulthood. Their aspirations are appropriately modest--mostly suborbital, just a quick trip to the edge of the atmosphere. They're setting aside deep space exploration and the moon for now (though they talk a big game about what's next), opting instead for reasonable, practical, short-term goals: quick hops for tourists and other near-to-Earth fun.

KATHERINE MANGU-WARD

Space Travel for Fun and Profit

20 YEARS AGO

January 2002

Why...is [the World Health Organization] concerned with seatbelts and smoking when the world's poor are still dying of measles and tuberculosis? Public choice analysis--which presumes that government agencies, like their private-sector counterparts, seek to grow their market share--suggests an answer: Since the WHO'S funding is mostly from First World governments, making them its relevant 'customer base,' it caters to First World concerns.

BRIAN DOHERTY

WHO Cares?

25 YEARS AGO

January 1997

From merit pay to charter schools to measures that would relax teaching certification requirements, the [National Education Association's] recalcitrance has earned it the title bestowed by Forbes in 1993: the National Extortion Association.

RICK HENDERSON

Schools of Thought

The good-government types are right when they say the problem is power. But the power they worry about is the wrong kind. The clout wielded by well-connected individuals, businesses, and advocacy groups is less troublesome than the coercive might of government. When the actions of legislators, agencies, and bureaucrats can bankrupt you, enrich you, or send you to prison, campaign contributions seem like a logical form of protection money.

RICK HENDERSON

Lippo Suction

40 YEARS AGO

January 1982

The geopolitical rationale of those urging a new draft is that it would send a signal to friend and foe alike that the United States is 'serious' about a strong defense. But what kind of message are we sending if we must resort to coercion to get people to defend us?

ROBERT W. POOLE JR.

The Draft Is No Solution

50 YEARS AGO

January 1972

In truth, the principal fact about Soviet Russia which stands out for any observer who looks even a little behind the appearances is the omnipresence, and the omnipotence, of government. The State is the sole owner...