10 Signs That Things Are Moving in the Direction of Liberty

1. The Seastead Revolution Begins to Take Shape (July 30, 2012) - The Seasteading Institute recently held a conference in San Francisco bringing together entrepreneurs, engineers, lawyers, investors, and others whose collective effort will be necessary to turn theory into practice. The group is offering the Poseidon Award for the first genuine seastead and hopes to award the prize within three years.

2. Black Market Entrepreneurs Matter to the World Economy (December 16, 2011) - The globe’s gray and black markets have grown during the international recession, adding jobs, increasing sales, and improving the lives of hundreds of millions. Half the workers of the world are part of them. By 2020, that will be up to two-thirds.

3. Self-Reported Gun Ownership in U.S. Is Highest Since 1993 (October 26, 2011) - Forty-seven percent of American adults currently report that they have a gun in their home or elsewhere on their property. This is up from 41% a year ago and is the highest Gallup has recorded since 1993.

4. Record-Low 26% in U.S. Favor Handgun Ban (October 26, 2011) - A record-low 26% of Americans favor a legal ban on the possession of handguns in the United States other than by police and other authorized people. When Gallup first asked Americans this question in 1959, 60% favored banning handguns. But since 1975, the majority of Americans have opposed such a measure, with opposition around 70% in recent years.

5. Record-High 50% of Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana Use (October 17, 2011) - When Gallup first asked about legalizing marijuana, in 1969, 12% of Americans favored it, while 84% were opposed. Support remained in the mid-20s in Gallup measures from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, but has crept up since, passing 30% in 2000 and 40% in 2009 before reaching the 50% level in this year's Oct. 6-9 annual Crime survey.

6. Americans Express Historic Negativity Toward U.S. Government (September 26, 2011) - Americans' sense that the federal government poses an immediate threat to individuals' rights and freedoms is at a new high, 49%, since Gallup began asking the question using this wording in 2003.

7. Americans Choose Gold as the Best Long-Term Investment (August 25, 2011) - Thirty-four percent of Americans say gold is the best long-term investment. Real estate (19%) and stocks (17%) are distant second choices. The proliferation and basic devaluation of paper currencies has people talking about gold as a currency and pricing it accordingly.

8. Home Schooling Grows In Popularity In America (March 16, 2011) - The ranks of home-schooled students swelled to more than 2 million last year, by some research estimates, compared with about 850,000 home schooled a decade ago.

9. Distrust in U.S. Media Edges Up to Record High (September 29, 2010) - For the fourth straight year, the majority of Americans say they have little or no trust in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly. The 57% who now say this is a record high by one percentage point. These findings also further confirm a separate Gallup poll that found little confidence in newspapers and television specifically.

10. Federal Reserve at the Bottom of Agency Ratings (July 27, 2009) - Federal Reserve Board is the worst reviewed of nine agencies and departments rated in the July 10-12 Gallup Poll.