The newest Star Wars movie is smashing box office records. But it’s not just a science-fiction tale of lightsabers and Sith lords. “The Force Awakens” continues the story of a democratic republic that succumbs to ruthless dictatorship when its citizens give up their civil liberties. Promising security, Emperor Palpatine didn’t simply proclaim himself supreme ruler—he […]
States compete with each other to attract film studios with subsidies that make the cost of filming cheaper. While politicians sell these subsidies as good for economic development, they often cost taxpayers quite a bit of money. This is one of the reasons that many shows and movies which take place in Washington, D.C., like […]
While students are enjoying their break from classes, New Hampshire legislators are standing up for their free speech rights on campus. A pair of state representatives recently introduced two bills to protect academic freedom at New Hampshire’s public colleges and universities. They’re not alone: Learn Liberty has launched a new website encouraging students to #SpeakFreely […]
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education seeks summer interns to aid them in their work defending free speech and individual rights on college campuses across the country. The paid internship is located in FIRE’s Philadelphia, PA headquarters and runs from early June to late July. For more information and to apply, check out FIRE’s […]
The following post appeared on Don Boudreaux’s blog, Cafe Hayek, on December 20th, 2015. There’s been a lot of reporting recently about a new Pew Research Center report misleadingly titled “The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground” and even more misleadingly subtitled “No longer the majority and falling behind financially.” But here’s a picture of Pew’s […]
You might have come across this recent article which argues that destroying the Death Star in Star Wars would have economically crippled the galaxy. There are a number of problems with the article, as Janet Neilson at the Foundation for Economic Education points out. The three major causes for concern are: Mistaking the cost of […]
F.A. Hayek was highly critical of central banking and of government’s proclaimed interest in holding a monopoly on the issuance of money. Hayek eventually turned his opinions on money and free banking into an economic treatise in the book “The Denationalization of Money“. Some even say Hayek predicted the emergence of Bitcoin nearly three decades […]
Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have never met a tax they didn’t like. They argue that it will balance the budget and act as though it was a silver bullet to the U.S. government’s fiscal woes. But will taxing the rich really fix the budget deficit? Professor Antony Davies tackles that question in this Learn […]
Learn Liberty: First, when did you join the Learn Liberty team and what is your role? Eric Andreasen: I joined the Learn Liberty team as a marketing intern in 2013. In addition to my duties as Marketing Coordinator, I manage the organization’s social media accounts. LL: How did you find your way to the philosophy […]
Alcohol laws are some of the most headache-inducing rules on the planet. Recently, AL.com ran an article about Sunday alcohol sales in Alabama with notes about how you can buy alcohol in some places on Sundays, but only (say) for on-premises consumption. Or only if you’re a restaurant or a hotel. Or only for off-premises […]
The following is an excerpt from Don Boudreaux on his blog, Cafe Hayek. Be sure to click through and read the whole post. Deirdre [McCloskey] acknowledges that a great deal of exploitation has occurred throughout history – exploitation that enriched some people and impoverished others. (Indeed, such exploitation continues to occur in various forms and degrees.) […]
Thalidomide was a drug marketed in the 1950s in West Germany for the treatment of morning sickness and other nausea in pregnant women. However, thousands of women who took thalidomide had babies who were born with limb deformities, and many of those children also died shortly after birth. Can the government justifiably keep thalidomide out […]
Star Wars, whose next installment opens this week, includes many important themes. One of the most relevant today is that a democratic republic is precious thing. If it is not guarded, it can quickly turn into a dictatorship. People often forget that pre-Nazi Germany was a constitutional democracy and that Hitler came to power by […]
The next installment of Star Wars premieres Friday. The Star Wars franchise tells the story of a republic that falls into a dictatorship because its citizens desire safety and are willing to sacrifice civil liberties in response to fear. Sound familiar? Western countries, including the U.S., have sacrificed hard won civil liberties as a way […]
Preston Cooper over at Economics 21 has written an excellent piece about minimum wage’s effects on employment. Economics teaches us that when you raise the price of a good, the amount of that good which is demanded goes down. This is true whether the thing for sale is ketchup or labor. Supporters of the minimum […]
If you haven’t checked us out on Periscope make sure to stay tuned this week, to discuss our new video releases and help us choose our next video! This week Learn Liberty will be streaming live on Periscope on: Wednesday, December 16th @ 2pm EST – Learn Liberty Video Pitch Meeting (Help us choose choose […]
Want to intern at an organization that’s working to advance the principles of freedom this summer? Want to get paid to do it? Consider applying to the Koch Internship Program. Not only will the program pay for your internship at a liberty-advancing organization, you’ll learn valuable skills for your professional development through projects, reading groups, […]
Over at the Foundation for Economic Education, Jeffrey Tucker has broken down the political allegories of the Hunger Games. With the long-awaited finale of the Hunger Games series just recently released, it’s a great time to consider the political implications of the story, especially considering the series’ popularity with young people. Tucker touches on many […]
Learn Liberty: First, when did you join the Learn Liberty team and what is your role? Daniel Contreras: I came on board in June 2014, I am an Online Education Assistant working on the programs team. LL: How did you find your way to the philosophy of liberty? Are there any thinkers in particular that […]
You most likely grew up thinking FDR’s New Deal played a pivotal role in ending the Great Depression, however as professor Stephen Davies points out in this video, there are many myths surrounding the Great Depression were the numbers don’t add up: Top 3 myths about the great depression? Are there any other “myths” you […]
This quote was taken from Ludwig von Mises’s work Planning for Freedom: Let the Market System Work, which is a collection of essays and addresses on inflation and government intervention in the economy. In this work, as in others, von Mises maintains that government interventions in monetary and commercial affairs are destructive to the economy, regardless […]
In order to label a country “capitalist” there must be complete freedom of association and private property. There is a limited government in place, but the government would be a referee, not a player. It would be outrageous to watch ESPN and hear, “The ref had a great game! He sacked the quarterback twice and […]
Have you ever wondered how to save for retirement and avoid debt? Well, this is the place for you. If you’re drowning in debt (and who isn’t, right?), unfortunately doing bank heists and selling crystal meth are out as solutions. So how do you get out? Join economist Art Carden of Samford University as he […]
Payday lenders usually give out money in hours or less, but require as much as 3000% interest on repayments. Does the government have a responsibility to protect their citizens from payday lenders? What are the economic effects of outlawing loans with high interest rates?