Free market defenders are often great at pointing out the unintended consequences of U.S. government intervention in the economy. But they often overlook the unintended consequences of U.S. government intervention abroad. As the War on Terror escalates in the wake of the recent ISIS terrorist attacks in San Bernardino and Paris, it’s important to remember […]
Today is Human Rights Day, a day when we commemorate the respect for individual rights, which are largely responsible for the human flourishing enjoyed in recent centuries. In the U.S., human rights are enshrined in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They guarantee basic rights like freedom of expression, self-defense, and due process. Historically, […]
The festive season is underway and for many people that means an increased consumption of alcohol. Staff holiday parties, friends’ Christmas parties, and — of course — New Year’s Eve are all classic occasions to knock back a few drinks and celebrate the season. But as professor Antony Davies explains in the video below, many […]
The following post originally appeared on the Cato blog on December 2nd, 2015. The following is an excerpt. Head over to Cato for the whole post. U.S. military personnel are heading to Iraq and Syria. The administration continues its slow progression to renewed ground combat. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter informed Congress that a “specialized expeditionary […]
It’s that time again: time to send out your applications for spring internships! So why not intern with us this spring? Learn Liberty is a project of the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS). Beyond the online videos, programs, and more that Learn Liberty provides, IHS helps students learn more about and spread the ideas of […]
The following blog post by Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute originally appeared on Cato’s blog on December 1st, 2015. Read an excerpt below. Backpage offers 11 categories of ads, primarily facilitating mundane transactions like used-lawnmower sales and vacation rentals but also with an “adult” section broken down into titillating subcategories such as “dom[ination] & […]
In the wake of his passing, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on the contributions of my mentor Douglass C. North (Nobel Prize winner in 1993). In the last few months, I have been thinking especially about how we can understand debates about innovations like “Big Box” retail and ridesharing in light of some […]
Learn Liberty: First, when did you join the Learn Liberty team and what is your role? Cassie Whalen: I joined the Learn Liberty team in September of 2014 as an intern, but I loved working here so much that I didn’t want to leave. Luckily I got hired, so now I write for various Learn […]
We take a trip down memory lane to look at one of our older and perhaps more controversial videos, where we tackle the question of the wage gap. Take a look at the video and let us know what you think.
Mary Wollstonecraft was a prominent figure in the first wave American feminist movement and most famously known for her very libertarian text, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.” For a more in depth look into Wollstonecraft and her contemporaries be sure to check out our On Demand program on Feminism!
From gaining the rights to vote and to own property to contemporary issues like wage gaps and slut shaming, feminism has been a topic of debate for decades. Some argue that the best way to give women equal rights and opportunities is to enact government policies which mandate the equal treatment of women, or affirmative […]
As the holiday season begins, you might be getting a lot of emails about Black Friday sales. Over time, the store openings for many retailers on Black Friday has been getting earlier and earlier, even to the point of stores opening on Thanksgiving. Check out the chart below for opening hours over time for some […]
That’s because nobody has been able to count the total number of federal laws on the books. A post at the Library of Congress’s blog put it this way: At the reference desk, we are frequently asked to estimate the number of federal laws in force. However, trying to tally this number is nearly impossible. […]
The following post by Ilya Somin, Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law, appeared at the Volokh Conspiracy on November 25, 2015. Below is an excerpt. Do they have the legal authority to do so? Under current Supreme Court precedent, the answer is a clear “no,” though things might be different under the […]
This post originally appeared on Don Boudreaux’s blog Cafe Hayek on November 25th, 2015. Below is an excerpt: But a well-taught principles course – a course taught, for example, by the likes of Deirdre McCloskey, by my colleague Walter Williams, by Dwight Lee, or by the late Armen Alchian – is one that teaches, and […]
The world is still reeling from the recent ISIS terrorist attack in Paris that left 130 dead and 352 injured. Many are left wondering, why did this happen? and what are the ramifications? In the video below, George Mason University professor Christopher Coyne attempts to answer these questions in 90 seconds. He argues that the […]
Did World War II really end the Great Depression? Does the minimum wage actually help low-income workers? Do violent video games cause violence? Modern society perpetuates many myths; in economics, history, and even personal behavior. Some sound plausible, and others are simply repeated so often that people accept them as true without really thinking. To […]
What might be reasons to restrict immigration to the United States? Can we justifiably refuse entry to immigrants on the fear that they will receive welfare but not work in return? Would that, then, justify kicking American citizens out of the country if they do not meet a certain standard? Give us your two cents […]
Did you know that selling milk for less than the government’s imposed price floor could land you in jail? Prison time isn’t the only drawback of minimum prices for milk. Prices are the miraculous mechanism by which complex market information about supply and demand are communicated throughout the economy. When government policies artificially raise or […]
What makes something valuable? Today, we know that value is in the eye of the beholder—that is, value is subjective. But for many years, people subscribed to the theory that the value of goods came from the amount of work that went into creating them: the “labor theory of value”. Professor Steven Horwitz explains it […]
In this video Professor Aeon Skoble explains how market competition and spontaneous order result in the emergence of a civil order that discourages stealing and other harmful behaviors. This concept is often overlooked or ignored or just plainly misunderstood by critics of free markets. Can you think of other areas where competitive markets results in […]
In The God of the Machine, journalist Isabel Paterson (January 22, 1886, – January 10, 1961) offers an original theory of history based on the metaphor of the machine, with humanity as the dynamo. That’s right: one might venture to call this “steampunk political theory.” As one of the “big three” publications of feminist-individualist thought […]
Does a ‘social contract’ between the people and their government truly exist? If so, what is contained in the social contract, and does it justify the size and scope of our current government?. If not, what is the best justification for government, and does it apply to our current government?