Learn Liberty Blog
We tackle big questions about what makes society free or prosperous and how we can improve the world we live in.
Blog Posts in Focus
Free trade lets us turn corn into cars.
January 25, 2018 | Bryan Caplan
From the American point of view, technology and trade are the same. From the human point of view, trade is better.
The organic industry is a case study in rent-seeking.
February 5, 2018 | Henry I. Miller
If businesses get government subsidies to make their products cheaper, or “capture” regulation to hurt their competitors, that’s rent seeking.
The politics of "The Last Jedi"
December 20, 2017 | Ilya Somin
One Resistance fighter says that the movement will win “not by fighting what we hate, but by saving what we love.” But what do they love?
Blog Posts
It’s useless to yell at racists. So what can we do about them?
August 22, 2017 |
Shaming may be successful at shutting people up. But changing their minds? That’s a different task entirely.
Diary of a stupid jerk: why we need free speech on campus
August 21, 2017 |
Like just about every other male between the ages of 13 and 25, I had tendencies, habits, and dispositions that could be charitably described as self-absorbed and boorish.
Ugly, senseless, hateful speech — it’s still not violence
August 18, 2017 |
The health effects of speech are inherently subjective. So who decides what speech is “harmful”?
The first federal criminal case on female genital mutilation will test the limits of religious liberty.
August 17, 2017 |
Six people in Michigan — including two doctors, two assistants, and the girls’ mothers — have been charged with participating in the mutilation of two seven-year-old girls.
Why you vote for corn syrup even though it might be killing you
August 16, 2017 |
The US government spends billions of dollars a year subsidizing American farms, providing massive benefits for some farmers and dispersing the costs among millions of taxpayers.
Expert Answers on the Drug War: Highlights from Prof. Jeff Miron's AMA
August 15, 2017 |
Last week, Professor Jeffrey Miron joined us on Reddit for an “Ask Me Anything” conversation as part of the Learn Liberty Reddit AMA Series. The conversation focused on Dr. Miron’s 30+ years of study on the effects of drug criminalization. Check out some of the highlights below. GPSBach While there seems to be an emerging consensus on […]
If you want to be free, it's time to break through your own resistance.
August 14, 2017 |
You can’t overcome Resistance as long as you think the problem is external.… I was too tired, too busy, too upset by events of the day—the self-deception goes on.
What is “risk preference,” you ask? Consider the waffle…
August 11, 2017 |
It looked … delicious. I was sure that it would taste delicious, too. But eating it would have been a bad idea for two reasons.
Why new mothers usually don't sue doctors who violate their rights
August 10, 2017 |
Lawsuits are the only weapons most ordinary people have to protect their rights against powerful institutions.
You’re probably going to rate your next AirBnB at 5 stars after reading this
August 9, 2017 | Charity-Joy Acchiardo
I found piles of laundry in the bedroom, cans and bottles in the yard, and construction materials everywhere — not at all what the pictures had depicted.
Capitalism could save lives with the most boring innovation of all
August 8, 2017 | Karol Boudreaux
A combination of drought, political instability and poor policies is threatening the lives of thousands. Fortunately, for some herders, insurance products are helping to make a desperate situation a little bit better.
Why you’re just as greedy as a corporate CEO
August 7, 2017 |
It’s silly to think businesses and CEOs are evil and greedy, but ordinary customers are helpless victims.
Reddit AMA with Professor Jeffrey Miron of Harvard University
August 4, 2017 |
Dr. Miron has written over 100 op-eds and several books, including Drug War Crimes: The Consequences of Prohibition (2004) and Libertarianism: from A to Z (2010).
Here’s the best part about the anti-Trump #resistance
August 3, 2017 |
Have you thought about what it really means to protest Donald Trump and his administration’s policies?
The problem with Trump saying “you’re fired” to transgender military personnel
August 2, 2017 |
Does the president even have the authority to ban transgender people from serving?
August reading challenge: An economist’s top 5 picks
August 1, 2017 |
I have a challenge for you: I’m going to share five of my favorite books and essays with you, and I’m hoping you’ll read at least one before the beginning of the semester.
How capitalists can create value by reducing waste
July 31, 2017 |
To see the sharing economy as merely “cheaper taxis and cheaper hotels” is to miss the point entirely.
Ron Swanson explains property rights with sandwiches and landmines
July 28, 2017 |
Understanding the far-reaching positive influence of individual property rights requires some creative thinking.
Vaping bans: How the FDA is making it harder to quit smoking
July 27, 2017 | Henry I. Miller
Nullifying the FDA’s vaping ban would save the lives of smokers who would like to quit cigarettes.
Innovation in healthcare could be dangerous, but the alternative is worse.
July 26, 2017 |
The relevant alternative to a cheap healthcare provider for a lot of people isn’t a medical doctor — it’s Google.
Federalism is not unfair.
July 25, 2017 |
Should the federal government provide a universal basic income for the states?
What your buying habits can tell you about big government
July 24, 2017 |
Why are so many of us unwilling to save enough for retirement or cut back on the Coke and cookies even though we really want wealth and health?
Entrepreneurs are evading regulations to bring you beer and marijuana cleanses.
July 21, 2017 |
All of the brainpower and raw materials that go into evading liquor laws or helping people pass drug tests could have been used for something more valuable (like just making more beer).
Most social scientists can’t predict the future. But this philosopher did.
July 20, 2017 |
How a “nasty little man” predicted the 2nd French Revolution and the Cold War.