Learn Liberty Blog

Love social media AND liberty? AEI is hiring.

January 13, 2016 |

If you’re looking for a job where you can satisfy your love for social media and the ideas of freedom, you’re in luck: the American Enterprise Institute is seeking a Social Media and Digital Advertising Assistant. AEI is a great organization, dedicated to expanding liberty, increasing individual opportunity, and strengthening free enterprise. You can find […]

This Week on Learn Liberty's Periscope

January 12, 2016 |

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 the topic of our next video! Be sure to head on over to Periscope this week and check out the following scheduled streams: Tuesday, January 12th @ 2:30pm EST – […]

Quote of the Day: Albert Camus

January 12, 2016 |

Should We End the Fed?

January 12, 2016 |

In just under two weeks the U.S. Congress will vote on whether or not to grant the Office of the Comptroller General of the United States the power to conduct an audit of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet. The Federal Reserve and the conduct of its monetary policy has grown under increased scrutiny over the […]

Marijuana Legalization in the United States: What Can We Expect?

January 11, 2016 | Art Carden

More of the United States are legalizing medical marijuana, and voters in two states—Washington and Colorado—voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use a few years ago. The legalization is subject to certain restrictions, but it is a step toward ending the world’s failed experiment with drug prohibition. Will the US turn into a nation of […]

Featured On Demand Program of the Week: Thought Experiments in Liberty

January 11, 2016 |

Join our professors Peter Jaworski, Howard Baetjer, and Matt Zwolinski as they take you into a world of thought experiments that will literally blow your mind as they expand your normal cognitive processes and your worldview. Then take on the thought-provoking questions after each video. Trust us, after completing this course nothing but nothing will […]

Police Brutality: What Is Happening To Our Communities?

January 11, 2016 |

Tensions between police and the citizens of Chicago are continuing to rise after CPD Officer Jason Van Dyke was charged in the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald in November. Even calls for the mayor’s resignation have begun echoing across the United States. Now, a top Chicago lawyer has stepped down after being accused of hiding evidence in another fatal […]

Did you know that New York City taxi medallions can cost over $1 million?

January 8, 2016 |

In order to run a taxi in New York, you need a medallion. Because the number of medallions is restricted by the government (artificially restricting the supply, and thus, competition), getting your hands on a medallion can be extremely expensive. As Bloomberg Business explains: “To own a cab in New York, you need a medallion—a […]

Discussion Question: Pharmaceutical Regulation

January 8, 2016 |

What is the best way, if at all, for medication to be regulated? How do you balance the right of consumers to purchase what they want with protection of consumers from dangerous or fraudulent medical treatments? Be sure to check out this video on the current government monopoly on prescription drug approval.

Campus Speech Repression is Nothing New

January 7, 2016 |

Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), pointed out in a recent essay that the threat to free speech on college campuses is nothing new. Proponents of political correctness have long sought to impose speech codes to censor the masses. In 2004, a University of New Hampshire student was evicted from his dorm […]

Cops, Drugs, and Cops with Drugs

January 6, 2016 |

A California sheriff’s deputy was arrested in Pennsylvania in December as part of a drug bust that seized over $2 million dollars in marijuana. That’s right, the deputy was arrested trying to sell millions of dollars of a substance his department has likely put other people in prison for selling. Countless stories of police officials being caught in […]

Liberty and the American West, on campus in Texas!

January 6, 2016 |

Learn Liberty’s parent organization, the Institute for Humane Studies, doesn’t just educate students online. IHS also hosts on-campus events at campuses across the country. The first weekend seminar of 2016 will be held at Texas Tech University on February 5. Focusing on Liberty and the American West, the event will be two days packed full […]

Biases and Americans’ support for bombing the city from Aladdin

January 6, 2016 | Cassie Whalen

A recent survey showed that 30% of Republicans and 19% of Democrats said they would support bombing Agrabah. For those of you who haven’t watched Disney’s Aladdin recently, Agrabah is the fictional city in which  the movie takes place. While it’s disheartening to realize the level of ignorance about geography and culture a question like this […]

Quote of the Day

January 5, 2016 |

Have Wages Stagnated?

January 5, 2016 |

In this video professor Don Boudreaux responds directly to commentator Robert Reich on the topic of wages, particularly the claim that middle class wages have stagnated in recent decades.

Learn Liberty on Periscope in the Week Ahead

January 4, 2016 |

If you haven’t checked us out on Periscope make sure to tune in this week to discuss our new video releases and help us choose our next video! Learn Liberty will be streaming on Periscope on: Thursday, January 7th @ 1:30pm EST – Learn Liberty New Video Release Q&A Friday, January 8th @ 1:30pm EST […]

Featured On Demand Program of the Week: Financial Crises and Government

January 4, 2016 |

This new On Demand series will explore the history of financial mayhem caused by government intervention as it explores topics like the effectiveness of stimulus spending, the Austrian theory of booms and busts, the government response to the 2008 financial crisis, the Great Recession and more. Join professors Stephen Davies, Tyler Cowen, and others as […]

Will You Vote Well?

January 4, 2016 | Art Carden

What should you read between now and Election Day? If you’re only going to read one political book, you should make it Jason Brennan’s The Ethics of Voting. If you’re going to read a second, I nominate Bryan Caplan’s The Myth of the Rational Voter. If you’re going to read a third, you should read […]

Discussion Question: Policing in America

January 1, 2016 |

Should police officers go on trial every time they kill another person? If not, what are the appropriate considerations for police actions (and possible crimes) in the context of the line of duty, and are they used in America today? Be sure to check out our new video on police brutality in the wake of […]

Freedom Makes Bigots Pay

January 1, 2016 |

The following article by professor Howard Baetjer appeared on the Freeman on December 3rd, 2015. Below is an excerpt. But suppose these kinds of legislated disadvantages were done away with, so that we had truly free labor markets and quality schooling even for the poor. Would that mean equal employment opportunity for all? Full freedom […]

Top 5 Reasons to Support Free Speech (of 2015)

December 31, 2015 |

This year, Learn Liberty has discussed numerous ways that free speech is under attack and numerous reasons why it should be defended. The ways free speech is under attack are too many to count. They include “microaggressions” and “safe spaces” on college campuses as well as more explicit laws proposed by some activist groups. But […]

Top 10 Learn Liberty videos of 2015

December 31, 2015 |

To celebrate the end of the year, we’re counting down the top 10 most watched Learn Liberty videos of 2015. Markets, immigration, bailouts, vaping, urinals, the death penalty — we covered it all in 2015. Check out our new top 10 compilation video and re-watch some of your favorite Learn Liberty videos of the year.  […]

Did you know that BYOB is common in restaurants in Philadelphia?

December 31, 2015 |

Bringing your own alcohol to restaurants is common in Philadelphia due to a combination of government rules which make it hard to obtain liquor licenses and to price alcohol reasonably in a system where the state controls the sale of all alcoholic beverages.

The Loopiest Ideas of 2015

December 30, 2015 | Cassie Whalen

Every year has its own weird economic ideas which crop up. Back in 2012, there was the talk of the economic “silver lining” to the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy (by people who are clearly not familiar enough with the parable of the broken window). 2015 had its own share of odd economic theory, and […]