Learn Liberty Blog

Discover liberty-advancing organizations in your neighborhood

December 30, 2015 |

You don’t have to go all the way to Washington, DC to find people fighting for limited government and individual liberty. There are a range of organizations all across the United States which are working to advance liberty in their home states and across the country. Just a few of these are the Mackinac Center, […]

Is the Cost of Living Really Rising?

December 29, 2015 |

Bernie Sanders sure gets a lot of air time out of his class warfare rhetoric. Common arguments from him and his supports lead less knowledgeable people to believe that the middle class is at risk of an ever more exploitative wealthy elite. But is that true? Let’s take a look at just one of those […]

Staff Profile: Liz McCaffrey

December 29, 2015 |

Learn Liberty: First, when did you join the Learn Liberty team and what is your role? Liz McCaffrey: I’ve worked at IHS since 2007, and I helped to found the Learn Liberty project when we launched it in 2011. This February will be 5 years that I’ve worked on Learn Liberty as a video producer. […]

Quote of the Day

December 29, 2015 |

Featured On Demand Program of the Week: Social Justice

December 28, 2015 |

In this On Demand Program, our professors will explain the means and ends of arguments for social justice through the lens of classical liberalism. You’ll learn more about how to adapt your own arguments to fit the critiques of markets and individual liberty that come from advocates for social justice. Then we’ll look at the […]

Why Is Unemployment Persistently High for Low-Skilled People?

December 28, 2015 | Howard Baetjer

A student recently asked me why unemployment remains so stubbornly high, especially for lower-skilled people. Here’s an adaptation of my answer. No one can know for sure the precise causes of unemployment; the economy is a fantastically complex system, like an ecology but still more complex, so unemployment is sure to have a variety of […]

Holiday Season Brings Booze (Taxes)

December 25, 2015 |

Christmastime isn’t just about giving presents and sleeping in all morning. For many, it means boozy holiday parties and a chance to kick back a beer (or three) with family and friends. But holiday brews aren’t cheap—and it’s not the alcohol that makes them so expensive. In the video below, George Mason University Professor Christopher […]

Discussion Question: Vaccines

December 25, 2015 |

A 1998 study by Andrew Wakefield claimed that vaccines to common viruses, such as the measles, were linked to causing autism. Based on this (widely discredited) study, many parents have not let their children receive vaccinations. Should parents have the right to do this? Should parents have the right to keep their children from receiving […]

Star Wars Proves the Road to Dictatorship is Democratic

December 24, 2015 |

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 […]

Did you know Hollywood blockbusters are often subsidized by government?

December 24, 2015 |

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 […]

New Hampshire Legislators Join the Free Speech Movement

December 23, 2015 |

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 […]

Summer Internship: Support Free Speech on Campus with FIRE

December 23, 2015 |

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 […]

Don Boudreaux: Middle Class Rising

December 23, 2015 |

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 […]

The Death Star: Building It, Not Destroying It, Was the Catastrophe

December 23, 2015 | Cassie Whalen

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 […]

Quote of the Day: Hayek on Money

December 22, 2015 |

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 […]

Will Taxing the Rich Fix the Deficit?

December 22, 2015 |

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 Staff Profile: Eric Andreasen

December 22, 2015 |

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 […]

Wait: Why Would a Liquor Store Want to be Forced to Close on Sundays?

December 21, 2015 | Art Carden

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 […]

Featured On Demand Program of the Week: Vice City

December 21, 2015 |

In this new On Demand series professors Peter Jaworski, Aeon Skoble and Daniel D’Amico will take you on a journey into the world of government regulation of all things vices. You’ll explore how government deregulation of craft beers has helped reshape the entire industry and how alcohol laws in Virginia actually do the opposite of […]

Wealth and Exploitation

December 18, 2015 |

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.) […]

Discussion Question: Thalidomide

December 18, 2015 |

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 […]

Remy Explains Democracy to Dictatorship through Star Wars

December 17, 2015 |

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 […]

Star Wars’s Timely Message on the Rise of Dictatorships

December 17, 2015 |

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 […]

Announcing Institute for Humane Studies at the International Students For Liberty Conference 2016

December 17, 2015 |

Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) has a few breakout sessions at ISFLC 2016 you wont want to miss. Be sure to register for ISFLC before the new year when prices jump! Looking for another reason to attend the 9th International Students For Liberty Conference? I’ve got three: David Friedman, Bryan Caplan, and Antony Davies. The […]