Cato on Campus - Philosophy

Five Tips to Win Any Debate

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:54:00 EST

By Justin Hartfield & M. Harrison: Don't Debate the Player, Debate the Claim. Five tips to verbally own your opponent with respect, grace and heavily veiled contempt.

Robert Nozick Vs. The U.S. Congress

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:03:00 EDT

Cato Adjunct Scholar, Richard Epstein, provides a philosophical analysis of the effort by the U.S. Congress to increase home ownership in society in this Forbes article. Contrasting the pattern principle of justice held by Congress against Nozick's justice in acquisition, it is a great work that shows how philosophy is important to the real world.

McCloskey on Capitalism and the Bourgeois Virtues

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:05:00 EDT

"Deirdre McCloskey of the University of Illinois at Chicago and the author of The Bourgeois Virtues talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about capitalism and whether markets make people more ethical or less. They also discuss Adam Smith's world view, whether people were nicer in the Middle Ages, and the role of prudence and love."

Freedom Properly Understood

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 19:18:00 EST

By Tom G. Palmer: "Let us hold up a standard of freedom, expressed in clear and precise terms, not modified by misleading adjectives, and promote that standard to the public, in the knowledge that with freedom � because of freedom � we enjoy prosperity, peace, dignity, knowledge, health, and so many other benefits. But as we enjoy the blessings of freedom, let us not confuse those blessings with freedom itself, for on that path we are led to lose both freedom and its blessings."

Government, Bound or Unbound?

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:55:00 EST

By Anthony de Jasay: "Collective choice starts where unanimity ends, and involves some deciding for all, where the �some� control the apparatus of government. It is the potential for some to benefit morally and materially at the expense of others that creates the bone of contention and that limits on government are meant to move out of reach."

Atlas Shrugged and Public Choice: The Obvious Parallels

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:13:00 EST

By Bryan Caplan: "Though there is little evidence of mutual influence, Ayn Rand and public choice converge on a strikingly similar vision of the political process. Both emphasize the contradiction between the propaganda of government intervention and the reality. Government supposedly intervenes to advance the interests of the majority. In reality, however, its goal to advance the interests of political insiders at the expense of everyone else."

A Bill of Rights Europe Did Not Need

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 21:00:00 EST

By Anthony de Jasay: "Even if it were less woolly and silly, the Charter of Fundamental Rights could hardly become a force for good."

The Legacy of Ayn Rand

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:11:00 EST

Reason Magazine Senior Editor and "Radicals for Capitalism" author Brian Doherty takes the modernist measure of novelist, philosopher, and cult figure Ayn Rand.

History of Religion

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 01:21:00 EDT

How has the geography of religion evolved over the centuries, and where has it sparked wars? This map gives you a brief history of the world's most well-known religions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism. Selected periods of inter-religious bloodshed are also highlighted. Want to see 5,000 years of religion in 90 seconds? Ready, Set, Go!

The Question of Monopolies

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:24:00 EDT

By Nathaniel Branden. A reader asks "In a society of laissez-faire capitalism, what would prevent the formation of powerful monopolies able to gain control over the entire economy?"

The Foundations of a Free Society

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:01:00 EDT

By Nathaniel Branden. "The Soviet Union has invaded and successfully conquered every country on the planet, with one exception: New Zealand. The Soviet Union has chosen not to invade New Zealand. Question: Why? Answer: So we would know the market price of goods."

Ayn Rand interview with Phil Donue (1980)

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:59:00 EDT

Ayn Rand discusses her philosophy and writings with Phil Donahue. Audience question and answer follows. Part 1 of 5, via youtube. (Parts 2-5 also available on youtube)

Rand and the Right: Reflections on the 50th anniversary of Atlas Shrugged

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 16:49:00 EDT

By Brian Doherty: "Because of her opposition to New Deal government controls, novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand started off thinking of herself as a conservative. By the time her blockbuster novel, "Atlas Shrugged," was published 50 years ago this week, she'd changed her mind. She decided she was a radical -- a "radical for capitalism," that is."

The Humanitarian with the Guillotine

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:58:00 EDT

By Isabel Paterson: "Most of the harm in the world is done by good people, and not by accident, lapse, or omission. It is the result of their deliberate actions, long persevered in, which they hold to be motivated by high ideals toward virtuous ends."

The Rise of Government and The Decline of Morality

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:23:00 EDT

By James Dorn: "One cannot blame government for all of society�s ills, but there is no doubt that economic and social legislation over the past 50 years has had a negative impact on virtue. Individuals lose their moral bearing when they become dependent on welfare, when they are rewarded for having children out of wedlock, and when they are not held accountable for their actions. The internal moral compass that normally guides individual behavior will no longer function when the state undermines incentives for moral conduct and blurs the distinction between right and wrong."

A Reading List on the Principles of Liberty

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Looking to understand the basics of libertarianism? This reading list offers books and articles that are central to the libertarian movement. Learn about the aims and contributions of libertarian thought in modern political life.

Libertarianism

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EDT

On this page, Cato scholars discuss what it means to be a libertarian, including the basic principles of libertarian political thought, their implications in political action, and a treatment of some of the great exponents of free minds and free markets in recent history.

Judicial Philosophy

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Much is heard in the media about judicial philosophy: Judges are said to be originalist, textualist, living constitutionalist, activist or deferential, all by virtue of their philosophy. On this page, Cato scholars discuss various judicial philosophies and what they mean in the struggle for individual liberty.

Political Philosophy

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Political philosophy and practical politics are rarely found together; in the compromise-laden business of governing, attention to principle can disappear entirely. The Cato Institute prides itself on standing firm for what it believes in, and for championing its philosophy of liberty even when it's unpopular. Here are some discussions by Cato scholars about the value of taking a principled stance in politics, and of remaining true to one's philosophical convictions.

Rights Theory

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Rights theory is the philosophy of a free society. Often the best way to protect individual rights is simply to make the moral case for individual autonomy. Here is a sampling of Cato scholars' work in this vein, on issues ranging from the Federal Marriage Amendment to the federal war on obesity.

Globalization, Cosmopolitanism, and Personal Identity

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Many critics of increasing freedom of trade and of movement, and the phenomena of cosmopolitanism and globalization that result from such freedom, insist that the consequence of greater trade and movement is a net loss of identity. Globalization is, they allege, destructive of personal identity itself, which they see as reliant on sharply delineated differences among cultures. In this paper, Tom Palmer sets out the anti-globalist critique and then shows that cosmopolitanism and globalization are hardly new phenomena, but have deep roots in European civilization.

Mike Wallace's Ayn Rand Interview (1959)

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Ayn Rand - Mike Wallace Interview 1959 (2 parts)