Foundations of Liberty: Individual Liberty 
Essential
On Liberty
By John Stuart Mill. "The sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection."
Vices Are Not Crimes
By Lysander Spooner: "Vices are simply the errors which a man makes in his search after his own happiness. Unlike crimes, they imply no malice toward others, and no interference with their persons or property."
On Property and Government
By John Locke: "Though the earth, and all inferior creatures, be common to all men, yet every man has a property in his own person: this no body has any right to but himself."
An Arrow Against All Tyrants
By Richard Overton: "To every individual in nature is given an individual property by nature not to be invaded or usurped by any."
Declaration of the National Anti-Slavery Convention
By William Lloyd Garrison: "Every man has a right to his own body—to the products of his own labor—to the protection of law—and to the common advantages of society."
The Liberty of Ancients Compared with that of Moderns
By Benjamin Constant: "The danger of modern liberty is that, absorbed in the enjoyment of our private independence, and in the pursuit of our particular interests, we should surrender our right to share in political power too easily."
The Freedom Philosophy
This anthology includes 14 essays on the political, economic, and moral foundations of a free society. These classic writings by Leonard E. Read, Frank Chodorov, Benjamin Rogge, F. A. Harper, among others, demonstrate the superiority of individual choice and capitalism over any forms of collectivism.
Defending Civil Society
By Edward Crane: "Ladies and gentlemen, we've got to stand up to the statists in both parties. America should be leading the worldwide market-liberal revolution, not pulling in the other direction."
The Declaration of Independence
As one of America's founding documents, the Declaration is one of the most influential pieces of libertarian thought ever written
The Constitution of the United States of America
As the supreme law of the land, the American Constitution acts to limit the role of government to the defense of our rights against foreign and domestic threat.
The Philosophy of Liberty
A video explaining libertarianism based on the principle of self-ownership.
Freedom and the Law
By Bruno Leoni: "The greatest obstacle to rule of law in our time, contends the author of this thought-provoking work, is the problem of overlegislation. In modern democratic societies, legislative bodies are increasingly usurping functions that were and should be exercised by individuals or groups rather than government."
Associations in Civil Life
By Alexis de Tocqueville. "Thus the most democratic country on the face of the earth is that in which men have, in our time, carried to the highest perfection the art of pursuing in common the object of their common desires and have applied this new science to the greatest number of purposes."
What Sort of Despotism Democratic Nations Have To Fear
By Alexis de Tocqueville. "It would seem that if despotism were to be established among the democratic nations of our days, it might assume a different character; it would be more extensive and more mild; it would degrade men without tormenting them."
Areopagitica
By John Milton: "Milton’s famous defense of freedom of speech. It was a protest against Parliament’s ordinance to further restrict the freedom of print. Milton issued his oration in an unlicensed form and courageously put his own name, but not that of his printer, on the cover."
Recommended
Gambling: Free to Lose?
Gambling has been around for much of human history. But as it grows from a local practice to an international online phenomenon worth $335 billion, people begin raising questions. Cato scholar Radley Balko participates in the Economist's debate series, on the resolution: "This house believes there should be no legal restrictions on gambling." Blako describes many practical reasons why gambling creates perverse incentives, but says that the best reason to legalize gambling is upon the grounds of individual liberty. "If liberty means anything at all, it means the freedom to make our own choices about our own lives, our money, our habits and how we spend our leisure time, even if they happen to be choices other people would not make for themselves." Check out the debate and share your thoughts here.
The Hayek Interviews
This remarkable collection of interviews with Nobel Prize winning economist F. A. Hayek was only recently released. It is an invaluable resources for anyone interested in delving deeper into the ideas of one of the greatest scholars of the twentieth century. And it's searchable!
Forthcoming Death Panels in the U.S.?
Claims of “death panels” were derided as far right-wing lunacy when the Obamacare legislation was being debated over the past year. However, Cato health policy scholar Michael Tanner notes that those claims may not be as far from reality as the bill's defenders would like the public to think. President Obama's recent nomination of Donald Berwick to direct the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (the office that oversees government healthcare programs), seems to substantiate the claims of upcoming rationing of healthcare services. Tanner explains how Berwick’s infatuation with the British healthcare system, and its rationing mechanism, could lead to some interesting – and scary – developments stateside.
3 Reasons to Legalize Pot
In this Reason.tv video, Nick Gillespie presents three reasons why marijuana should be legalized. Freeing weed would increase tax revenue and decrease law enforcement costs, allow states more sovereignty in their decisions to legislate pot use, and give people the ability to treat their own bodies how they choose. "As the United States enters its 72nd year of marijuana prohibition, it's time to consider legalizing pot once and for all," says Gillespie.
Courts Won't Hear Free Speech
While there is much value in keeping church and state separate, that cannot be cause for limiting freedom of speech. Cato scholar Nat Hentoff raises this concern as U.S. Courts have opted to remain silent on the issue of students' First Amendment rights being trodded upon by school administrations and policies. Hentoff advises that if the Constitution is going to last, its understanding must be renewed in society. Schools provide a great place to do this, and should not be used instead to undermine the Constitution.
That this debate falls on the inherent conflict of ‘free speech’ and ‘separation of church and state’ is cause to revisit the government monopoly of the education system, which is discussed much by Cato's Neal McCluskey.
Leave No Parent to Decide
In addition to the power grab of healthcare, government is increasingly laying hold of the nationalized education system by imposing across-the-board standards. Cato scholar Gene Healy explains the problem this creates, "(T)he drive for federal standards ignores the risks inherent in enforced uniformity." Several states have risen up against federal control and experimental programs (which have included such initiatives as "creative spelling"). While that is one step closer to localizing education choices, Healy sides with Cato education scholar Neal McCluskey, who documents how public schooling inescapably produces social conflict. Healy, therefore, offers a novel concept: how about letting parents decide?
The Real Health Care Debate: Who Decides?
Cato's Doug Bandow presents the case for patient control of health insurance in Investor's Business Daily. He says, "'Reform' is a question of direction. Expand government, and especially federal, control. Or increase patient choice and private options." If people decide which cars to buy, how much to spend on art, how big of a house to buy, why should the most important decisions about their health be made by somebody else, especially impersonal government? Bandow advocates for the control of health insurance to be moved out of the hands of employers, not into the hands of government but back to the individual citizens.
Police Department goes Pre-Crime
Move over Minority Report, there's a new pre-crime division in town. Reason's Radley Balko describes a situation in Medford, Oregon on March 8th when David Pyles woke up to a phone call from the police and SWAT team in his front yard. Pyles was taken to the station and given a mental evaluation on grounds that he was "disgruntled" from his job and had recently purchased several firearms (legally, and with money from his recent tax return). "Instead of being reactive, we took a proactive approach," said one officer. The problem is, the police had no warrant, had talked to no judge, and Pyles had committed no crime. After being released, Pyles commented, "If something like this can happen here, where just about everyone owns a gun, it can happen anywhere."
Event: Guns and Natural Disasters
On Monday, February 22nd, Cato scholar Tom Palmer will be presenting at Penn State University. At 7pm, Palmer will discuss how free markets and not the government are the best way to prepare for natural disasters. There will also be a lunchtime discussion of the Second Amendment and the DC v. Heller case. For details, please see here.
The Personal is the Political
Activists have fought for years in an effort to get personal rights recognized on the political level. However, as Steven Horwitz from The Freeman discusses, that comes with some major trade-offs. By looking at both environmental policies and healthcare, Horwitz shows how when certain policies take precedence over others the government must step in to enforce those priorities. Concluding that, “When the personal becomes the political in that sense, the loser is human freedom.”
Unfree to Believe
Cato scholar Doug Bandow discusses an issue of human rights that is often neglected, but nonetheless vital in preserving freedom: religious liberty. Bandow provides case studies of eleven countries that heavily suppress religious freedom. While noting that promoting religious freedom cannot be a central nor defining aspect of U.S. foreign policy, Bandow states that, "religious liberty is the proverbial canary in the mine for human rights. Governments which will not protect freedom of conscience in this most basic way are unlikely to respect political or civil liberties."
Obama In China: Reaganesque, but Misses the Point
David Boaz analyses President Obama's recent speech in China, and compares it to Reagan's in Cold War Russia. Obama rightfully addressed several key aspects of America's freedom, but fell short on referencing the importance of market freedoms. A comparison of their speeches shows many similarities, but while Reagan championed free enterprise in every arena of life “fiercely independent of the Government,” Boaz notes that Obama neglected to emphasize “the virtues of productive enterprise.” This leaves Americans and the world wondering if Obama cares for business and economic liberty.
Why Not Allowing Guns is Bad Policy
Reason editor Jacob Sullum discusses the recent murderous attack at Fort Hood military base by a renegade soldier. Guns are restricted at the base, as is the policy at most US-based military posts. Sullum contents that this policy allowed the attack to be more deadly than it would have been if other soldiers had their weapons and if Nidal Malik Hasan, the attacker, feared he would face resistance. At many highly vulnerable locations guns are regularly restricted, such as at schools, universities and shopping malls; however, as Sullum notes, these often serve as ideal targets for violent attacks because "crazed killers tend not to follow such rules."
Video: 20th Anniversary of Berlin Wall Falling
November 9th, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. The Competitive Enterprise Institute has put together a brief video documenting the history of the Wall and the political impetus that led to tearing it down. The clips display original footage from the years of the Wall and speeches by both John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. The world should join in the rejoicing today, as our world is more just and prosperous because people are more free.
What's Wrong with Socialism?
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which comes at a time when many in the world are celebrating the ideals of socialism. Paul Hollander, who escaped across the Wall in 1956, writes about how many Americans do not have a clear understanding of communism, and tend focus on the "noble intentions" rather than the harsh realities. He explains that "humans motivated by lofty ideals are capable of inflicting great suffering with a clear conscience." Hollander’s words come at a pivotal time when good intentions are shaping lasting policies.
Sotomayor: A Presidential Power Skeptic?
By Gene Healy: "For all her faults, it's unlikely that Sonia Sotomayor will be a pushover for any wartime president. Constitutionalists and civil libertarians should take comfort in the fact that it could have been worse."
Globalisation is Good - Johan Norberg on Globalization
The world is an unequal and unjust place, in which some are born into wealth and some into hunger and misery. To explore why, in this controversial Channel Four documentary the young Swedish writer [and senior fellow at Cato] Johan Norberg takes the viewers on a journey to Taiwan, Vietnam, Kenya and Brussels to see the impact of globalisation, and the consequences of its absence. It makes the case that the problem in the world is not too much capitalism, globalisation and multinationals, but too little.
The Rise of Collectivist Conservatives
Cato research fellow Will Wilkinson's latest article addresses the growing philosophical divide in the conservative movement. As he writes, "If we don't dig too deep, the fight for the soul of the conservative movement looks something like this: In the rugged individualist corner is Fox News performance artist Glenn Beck—today's most spirited and surreal public defender of the American tradition of flinty self-reliance. In the collectivist corner is heavyweight conservative columnist David Brooks, who has used his New York Times platform to wage a relentless "scientific" campaign against what he sees as the pernicious individualism of Goldwater conservatives like Beck and Rush Limbaugh."
Obama Is a Statist, Not a Socialist
By Edward H. Crane: "Pres. Barack Obama is not a socialist. He is a thoroughgoing statist, perhaps the worst in American history. And with Wilson, FDR, and LBJ, he's got some serious competition. Republicans in Congress lack the leadership to challenge the president's audacious power grabs. More important, they lack any serious philosophical basis for doing so."
Obama's Vision Deficit: After 100 days, the new president has revealed himself as an effective salesman of exhausted ideas
By Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch: "So here we are, 100 days into the great eight-year triumph of Hope over Change, a new Era of Really Good Feelings in which only one thing has become increasingly, even irrefutably, clear: President Barack Obama is about as visionary as the guy who invented Dippin' Dots, Ice Cream of the Future. Far from sketching out a truly forward-looking set of policies for the 21st century, as his supporters had hoped, Obama is instead serving up cryogenically tasteless and headache-inducing morsels from years gone by."
Our Troubling Tax System
The U.S. tax code gets more complex every year. It violates civil liberties and, left unchanged, will leave the United States at a powerful competitive disadvantage in years to come. Chris Edwards, Director of Tax Policy Studies, Senior Fellow Daniel J. Mitchell and Director of Information Policy Studies Jim Harper dissect the troubling aspects of our tax system.
The More Obama "Challenges," the More Education Will Look the Same
By Neal McCluskey: "The Obama Administration talks a mighty game about 'change' and taking politics out of decision making, but at least when it comes to education it seems to be all about playing politics."
I Smoke Pot, and I Like It
By Will Wilkinson: "If we're to begin to roll back our stupid and deadly drug war, the stigma of responsible drug use has got to end, and marijuana is the best place to start. The super-savvy Barack Obama managed to turn a buck by coming out of the cannabis (and cocaine) closet in a bestselling memoir. That's progress. But his admission came with the politicians' caveat of regret. We'll make real progress when solid, upstanding folk come out of the cannabis closet, heads held high."
Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies
By Glenn Greenwald: "While other states in the European Union have developed various forms of de facto decriminalization — whereby substances perceived to be less serious (such as cannabis) rarely lead to criminal prosecution — Portugal remains the only EU member state with a law explicitly declaring drugs to be "decriminalized." Because more than seven years have now elapsed since enactment of Portugal's decriminalization system, there are ample data enabling its effects to be assessed."
Three Women Who Launched a Movement: Celebrating Liberty in Women's History Month
This Women's History Month, on the sixty-sixth anniversary of their monumental triple achievement, the Cato Institute pays homage to three women without whom it would not exist.
Susette Kelo Tells Her Story at the Cato Institute
No U.S. Supreme Court decision in the modern era has been so quickly and widely reviled as the infamous Kelo decision, in which the Court ruled that Susette Kelo's little pink house in New London, Connecticut, and the homes of her neighbors could be taken by the government and given over to a private developer based on the mere prospect that the new use for her property could generate more taxes or jobs.
We Need Cynics
By Will Wilkinson: "In his inaugural address, Barack Obama scorned "cynics" who fail to grasp that "the old arguments do not apply" now, in a time of crisis. Obama's presidency is living proof of hard-won progress in the struggle for racial equality, and his is a truly fresh voice in American politics. Yet it was politics as usual when the new President urged Americans to set aside cynicism, transcend their tired oppositions, and pull together behind his leadership."
Activist and Warrior Presidents Dominate Historians' Polls
By Gene Healy: "Asked how his presidency will be remembered, Bush typically insisted that "history" will be the judge. He's right — and right as well that historians may be kinder to him than his abysmal approval ratings would suggest. But that says less about Bush's success than it does about the perverse standards by which historians evaluate presidents."
Is Dissent Still Patriotic?
By David Harsanyi: "Some of you must still believe that politicians are meant to serve rather than be worshiped. And there must be someone out there who considers partisanship a healthy, organic reflection of our differences rather than something to be surrendered in the name of so- called unity — which is, after all, untenable, subjective and utterly counterproductive."
Unsolicited Advice for Obama
By Radley Balko: "I don't agree with Obama on much (I don't agree with the current administration on much, either), so I won't make an appeal with him to compromise with the Republicans on the issues where I agree with them. Instead, here are a few recommendations - some substantive, some symbolic - of moves Obama could make that are consistent with the principles he articulated during the campaign:"
Free Political Speech in 2009?
In this video John Samples, director of Cato's Center for Representative Government, discuses the likely prospects that free political speech will encounter in the coming year.
Obama on Drugs
Although President-elect Barack Obama portrays his pot smoking and cocaine snorting as behavior he regrets, writes Senior Editor Jacob Sullum, it would be hard for him to justify harsh treatment of drug users when he himself escaped punishment for the same actions and clearly is better off than he would have been had he been arrested. But will that experience translate into more sensible drug policies?
A Repudiation, But of What?
By Michael D. Tanner: "To suggest that in electing Barack Obama and a Democratic congressional majority, voters were choosing big government and liberalism over small government and conservatism would imply that either the Bush administration, the current Republican congressional leadership, or, for that matter, John McCain, actually supported smaller government."
Why Opting Out Is No "Third Way"
By Will Wilkinson: "At first blush, 'libertarian paternalism' seems a linguistic miscarriage, a self-crippling idea condemned to limp aimlessly in eternal darkness on the island of misfit creeds alongside 'humanitarian sadism' and 'color-blind racism.' But that hasn't stopped Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, law and economics superstars at the University of Chicago, from pushing the catchphrase and concept as a solution to the nation's problems for a half-decade now."
Parody Flunks Out
By Harvey Silverglate: "Political humor is no longer welcome in Academia as administrators choke the life out of parody."
The Ultimate Resource
In this lecture, the late (and certainly great)economist Julian Simon describes his concept of "the ultimate resource." An idea that Donald Boudreaux, chairman of the GMU economics department, considers "the most profound -- and least understood -- in all of the social sciences."
Bottoms Up!
By Will Wilkinson: "A hundred and thirty college presidents and chancellors have signed a controversial statement calling for a new debate about the legal drinking age; their notion is to lower it from 21 to 18. Alas, college presidents are politicians of a sort, so none will take the reopened debate where it needs to go. There should be no drinking age at all."
Responsible Drug Use
"Those who support drug prohibition often do so with the premise, implicit or explicit, that life without prohibition would be marked by vastly more irresponsibility, addiction, accidents, health problems, and death. Those who favor ending drug prohibition are forced to argue, not only for an unfamiliar policy, but also against this parade of horribles. Yet are we not able to think about and manage these substances rationally and responsibly?"
Poverty and Economy in Mugabe's Zimbabwe
A new, deeper poverty has gripped Zimbabwe and the formal economy has utterly been destroyed under the rein of Robert Mugabe. Rejoice Ngwenya, head of the Zimbabwean Coalition for Market and Liberal Solutions, discusses the realities of life in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.
What Next for D.C.'s Gun Laws
By Robert A. Levy and David Kopel: "The Supreme Court ruled in June that provisions of Washington, D.C.'s gun laws are unconstitutional. Unfortunately, the city has responded with new regulations that are a flagrant attempt to circumvent the court's decision."
Seeing China Whole
By Steve Chapman: "Anyone contemplating the thuggish repression still prevalent under the Beijing government may find that hard to imagine. But if the last 30 years have taught us anything, it is not to underestimate China's capacity for positive change."
Why California Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owner Charlie Lynch Was Found Guilty in Federal Court of Selling Drugs
"In this latest reason.tv video, we talk to Lynch's lawyers and the forewoman of the jury to find out precisely how Lynch got convicted and what happens next. It's a disturbing, provocative video that should make even the hardiest drug warrior wonder just what the hell we're doing locking up businessmen who play by the rules and give aid and comfort to sick people."
Banished: 'The Forsaken' by Tim Tzouliadis
Reviewed by Richard Pipes: "Most of these expatriates, not intellectuals but simple working men, were quickly disenchanted and wanted to return home, only to find that Moscow considered them Soviet citizens and barred them from leaving. Ignored by the American government, many of them ended in the gulag."
Elevator Arguments for Drug Policy Reform
By Pete Guither: "So you’ve been studying hard and you’re starting to amass an incredible amount of data supporting drug policy reform. You’re ready to make a difference.
And then opportunity presents itself. Somebody actually asks you a question about drugs... just as you get on the elevator. But here’s the problem — he’s getting off at the 12th floor and you’re going to 14. What do you do?"
Consenting to Be Abused
By Steve Chapman: "In a nation founded on respect for the rights of every person, these searches give all priority to the power and convenience of the government, while mocking the liberties we are supposed to have. Why would we consent to that?"
District of Columbia V. Heller: What's Next?
By Robert A. Levy: "Following a victory that some thought impossible, the advocates of the right to bear arms are asking themselves where to go next. None are more qualified to answer that question than Robert A. Levy, co-counsel in District of Columbia v. Heller, the landmark case that has permanently changed the shape of gun rights jurisprudence." - Dr. Jason Kuznicki
Crying Wolf: Are we all fascists now?
By Michael C. Moynihan: "To anyone that has attended a political demonstration, trawled a blog, or attended a Western university in the past half century, the scattershot use of 'fascist' will ring familiar. And almost as clichéd as accusing an ideological opponent of fascist sympathies is the accurate observation that such charges often demonstrate an utter lack of understanding of just what qualifies as fascist, other than 'someone I vehemently disagree with.'"
Banned! Drew Carey Takes a Tour of Nanny State Nation
"Whether you love it, hate it, or have never thought about it, chances are some politician wants to ban it. 'Welcome to the Nanny State Nation,' says reason.tv host Drew Carey. 'Where the government minds your own business.'"
The Second Amendment Goes to Court
Alan Gura, Glenn Reynolds, Randy Barnett, Brian Doherty, Sanford Levinson, Jacob Sullum, and Dave Kopel respond to D.C. v. Heller
D.C. Gun Ban Struck Down
"On Thursday, the Court rediscovered the Second Amendment. More than five years after six Washington, D.C. residents challenged the city’s 32-year-old ban on all functional firearms in the home, the Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller that the law is unconstitutional. Heller is merely the opening salvo in a series of litigations that will ultimately resolve what weapons and persons can be regulated and what restrictions are permissible. But because of Thursday’s decision, the prospects for reviving the original meaning of the Second Amendment are now substantially brighter." - Robert A. Levy, Co-counsel to Mr. Heller
Democrats Capitulate on FISA
By Julian Sanchez: "Democrats are trying to rationalize capitulating on surveillance and telecom immunity in the new FISA bill by calling it a compromise. It isn't."
In a Class Of Your Own
By Roger Pilon: "When the Supreme Court affirms a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, that's news, especially when nearly every other circuit has gone the other way. That's what happened last week in Engquist v. Oregon Department of Agriculture. Unfortunately, the news would be better had the 9th Circuit gotten it right."
Commie Ball: A Journey to the End of a Revolution
By Michael Lewis: "Some of the greatest baseball players the world has never seen are in Cuba, where their talent is government property, and their only chance of turning pro is the risky boat ride to Florida. Gus Dominguez, an L.A. sports agent, has done more than anyone to help escaped players join major-league U.S. teams, but now he sits in a California jail, convicted of smuggling athletes."
Raiding California—Drew Carey on Medical Marijuana and Minors
"Should medical marijuana be kept from minors at all costs? Why is it that pharmacists can dispense amphetamines without getting busted, but legal operators who dispense medical marijuana face prison time? Why do armed federal agents persist in raiding California?"
Texas Supreme Court: Return the Children
By Tim Lynch: "[T]he Supreme Court of Texas ruled that Child Protective Services (CPS) abused its discretion by seizing 468 children from the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints ranch in Eldorado."
Presidential Power-Tripping
By Radley Balko: " The most important issue in this November's presidential election isn't Iraq or terrorism or the economy, though it plays into all three. The most important issue is presidential power."
Drew Carey Reports on the Tragically High Cost of Building a Border Wall
"At a time when pundits and politicians of all stripes endorse securing the border between the United States and Mexico, reason.tv travels south to see what's really going on—and what the human and monetary costs are of amping up border patrols."
Our Collectivist Candidates
By David Boaz: "The real issue is that Messrs. Obama and McCain are telling us Americans that our normal lives are not good enough, that pursuing our own happiness is "self-indulgence," that building a business is "chasing after our money culture," that working to provide a better life for our families is a 'narrow concern.'"
Where Does Law Come From?
By Bruce L. Benson: "The lesson here is that law and governance are natural institutions that arise out of people’s interest in prospering through production, the division of labor, and trade. They do not depend on a central coercive authority for their genesis. States can arise when a powerful group, bent on institutionalized extortion, co-opt and alter existing customary law to serve its own particular interests."
Is Real ID Really Going to Happen?
By Matthew Blake: "Little about Real ID has gone as planned. All 50 states, and the District of Columbia, were given extensions by the Dept. of Homeland Security to comply with Real ID. This extension was given despite the fact that 17 states passed resolutions saying they have no intention of ever implementing the program."
Fairness, Idealism and Other Atrocities
By P.J. O'Rourke: "Well, here you are at your college graduation. And I know what you're thinking: 'Gimme the sheepskin and get me outta here!' But not so fast. First you have to listen to a commencement speech."
Deborah Jeane Palfrey, Hounded to Death
By David Boaz: "Faced with the prospect of years in prison, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, known as the “D.C. Madam,” committed suicide on Thursday. Her pursuers and prosecutors should be ashamed of themselves."
Battle Over Eminent Domain Is Another Civil Rights Issue
By David T. Beito and Ilya Somin: "Few policies have done more to destroy community and opportunity for minorities than eminent domain. Some 3 to 4 million Americans, most of them ethnic minorities, have been forcibly displaced from their homes as a result of urban renewal takings since World War II."
America on drugs
"In the Los Angeles Times, Jacob Sullum debates Cully Stimson about drug policy in a back-and-forth argument that's wraps up today."
Milton Friedman Prize Selection Committee Member Arrested
The Ugandan government has arrested Andrew Mwenda, a member of the 2008 International Selection Committee for the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty, along with his fellow journalists Odobo Bichachi and John Njoroge. Andrew Mwenda is a brave journalist who tells it like he sees it. He is well known for standing up for the rights of others; his involvement in the Milton Friedman Prize is only one element of his long commitment to human rights.
Venezuelan Student Movement Leader Awarded $500,000 Milton Friedman Liberty Prize
Yon Goicoechea, leader of the pro-democracy student movement in Venezuela, has been awarded the 2008 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty. Under Goicoechea's leadership, the student movement organized mass opposition to the erosion of human and civil rights in Venezuela and played the key role in defeating Hugo Chávez's bid for a constitutional reform that would have turned the country into a dictatorship.
Employers Must Pull the Trigger
By Robert A. Levy: "The owner of the property should be able to determine — for good reasons, bad reasons, or no reason at all — whether to admit gun owners, non-gun owners, neither or both. Customers, employees and guests who object may go elsewhere. That's the controlling principle."
The Dance, Dance Revolution Will Be Televised After All
By Julian Sanchez: "The plan had been to celebrate the birth of the author of the Declaration of Independence by congregating, flashmob style, for ten minutes of quiet iPod-fueled dancing, then repair to a pub nearby. Instead, park police brought the party to an abrupt halt, arresting 28-year-old Brooke Oberwetter and leading her away in handcuffs, while chasing the rest of the group off."
Inequality and Excess
By Arnold Kling: "What the American people really should feel awkward and defensive about is the level of inequality and excess of political power. Instead of asking ourselves what we can do about Warren Buffett or Bill Gates, we should be asking ourselves about what we can do about the Clintons and the Spitzers. Those who want more and more power should be our biggest concern."
Real ID Act Has Been a Real Fiasco
"The big trouble is that there’s no evidence that this Draconian act, even if fully implemented, would be more than a minor inconvenience for a determined terrorist. But having all that information – including copies of birth certificates and Social Security cards – available in one database would make an irresistible target for identity thieves. And it would be a major inconvenience for millions of innocent Americans and a major expense for state governments – meaning taxpayers."
Immigration: The Beckham Factor
"As soccer superstar David Beckham kicks off the Los Angeles Galaxy's 2008 season, Drew Carey asks what this says about immigration in the U.S. in a new reason.tv video."
The Long Fall of Robert G. Mugabe
By Marian L. Tupy: "Mugabe is in this position primarily because he has turned Zimbabwe into one of the world's poorest countries--the result of his worsening political repression, frontal attack on the independence of the judiciary, confiscation of property, and evisceration of the once-thriving private sector. With health, education, and incomes in freefall, Zimbabweans are ready for change."
FISA Funny Business
By Julian Sanchez: " The terrorist attack had been as devastating as it was unexpected. Convinced that better intelligence was the key to preventing fresh attacks, the president resolved to seek legislation granting the executive branch broad new wiretapping powers. But he had a problem: The opposition party, which controlled Congress, was equally determined to block provisions that they saw as an affront to privacy."
Armed for Liberty
By Alan Gura and Robert A. Levy: "Imagine a right — intended, in part, as a deterrent to oppressive government — that can be exercised only when, where, and in the manner that government directs. "
Wiretapping's True Danger
By Julian Sanchez: "Without meaningful oversight, presidents and intelligence agencies can -- and repeatedly have -- abused their surveillance authority to spy on political enemies and dissenters."
The D.C. Gun Ban Supreme Court Case
Tom Palmer, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, talks about the DC gun ban on Reporter's Roundtable.
Spitzer's Hypocrisy: Worse Than You Think
By Paul Karl Lukacs: "Libertarians are understandably of two minds about L’Affaire Spitzer. On the one hand, a dedicated public servant will probably lose his job, and may be indicted, due to consensual liaisons and payments that should be a private matter completely outside the ambit of Justice Department wiretaps. On the other hand, Spitzer’s been hoisted by the moralistic petard that he can regulate any and all sexual behavior with which he disagrees, wherever it occurs. As Barabash said Monday, 'It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.'"
The Five Dumbest Product Bans
By Eli Lehrer: "Even as the array of consumer products available to the average American expands each day, a bewildering variety of government regulations serve to limit consumer choice. From the aircraft on which Americans fly to the food they buy in the grocery store, government regulation limits product choice at every turn."
The Wire's War on the Drug War
By Ed Burns, Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos, Richard Price, David Simon: "If asked to serve on a jury deliberating a violation of state or federal drug laws, we will vote to acquit, regardless of the evidence presented. Save for a prosecution in which acts of violence or intended violence are alleged, we will — to borrow Justice Harry Blackmun's manifesto against the death penalty — no longer tinker with the machinery of the drug war. No longer can we collaborate with a government that uses nonviolent drug offenses to fill prisons with its poorest, most damaged and most desperate citizens."
Orders and Organizations
By Don Boudreaux: "More generally, it seems difficult for some people to grasp the fact that society and government are not identical -- or, more precisely, to grasp the fact that civil society can and does often thrive outside of government influence and, indeed, very often (I would say most often) in spite of such influence."
Atlas Hugged
Brian Doherty: "As executive vice president of the Cato Institute, Boaz is one of the media's primary go-to guys on libertarian thought and policy. And in his new book, "The Politics of Freedom," a collection of his short-form journalism from the past 25 years, Boaz pushes an interesting and counterintuitive belief about American politics. The political spectrum, he argues, contains a lot more libertarians than the two major party's stances would lead you to believe."
Limits on Eavesdropping Need to Stay
By Timothy B. Lee and Gene Healy: "Modern computer technology makes the potential for the abuse of unfettered executive power much greater today. Judicial oversight is at least as important in the 21st century as it was in the 20th, and Congress should resist Bush's demand for unchecked spying powers."
No, a President Can't Do as He Pleases
By Edward H. Crane and Robert A. Levy: "For many years, we were at risk of losing important civil liberties through unchecked transgressions by the executive branch. Maybe we are still at risk. But thanks to the media, the courts and — belatedly — an energized opposition in Congress, the administration has finally resigned itself to a semblance of congressional oversight, even if judicial scrutiny remains inadequate."
Sanctimony's Turn at Bat
By Colman McCarthy: "I see steroids, and all drugs, as an issue of personal freedom. Is there a difference between fans at big-league baseball games stoned on alcohol while cheering athletes on the base paths juiced with steroids? What's the difference between scoring with Viagra and scoring with steroids? What's the difference between people freely abusing their bodies with one drug but not another, as long as no one else is harmed and the consequences are self-sustained?"
Freedom Properly Understood
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?
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."
The Surveillance Scam
By Timothy B. Lee: "In his State of the Union address, President Bush pressed Congress to quickly pass legislation to make permanent the sweeping spying powers that Congress granted last August. Those powers, which include the ability to eavesdrop on foreign-to-domestic communications without meaningful judicial oversight, were due to expire last week. Congress has passed a two-week extension of the law, but that barely gives Congress time to catch its breath before the White House resumes its campaign to make it permanent."
Atlas Shrugged and Public Choice: The Obvious Parallels
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."
Super Tuesday Winners and Losers
Michael D. Tanner: "A few thoughts in the wake of last nights elections:"
The Whys of Spies
By Jacob Sullum: "Last August, panicked at the prospect of an imminent terrorist attack that could be averted only by granting the executive branch new surveillance powers, Congress passed the Protect America Act. With the law scheduled to expire this month, the Bush administration is trying to scare Congress into making the powers permanent."
U.S.-Imposed Border Bedlam Will Hurt Michigan
By Jim Harper: "Nobody imagined when Congress created the Department of Homeland Security that the department itself would mount the next attack on American transportation, travel and trade. But the department begins an assault this week that will do billions of dollars in damage if it is not stopped."
The False Promise of Real ID
By Jon Healey: "Thanks to the efforts of the federal government, it may soon be quite a bit harder to forge a driver's license. But that doesn't necessarily mean we'll be any less vulnerable to terrorist attacks, particularly not the kind carried out on Sept. 11, 2001."
Congress Strong-Arming Baseball? That's Foul.
By Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch: "First, Major League Baseball, along with other sports leagues and private-sector ventures, simply should not be required to submit their business plans -- much less blood and urine samples -- to Congress or any other government body."
The Real Key to Development
By Mary Anastasia O'Grady: "The Index [of Economic Freedom] also reports that the freest 20% of the world's economies have twice the per capita income of those in the second quintile and five times that of the least-free 20%. In other words, freedom and prosperity are highly correlated."
Drug Use and the Candidates
By Stanton Peele: "There has been massive drug and underage alcohol use by Americans over the years -- more than 110 million Americans, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, have used illicit drugs. Yet the overwhelming majority of them -- like Messrs. Bush, Clinton and Obama -- have grown up to be productive citizens. Some believe there's no need to know about their youthful misconduct."
Laws Against Reason
By Jennifer Rosen: "Ever since the repeal of Prohibition, alcohol laws in this country have been a bit nutty. Take the business of bars. Some states mandate sitting, while others require standing at the bar to drink. Texans may take up to but not more than three sips of beer while standing. Some jurisdictions require the interior of public drinking establishments to be visible from the street; others specifically prohibit that."
Flunking Free Speech: The persistent threat to liberty on college campuses
By Michael C. Moynihan: "According to a dossier compiled by FIRE, incoming freshman were required to undergo "treatment" (the university's word) by residence hall apparatchiks, and forced "to adopt highly specific university-approved views on issues ranging from politics to race, sexuality, sociology, moral philosophy, and environmentalism." These young scholar-scamps in Wilmington are told solemnly that they are, according to the precepts of the university, carriers of racist original sin: '[A] racist is one who is both privileged and socialized on the basis of race by a white supremacist (racist) system. The term applies to all white people (i.e., people of European descent) living in the United States, regardless of class, gender, religion, culture or sexuality.'"
What to Be Thankful For
By David Boaz: "Not long ago a journalist asked me what freedoms we take for granted in America. Now, I spend most of my time sounding the alarm about the freedoms we're losing. But this was a good opportunity to step back and consider how America is different from much of world history -- and why immigrants still flock here."
Guests in the Machine
By Kerry Howley: "Guest worker programs may be the best hope many of the world's poorest people have for improving their lives."
Iraqi Allies Deserve Better than Red Tape
By Malou Innocent: "Many Iraqis, desperate to earn decent wages and bring stability to their country, support American forces by working as Arabic interpreters. "Terps" are paid a modest sum, and they enable soldiers to communicate with Iraqi civilians and track down insurgents. But working with the Americans can come at a high cost."
Government Power Grabs: 'Predicting' 2008
By Radley Balko: "As the end of the year approaches, it's time for another column of government overreach predictions for the New Year. What outrageous, beyond-parody grabs at power and erosions of civil liberties will transpire in 2008?"
Sweet Land of Liberty?
By Donald J. Boudreaux: "In this sweet land of liberty it is surprising how readily we modern Americans let others rule us. I'm not talking about Americans letting some foreign government rule us. That won't happen anytime soon. There's no risk that, say, we will quietly surrender to an invading army sent from the likes of Moscow or Beijing. I'm talking about being ruled by homegrown politicians and petty tyrants who butt their noses into the sizes of our toilets, the amount of salt we consume and countless other provinces of our daily lives."
Clinton and Giuliani Would Grab Even More Power Than Bush Did
By David Boaz: "Clinton calls herself a 'government junkie.' She says, 'There is no such thing as other people's children' and promises to work on 'redefining who we are as human beings in the post-modern age.'"
Mugabe's Apologists
By Marian Tupy: "Robert Mugabe's participation in the European Union-Africa summit in Lisbon over the weekend was a triumph of Zimbabwean diplomacy. Both African and EU leaders must share the blame for this farce. Zimbabwe's foreign ministry managed to portray the octogenarian dictator, who has presided over widespread violations of human rights and an astonishing economic collapse, as the victim of a Western conspiracy."
Free to Booze
With Brandon Arnold: "Cheers! Today is the 74th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. On December 5, 1933, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment, thereby repealing the 18th Amendment and ending our 13 years as a dry nation."
Carefully Plotted Course Propels Gun Case to Top
By Adam Liptak: "Robert A. Levy, a rich libertarian lawyer who has never owned a gun, helped create and single-handedly financed the case that may finally resolve the meaning of the Second Amendment."
Big Ideas Need Small Places
By Jesse Walker: "The desert republic of Molossia doesn’t appear on many maps, and it doesn’t have a seat in the United Nations. But if you drive about 18 miles northeast from Carson City, Nevada, you’ll find it."
Is Feminism on the Wane?
Feminism has come to mean many things to many people. Carrie Lukas, Vice President of the Independent Women's Forum, argues that feminism was once a movement of equality under the law and equality of opportunity. She says it now often represents expansion of government to achieve dubious ends.
Taking Marriage Private
By Stephanie Coontz: "Why do people — gay or straight — need the state’s permission to marry? For most of Western history, they didn’t, because marriage was a private contract between two families. The parents’ agreement to the match, not the approval of church or state, was what confirmed its validity."
Kurt Loder on Technology and Freedom
"A legend for his work in Rolling Stone and at MTV, Loder is an outspoken libertarian--and a harsh critic of the nanny state in all its manifestations. In this wide-ranging conversation, Loder discusses technology, freedom, the coming collapse of traditional news media (and why that's a good thing), the misguided (and ultimately ineffective) attempt to shut down free expression, and much more."
National City: Eminent Domain Gone Wild
Reason.tv host Drew Carey visits National City, California, where the local government is taking eminent domain abuse to new lows.
Unholster the 2nd Amendment
By Robert A. Levy: "Later this month, the Supreme Court will decide whether to review the circuit court's blockbuster opinion in Parker vs. District of Columbia, the first federal appellate opinion to overturn a gun control law on the ground that the 2nd Amendment protects the rights of individuals."
Free Kareem!
Dr. Tom G. Palmer, Cato's Vice President for International Programs, speaks out against the imprisonment of a young Egyptian blogger. November 9th marks the one year anniversary of Kareem's incarceration. For more information about the global effort to free Kareem, and about rallies in your area, visit www.freekareem.org .
The Dogma of our Times
By Frank Chodorov: "Collectivism is more than an idea. In itself, an idea is nothing but a toy of speculation, a mental idol. Since, as the myth holds, the suprapersonal society is replete with possibilities, the profitable thing to do is to put the myth to work, to energize its virtue. The instrument at hand is the state, throbbing with political energy and quite willing to expend it on this glorious adventure."
What FDR Had In Common With the Other Charismatic Collectivists of the 30s
By David Boaz: "When economic crisis hit — in Italy and Germany after World War I, in the United States with the Great Depression — the anti-liberals seized the opportunity, arguing that the market had failed and that the time for bold experimentation had arrived."
China's Legacy: The Thoughts of Lao Tzu
By James Dorn: "China's present leaders are calling for a "harmonious society", but this is impossible without widespread freedom and a rule of law that limits the power of government to the protection of people and property. "
Libertarianism in the Crosshairs
In this essay, Tom Palmer, Cato Vice President for Student Programs, discusses several critiques on libertarianism, addressing popular as well as academic works.
South Park Libertarians
Reason Magazine interviews Trey Parker and Matt Stone, co-creators of South Park, the highly controversial and massively successful TV show South Park, now in its 10th season on Comedy Central.
Two Kinds of Order
John Marks suggests "that the fundamental differences between liberal and socialist societies arise because liberal societies depend primarily on evolutionary rationalism and spontaneous order, whereas the structures of socialist societies take constructive rationalism and designated order as their model."
The Institution of Property
David Schmidtz discusses the institutional history of property as the right to exclude others from using one's possession.
A Constitution for Liberty
Prof. Kenneth Minogue interviews contemporary authors in his investigation on the principles that can constitute a free society.
A Reading List on the Principles of Liberty
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.
The Nanny State
"Today, conservatives on the right tend to want to pass laws regarding which drugs we ingest, what we do in our bedrooms, which pictures we look at, which movies we watch, and which music we listen to. At the same time, modern liberal public health advocates on the left want to heavily regulate what we eat; how food is grown, manufactured, marketed, and sold; our alcohol intake; which prescription drugs we should have access to; and what products are safe enough for us to use. Neither side has much respect for the idea that most Americans are capable of making these kinds of decisions for themselves."