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The Inadequacy of State Capacity Libertarianism

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Tyler Cowen interviews Nate Silver at George Mason University in 2015. Photo courtesy of Mercatus Center
Modern libertarianism has too narrow a view of social harm and too limited a role for government in encouraging mediating institutions that ameliorate it.

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The Waning Fortunes of Classical Liberalism

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The Statue of Liberty (David Smith/Shutterstock.com)
If classical liberalism seems embattled now, its prospects are likely far worse in the next economic downturn or crisis of national security.

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Burke’s Political Economy Reconsidered

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Edmund Burke, painted by James Barry (Location: Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin)
Edmund Burke held that some social institutions and social goods should always remain beyond the reach of supply and demand.

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A Better Guide than Reason—Or Not?

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In recovering tradition, how can the presuppositions of a believing culture apply to one bereft of belief?

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The Precarious State of Liberty in the USA

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Protesters at the "Presidents Day Protest to Fight Trump's Fake Crisis," in San Francisco, California on February 18, 2019 (Sheila Fitzgerald / Shutterstock.com).
The prevailing intellectual culture is becoming more and more convinced that concepts like liberty do not have any reference in reality.

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John Locke and Political Hebraism

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Locke published the Two Treatises as a moral justification of violent resistance against tyranny—and the Hebrew Bible was vital to this endeavor.

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2018: A Gathering Storm for Classical Liberalism

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U.S. Capitol (zimmytws/shutterstock.com)
Forces appear to be gathering to push America toward the greatest aggrandizement of the state since the New Deal.

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Does Classical Liberalism Have a Foreign Policy?

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The USS John C. Stennis on August 5, 2016 in Pearl Harbor, HI (Jeff Whyte / Shutterstock.com).
A foreign policy that pursues peaceful trade and self-defense aligns well with what classical liberals know about the limits of politics in general.

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Libertarianism: Michael Munger Responds to His Critics

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In response to: Can Libertarianism Be a Governing Philosophy?

Mock-up of a new, libertarian frontier: "sea-steading"
My suggestion was that “directional” libertarians and classical liberals ally rather than question one another’s authenticity.

More Responses

No, But Classical Liberalism Can

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If libertarians are not prepared to accept the consequences of absolute non-aggression, they should seek a more plausible public philosophy.

Libertarianism: Just As Feasible As the Rest (and Just As Fragile)

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Munger’s framework leaves us with hope grounded in realism.

The Problem with the “Simple Principle” of Liberty

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Communities may restrain liberty. These social features of human nature are as much a part of our mental furniture as the love of liberty—perhaps more so.

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