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August 27, 2019|Devin Stauffer, Materialism, metaphysics, Thomas Hobbes

What Would Hobbes Do?

by Geoffrey Vaughan|

Thomas Hobbes might not have bequeathed institutions to us but he did pass along a manner of being in the world.

July 5, 2019|Clint Eastwood, Declaration of Independence, Jacques Maritain, John Locke, Michael Zuckert, Natural Rights, Thomas Hobbes, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

When Exactly Did the Idea of Rights Go Off the Rails?

by Peter C. Myers|

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the opening of the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sep 20, 2016 (Drop of Light/Shutterstock.com).
The present deformation of rights was not fated from the beginning, as some prominent conservatives have claimed.

November 20, 2018|David Hume, despotism, James Wilson, John Locke, Natural Law, Republicanism, Thomas Hobbes

Natural Law and Democracy: The Philosophy of James Wilson

by Roberta Bayer|

Engraving by J.B. Longacre after "miniature in possession of Mrs. Hollingsworth." Published in John Sanderson, Biog. of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence, Philadelphia, 1823. (Everett Historical/Shutterstock.com)
Thoroughgoing philosophical skepticism undermines liberty by denying that law can be reasonable, and that justice can be known.

August 28, 2018|civility, Desiderius Erasmus, John Locke, Roger Williams, speech codes, Teresa Bejan, Thomas Hobbes, Toleration

“All Must Be Tolerated”: Teresa Bejan’s Mere Civility, Part II

by M. Anthony Mills|

Statue of Roger Williams in Prospect Terrace Park, Providence, Rhode Island (Richard Cavallieri/Shutterstock.com).
Modern calls for civility often hearken to a golden age of liberal free speech, but this is a mistake.

August 27, 2018|civility, Desiderius Erasmus, John Locke, Roger Williams, speech codes, Teresa Bejan, Thomas Hobbes, Toleration

“All Must Be Tolerated”: Teresa Bejan’s Mere Civility, Part I

by M. Anthony Mills|

Statue of Roger Williams in Prospect Terrace Park, Providence, Rhode Island (Richard Cavallieri/Shutterstock.com).
Hobbes and Locke offer echoes of standard liberal approaches to civility, but Roger Williams may offer a better sort of civility.

June 11, 2018|Kenneth Minogue, On Liberty and Its Enemies, Thomas Hobbes

Minogue on States, Institutions, and the Enemies of Liberty

by Donald Devine|

The political theorist who figured out why nearly everyone today supports democracy but most people are “disenchanted with the way it works.” 

April 17, 2018|Free Speech, John Locke, Mere Civility, Political Correctness, Roger Williams, Thomas Hobbes

The Solid Ground of Mere Civility: A Conversation with Teresa Bejan

by Teresa M. Bejan|

A painting by Alonzo Chappel, shows a group of Native Americans (possibly the Narragansett) as they offer the pipe of peace to Roger Williams, the future founder of Rhode Island.
Teresa Bejan discusses with us how early modern debates over religious toleration are an example of how we can disagree well.

March 5, 2018|

No, But Classical Liberalism Can

by Nathan W. Schlueter|

In response to: Can Libertarianism Be a Governing Philosophy?

Mock-up of a new, libertarian frontier: "sea-steading"
If libertarians are not prepared to accept the consequences of absolute non-aggression, they should seek a more plausible public philosophy.

More Responses

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

by Nikolai G. Wenzel

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

The Problem with the “Simple Principle” of Liberty

by Scott Yenor

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.

Libertarianism: Michael Munger Responds to His Critics

by Michael C. Munger

My suggestion was that “directional” libertarians and classical liberals ally rather than question one another’s authenticity.

February 12, 2018|Edmund Burke, Gini coefficients, The Great Leveler, Thomas Hobbes, Thomas Piketty, Walter Scheidel, William Hastings

The Rich You Will Always Have With You

by Brandon Turner|

Walter Scheidel writes that only revolutions of a certain character demonstrate real leveling effects—usually the victory over inequality is short-lived.

April 26, 2017|Bill Nye, Francis Bacon, March for Science, Thomas Hobbes

This Is Your Brain on Scientism

by Greg Weiner|

March for Science protesters march to demonstrate on April 22, 2017 in Paris. (Photo by John van Hasselt/Corbis via Getty Images)

The problem with convening a March for Prudence is that the prudent—being otherwise occupied and believing public views should be mediated through representation—would never attend. But after the unbounded rhetoric of the March for Science, one wonders if prudence dictates, on this one occasion, marching after all.

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Book Reviews

A Mirror of the 20th-Century Congress

by Joseph Postell

Wright undermined the very basis of his local popularity—the decentralized nature of the House—by supporting reforms that gave power to the party leaders.

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The Graces of Flannery O'Connor

by Henry T. Edmondson III

O'Connor's correspondence is a goldmine of piercing insight and startling reflections on everything from literature to philosophy to raising peacocks.

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Liberty Classics

Rereading Politica in the Post-Liberal Moment

by Glenn A. Moots

Althusius offers a rich constitutionalism that empowers persons to thrive alongside one another in deliberate communities.

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James Fenimore Cooper and the American Experiment

by Melissa Matthes

In The American Democrat, James Fenimore Cooper defended democracy against both mob rule and majority tyranny.

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Podcasts

Stuck With Decadence

A discussion with Ross Douthat

Ross Douthat discusses with Richard Reinsch his new book The Decadent Society.

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Can the Postmodern Natural Law Remedy Our Failing Humanism?

A discussion with Graham McAleer

Graham McAleer discusses how postmodern natural law can help us think more coherently about human beings and our actions.

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Did the Civil Rights Constitution Distort American Politics?

A discussion with Christopher Caldwell

Christopher Caldwell discusses his new book, The Age of Entitlement.

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America, Land of Deformed Institutions

A discussion with Yuval Levin

Yuval Levin pinpoints that American alienation and anger emerges from our weak political, social, and religious institutions.

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About

Law & Liberty’s focus is on the classical liberal tradition of law and political thought and how it shapes a society of free and responsible persons. This site brings together serious debate, commentary, essays, book reviews, interviews, and educational material in a commitment to the first principles of law in a free society. Law & Liberty considers a range of foundational and contemporary legal issues, legal philosophy, and pedagogy.

The opinions expressed on Law & Liberty are solely those of the contributors to the site and do not reflect the opinions of Liberty Fund.
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