Spontaneous order theory is properly located in the history of social science. Indeed, the only part of social theory that can genuinely be said to be scientific derives from it. This scientific ...

Did Adam Smith—celebrated hero of free trade—make a big exception for reasons of national defense? Would he support the Jones Act of today? Caleb Petitt argues that a careful reading of Smith on the ...

Andrew Jackson conflated his own will with the will of the people, and ran roughshod over the Constitution’s constraints on his power in pursuit of goals that were often contemptible. Miles Smith IV ...

The socialist calculation debate revolves around the question of whether central planners can, at least in principle, make the economic calculations necessary to achieve the rational, efficient ...

Vincent Geloso is an assistant professor of economics at George Mason University. He holds a Ph.D. in Economic History from the London School of Economics. He is the author of Du Grand Rattrapage au ...

Strange things happen when political parties realize it’s possible to win elections with fewer votes. Structural explanations for polarization—from first past the post elections to the advent of ...

Alex Nowrasteh makes compelling evidence- based counter arguments to the most common objections to immigration. From “immigrants are going to take American jobs” to “they’re going to commit crimes” or ...

Paul Meany is the editor for intellectual history at Lib er tar i an ism .org, a project of the Cato Institute. Most of his work focuses on examining thinkers who predate classical liberalism but ...

Although black porters on Pullman train cars endured racial prejudice and tough working conditions, they used it as an opportunity to foment support for civil rights and to put their families on the ...

The libertarian principle on which the legitimacy of labor unions depends is freedom of association. Any person has a natural right to associate with any other person or group for any purpose that ...

Thomas Paine was one of the first people to argue in favor of what we now refer to as universal basic income. Paul Meany is the editor for intellectual history at Lib er tar i an ism .org, a project ...

A libertarian world won’t eliminate all poverty, but it offers powerful tools for greatly reducing it, and improving the lives of the poorest and least privileged. Michael Tanner is a senior fellow at ...