Booker T. Washington was born into slavery in 1856. He published his autobiography, Up from Slavery, in 1901. The word “up” implies rising from lower to higher. In his writings, Washington frequently ...

Raised since early childhood to promote Jeremy Bentham's theory of utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill both expanded on those ideas and developed many of his own regarding individual freedom and liberty.

Monroe was not a deep thinker, as were Jefferson and Madison, nor was he the charismatic leader that Washington was. “Everything Wrong with the Presidents” series focuses on, as the title suggests, ...

Prosperity and property rights are inextricably linked. The importance of having well-defined and strongly protected property rights is now widely recognized among economists and policymakers. A ...

Anarchism is a theory of society without the state in which the market provides all public goods and services, such as law and order. Although most anarchists oppose all large institutions, public or ...

The modern state is a contingent historical development, born in blood- - not a permanent or inevitable feature of human society. In concentrating decision- making power, the state divests citizens ...

Smith discusses Kant’s attempt to justify objective moral principles and his views on when the use of coercion is morally proper. George H. Smith was formerly Senior Research Fellow for the Institute ...

Tom G. Palmer is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, director of the Institute’s educational division, Cato University, Executive Vice President for International Programs at Atlas Network, and ...

George H. Smith was formerly Senior Research Fellow for the Institute for Humane Studies, a lecturer on American History for Cato Summer Seminars, and Executive Editor of Knowledge Products. Smith’s ...

The origin of the idea that liberty could be preserved through the separation of powers endures through the arguments of Polybius. Paul Meany is the editor for intellectual history at Lib er tar i an ...

Libertarians have consistently argued that individuals should be free to consume mind- altering substances such as heroin, cocaine, marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco given that others are not harmed.

Larry Reed revisits “I, Pencil” with reflections on the global market. Economist and historian Lawrence W. (“Larry”) Reed is president emeritus, Humphreys Family Senior Fellow, and Ron Manners Global ...