Exploring and celebrating the history, theory, and practice of free, prosperous, and tolerant societies.
Recently Published
Founding Father John Witherspoon gracefully combined economic liberalism and theological orthodoxy.
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Videos and Podcasts
In this “INSIDE THE BOOK” episode, we talk with David Beito, author of “FDR: A New Political Life” (2025).
Beito’s book examines the latest historical scholarship on Franklin D. Roosevelt to shed light on the life and legacy of the late president. Beito grapples with Roosevelt’s opportunism, the progressive ideas that influenced him, and the dangerous precedents he set as the longest-serving president in US history.
David T. Beito is professor emeritus of history at the University of Alabama and a senior research fellow at the Independent Institute. He is the author of several books and scholarly articles, including “From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State: Fraternal Societies and Social Services, 1809–1967” (2000), “T. R. M. Howard: Doctor, Entrepreneur, Civil Rights Pioneer” (2017), and “The New Deal’s War on the Bill of Rights: The Untold Story of FDR’s Concentration Camps, Censorship, and Mass Surveillance” (2023).
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Featured Collections
Free Trade
Free trade is often discussed as a matter of economics, but at its core it is a story about human cooperation. Open exchange allows millions of people—across borders, cultures, and industries—to coordinate their efforts without central direction or coercion. Through spontaneous order and dispersed knowledge, free trade transforms individual decisions into shared prosperity, proving that complex social cooperation does not require control to succeed.
This collection from Libertarianism.org explores free trade as a moral and civilizing force. It traces how voluntary exchange fosters peace, innovation, and mutual benefit, while trade barriers entrench privilege and limit opportunity. In a time of renewed skepticism toward globalization, these works remind us that trusting people to trade freely remains one of the most powerful engines of human flourishing.
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Freedom of Speech
Free speech is tested most in times of crisis. The assassination of Charlie Kirk reminds us that silencing voices breeds only fear and division. We, the people, must unwaveringly protect each other’s rights. When we stop, we enable the government to chip away at the Constitutional protections our society is built upon. Government attempts to censor and control the responses to this tragedy are misguided. From Milton to Mill to the digital age, the libertarian case is clear: defend speech for all, trust liberty over fear.
Bad speech should be addressed with better speech.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
In many parts of the West, people can mostly develop and hold their own beliefs and express them freely. These liberties, known as Freedom of Conscience and Freedom of Speech, were part of the foundation that helped develop modern societies as we know them. Nonetheless, these interconnected ideas of freedom have historically been under threat, and the struggle to establish and protect these rights stretches over the past two thousand years.
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Just Sentiments
The phrase “just sentiments” highlights the willful and cognitive aspect of sentiment, which is emphasized in Smith’s ethics. The sentiment that someone experiences is influenced by actions he took prior to the experience. And, during the experience, or immediately after it, the person can reflect on his having felt the sentiment. He asks himself: Should I affirm the sentiment? Should I revise it? Should I reject it? The experiencing of a sentiment can be seen as a matter of the will and thus of acting justly. “Just sentiments” suggests one’s responsibility for one’s sentiments.
