Havel Week 2023
A week-long celebration of the legacy of Czech writer, dissident, and politician Václav Havel.
Even a purely moral act that has no hope of any immediate and visible political effect can gradually and indirectly, over time, gain in political significance.
This week at Libertarianism.org we are celebrating Václav Havel, the Czech poet and playwright who played a key role in opposing the totalitarian regime in post-World War II Czechoslovakia. Havel’s principled and courageous stand contributed to the 1989 Velvet Revolution that peacefully toppled the communist regime. Though Havel’s immediate target was the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, his critique of ideology and its corrupting influence applies to both totalitarian and liberal regimes alike.
As part of Havel Week, Libertarianism.org will be releasing the first two episodes of our new podcast, The Liberty Exchange, where Jonathan Fortier will be interviewing professors Milan Babík and Flagg Taylor about anti-communist dissent in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and its relevance to the fight for freedom today.
This post will be updated with links to all of the content related to Havel Week.
New on Libertarianism.org This Week
Introductory Video: Celebrating Havel’s Place by Landry Ayres
Portraits of Liberty Episode 51, A Monument to Freedom of Speech: Havel’s Place by Paul Meany
Havel and the Ideological Temptation by Flagg Taylor, a review of David Gilbreath Barton’s Havel: Unfinished Revolution
The Liberty Exchange Episode 1, The Velvet Revolution and Václav Havel with Jonathan Fortier and Milan Babík
Havel’s Masterwork: The Power of the Powerless by Jonathan Fortier
No Liberty without Responsibility: Hayek and Havel by Paul Meany
The Liberty Exchange Episode 2, Havel on Authenticity, Responsibility, and Freedom with Jonathan Fortier and Flagg Taylor
From the Archives
Portraits of Liberty Episode 39, Poet Turned President: Václav Havel by Paul Meany