Best of the OLL

About this Collection

Helpful introductions and carefully edited selections bring the OLL into focus. With recommendations for further reading and useful explanatory notes, these Best of the OLL selections are an ideal way to begin exploring the ideas of liberty.

Freedom Key Authors Essays Language and Literature

Titles & Essays

Group by Category

The Best of Bastiat

Frédéric Bastiat (author)

The Best of Bastiat (BOB) is a collection of some of the best material in Liberty Fund’s 6 volume edition of The Collected Works of Frédéric Bastiat (2011-). They are chapter length extracts and have been edited as pamphlets for…

The Best of Bastiat 1.1: A Life in Letters

Frédéric Bastiat (author)

The Best of Bastiat 1.2: Bastiat the Revolutionary Part 1

Frédéric Bastiat (author)

The Best of Bastiat1.3: Bastiat the Revolutionary Part 2

Frédéric Bastiat (author)

The Best of Bastiat 2.1: The State

Frédéric Bastiat (author)

The Best of Bastiat 2.2: Property Plunder

Frédéric Bastiat (author)

The Best of Bastiat 2.3: The Law

Frédéric Bastiat (author)

The Best of Bastiat 3.1: Petition of the Manufacturers of Candles

Frédéric Bastiat (author)

The Best of Bastiat 3.2: The Broken Window

Frédéric Bastiat (author)

The Best of Bastiat 3.3: The Utopian

Frédéric Bastiat (author)

The Best of Bastiat (BOB) is a collection of some of the best material in Liberty Fund’s edition of The Collected Works of Frédéric Bastiat (2011-). These extracts should be useful in the classroom, or discussion groups. This…

BOLL 3: Ludwig von Mises, “Economics of War” (1949)

Ludwig von Mises (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes…

BOLL 4: Ludwig von Mises, “Liberty and Property” (1958)

Ludwig von Mises (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes…

BOLL 5: John Stuart Mill, “Of the Limits to the Authority of Society over the Individual” (1859)

John Stuart Mill (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes…

BOLL 6: David Hume, “On Government” (1777)

David Hume (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes…

BOLL 11: W.G. Sumner, “The Conquest of the United States by Spain” (1898)

William Graham Sumner (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes…

BOLL 12: F.A. Hayek, “The Use of Knowledge in Society” (1945)

Friedrich August von Hayek (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes…

BOLL 13: Immanuel Kant, “The Principles of Political Right” (1791)

Immanuel Kant (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This essay is by…

BOLL 14: Paul Heyne, “Economics Is a Way of Thinking” (1995)

Paul Heyne (author)

This essay is by the American economist Paul Heyne who explains in a mere 5 pages how to think like an economist. Anyone can learn to think like an…

BOLL 15: Jasay, “Liberalism and Democracy” (1985)

Anthony de Jasay (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This essay is by…

BOLL 16: Leland Yeager, “The Positive Case for Free Trade” (1954)

Leland B. Yeager (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This essay is by…

BOLL 17: Milton Friedman, “Capitalism and Freedom” (1961)

Milton Friedman (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This essay is by…

BOLL 18: Friedrich Hayek, “Kinds of Order in Society” (1964)

Friedrich August von Hayek (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This essay is by…

BOLL 19: Israel Kirzner, “Entrepreneurial Activity and the General Market Process” (1963)

Israel M. Kirzner (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This essay is by…

BOLL 20: J.B. Say, “Of the Demand or Market for Products” (1819)

Jean-Baptiste Say (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This essay is by…

BOLL 21: Jeremy Bentham, “The Greatest Happiness of the Greatest Number” (1830)

Jeremy Bentham (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. In this extract…

BOLL 22: The Right to Ignore the State

Herbert Spencer (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This is a…

BOLL 23: Abbé de Condillac, “On Value and Trade” (1776)

Étienne Bonnot, Abbé de Condillac (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” a collection of classroom-friendly excerpts from some of the most important material in…

BOLL 24: Spooner, “Vices are Not Crimes”

Lysander Spooner (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This is a…

BOLL 25: Estienne de la Boétie, “The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude” (1552)

Etienne de la Boétie (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. Boétie asks one…

BOLL 26: Lao Tzu, “The Tao of Governing” (6thC BC)

Lao Tzu (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 27: Kirzner, “Economic Coordination” (1963)

Israel M. Kirzner (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This is a…

BOLL 28: Norman Barry, “Hayek’s Theory of Spontaneous Order I: Economic Orders” (1982)

Norman P. Barry (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 29: Norman Barry, “Hayek’s Theory of Spontaneous Order II: Legal Orders” (1982)

Norman P. Barry (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 30: Richard Cobden, “On the Total and Immediate Repeal of the Corn Laws” (1846)

Richard Cobden (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This is a speech…

BOLL 31: Samuel anoints Saul the First King of Israel (c. 1,000 B.C.)

Samuel (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 32: Richard Overton, “An Arrow against all Tryants and Tyrany” (October, 1646)

Richard Overton (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 33: Mary Wollstonecraft, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” (1792)

Mary Wollstonecraft (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 34: James Mill, The State of the Nation (1835)

James Mill (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This is an essay…

BOLL 35: James Madison, “The Utility of the Union As a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection” (1788)

James Madison (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 36: Lord Acton, “Inaugural Lecture on the Study of History” (1895)

John Emerich Edward Dalberg, Lord Acton (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 37: Montesquieu, “Of the Constitution of England” (1748)

Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This influential…

BOLL 38: Daniel Webster, “Speech on the Draft” (1814)

Daniel Webster (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 39: Adam Smith, “Of the Character of Virtue” (1759)

Adam Smith (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 40: Thomas Jefferson, “The Declaration of Independence” (1776)

Thomas Jefferson (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 41: “Magna Carta” (The Great Charter) (1215)

OLL Editor (editor)

41: “Magna Carta” (The Great Charter) (1215) The document known as Magna Carta was an agreement signed between King John and his feudal nobles in…

BOLL 42: Sir Edward Coke, “Petition of Right” (1628)

Sir Edward Coke (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 43: “The Habeas Corpus Act” (1679)

OLL Editor (editor)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 44: “The English Bill of Rights” (1689)

OLL Editor (editor)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 45 [George Mason], “The Virginia Bill of Rights” (June, 1776)

George Mason (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 46: David Hume, “The Progress of English Liberty” (1761)

David Hume (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 47: Wilhelm von Humboldt, “Of the Individual Man” (1792)

Wilhelm von Humboldt (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 48: J.S. Mill, “Utilitarianism” (1863)

John Stuart Mill (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. Mill’s classic…

BOLL 49: “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen” (1789)

Georg Jellinek (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 50: Condorcet and Olympe de Gouges, “The Rights of Women” (1790-91)

Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas Caritat, Marquis de Condorcet (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 51: Percy Bysshe Shelley, “On Liberty” (1810-22)

Percy Bysshe Shelley (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This collection…

BOLL 52: Condorcet, “Tenth Epoch. Future Progress of Mankind” (1794)

Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas Caritat, Marquis de Condorcet (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 53: Gustave de Molinari, “Of the Liberty of Government” (1849)

Gustave de Molinari (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 54: James Harrington, “The Commonwealth of Oceana” (1656)

James Harrington (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 55: Herbert Spencer, “Political Retrospect and Prospect” (1882)

Herbert Spencer (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. In this chapter…

BOLL 56: Hugo Grotius, “The Preliminary Discourse Concerning the Certainty of Right” (1625)

Hugo Grotius (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. At the beginning…

BOLL 57: J.S. Mill, “The Spirit of the Age” (1831)

John Stuart Mill (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This extract…

BOLL 58: Léon Faucher,“Property I” (1852)

Léon Faucher (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This article was…

BOLL 59: Wolowski and Levasseur, “Property II” (1864)

Louis Wolowski (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This essay was…

BOLL 60: Thomas Gordon, “On the Nature of Power” (1721)

Thomas Gordon (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes…

BOLL 61: John Trenchard, “On the Nature of Political Parties” (1721)

John Trenchard (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This essay on…

BOLL 62: J. S. Mill, “On Representative Government” (1861)

John Stuart Mill (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes…

BOLL 63: John Milton, “For the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing” (1664)

John Milton (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 64: James Mill, “Liberty of the Press” (1825)

James Mill (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 65: Destutt de Tracy, “Of Society” (1817)

Antoine Louis Claude, Comte Destutt de Tracy (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 66: Alexis de Tocqueville, “On Socialism” (1848)

Alexis de Tocqueville (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 67: John Stuart Mill “The Difficulties of Socialism” (1879)

John Stuart Mill (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 68: Ludwig von Mises, “Economic Calculation under Socialism” (1922)

Ludwig von Mises (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 69: John Thelwall, “Political Songs” (1795)

John Thelwall (author)

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list…

BOLL 70: David Hume, “Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth” (1777)

David Hume (author)

David Hume’s ideal form of government was not known in any detail until the posthumous appearance of the essay “Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth” in…

BOLL 71: Lysander Spooner, “Natural Law; or the Science of Justice” (1882)

Lysander Spooner (author)

This is part of “The OLL Reader: An Anthology of the Best of the OLL” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A…

BOLL 72: “Three Agreements of the People” (1647-49)

John Lilburne (author)

This is part of “The OLL Reader: An Anthology of the Best of the OLL” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A…

BOLL 73: Benjamin Constant, “On Freedom of Thought” (1815)

Benjamin Constant (author)

This is part of “The OLL Reader: An Anthology of the Best of the OLL” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A…

THE READING ROOM

BOLL 10: James M. Buchanan, “The Threat of Leviathan” (1975)

January 10, 2020

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes from James Buchanan’s book The Limits of Liberty in which he warns of the dangers…

THE READING ROOM

BOLL 11: W.G. Sumner, “The Conquest of the United States by Spain” (1898)

January 11, 2020

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes from a lecture given by William Graham Sumner, “The Conquest of the United States by…

THE READING ROOM

BOLL 2: Vicesimus Knox, “Universal Peace” (1793)

January 2, 2020

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes from Vicesimus Knox’s sermon “The Prospect of Perpetual and Universal Peace” which he…

THE READING ROOM

BOLL 3: Ludwig von Mises, “Economics of War” (1949)

January 3, 2020

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes from Ludwig von Mises’ book Human Action which was published soon after the end of…

THE READING ROOM

BOLL 4: Ludwig von Mises, “Liberty and Property” (1958)

January 4, 2020

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes from a lecture Ludwig von Mises gave to the Mont Pelerin Society in October 1958 in…

THE READING ROOM

BOLL 5: John Stuart Mill, “Of the Limits to the Authority of Society over the Individual” (1859)

January 5, 2020

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes from John Stuart Mill’s book On Liberty where in Chapter 4 he describes the strict…

THE READING ROOM

BOLL 6: David Hume, “On Government” (1777)

January 6, 2020

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes from David Hume’s collection of essays which include several essays on the origins…

BOLL 74: John Millar, “Circumstances which tend to increase the power of the Sovereign” (1771)

John Millar (author)

This is part of The OLL Reader: An Anthology of the Best of the OLL which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. It is a…

THE READING ROOM

BOLL 7: Adam Smith, “On Free Trade” (1776)

January 7, 2020

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes from Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” in which he defends the idea of free trade. It…

THE READING ROOM

BOLL 8: J.B. Say, “Of the Right of Property” (1819)

January 8, 2020

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes from Jean-Baptiste Say’s Treatise on Political Economy in which very early on in the…

THE READING ROOM

BOLL 9: William Blackstone, “Of the Absolute Rights of Individuals” (1766)

January 9, 2020

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes from Sir William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England in which he defines…

THE READING ROOM

The Best of the OLL No. 10: James M. Buchanan, “The Threat of Leviathan” (1975)

By: James M. Buchanan March 12, 2013

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes from James Buchanan’s book *The Limits of Liberty* in which he warns of the dangers…

THE READING ROOM

The Best of the OLL No. 7: Adam Smith, “On Free Trade” (1776)

By: Adam Smith March 12, 2013

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes from Adam Smith’s "Wealth of Nations” in which he defends the idea of free trade. It…

THE READING ROOM

The Best of the OLL No. 8: Jean-Baptiste Say, “Of the Right of Property” (1819)

By: Jean-Baptiste Say March 12, 2013

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes from Jean-Baptiste Say’s *Treatise on Political Economy* in which very early on in…

THE READING ROOM

The Best of the OLL No. 9: Sir William Blackstone, “Of the Absolute Rights of Individuals” (1766)

By: Sir William Blackstone March 12, 2013

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes from Sir William Blackstone’s *Commentaries on the Laws of England* in which he…