Virtual Reading Groups
Would you like to join interesting people and have interesting conversations based on readings from the history of liberty?
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Our Virtual Reading Groups will each focus on a particular topic, and a common set of readings will form the basis for our discussions. Each group is facilitated by a professional moderator and is conducted online powered by Zoom.
Our Timeless Reading Groups are asynchronous and open to all in the Portal platform. Liberty Fund solicits a scholar to lead a discussion of a short story and/or essays that each participant will read and discuss. This format doesn’t require participants to use Zoom or “schedule” a specific time to participate.
Participation is offered at no-cost, and there is no need to be an expert on the topic for discussion! The only requirement is that participants be eager to read and engage in conversation.
Upcoming
Liberty and Women's Suffrage
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This VRG will examine the arguments for and the long struggle for women’s right to vote in the United States. In the aftermath of the successful conclusion, in the form of the 19th Amendment, another constitutional change was…
The Federalist Papers and the Debate on the Constitution
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Pre-registration is required.
The Federalist played a role in the ratification debate of 1787-1788 and its 85 essays have long been seen as providing essential commentary on, and explanation of, the Constitution. Though written by Federalist partisans with…
Spontaneous Orders in Antiquity
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Pre-registration is required.
Spontaneous order is a central feature of classical liberal thought, especially Friedrich Hayek, and is often taken to be a key dimension of both liberal societies and market-based economies. Yet classical political thought…
Wealth of Nations: A Six-Part Series - Book Two
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Pre-registration is required.
Join us for a six-part monthly virtual reading group series that celebrates the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations!
Each month, Sarah Skwire and Janet Bufton (creators…
One Fell Swoop: Reading All of Shakespeare Plays: Antony and Cleopatra
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Pre-registration is required.
Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra is a famously difficult play to stage. Its complicated plot and constant shifting of scenes make the action hard to follow. But the beauties of Shakespeare’s language are still there, and we…
Buchanan's Essays: What Should Economists Do?
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Pre-registration is required.
James Buchanan’s goal in his 1964 essay ’What Should Economists Do?’ was to persuade economists to “concentrate their attention on a particular form of human activity, and upon the various institutional arrangements that arise as…
Liberty and the American Statesman: Roger Sherman
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Pre-registration is required.
This virtual reading group explores the life, ideas, and legacy of Roger Sherman, one of the most influential—yet often overlooked—Founding Fathers of the United States. A key figure in the American founding, Sherman was the…
Wealth of Nations: A Six-Part Series - Book Three
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Pre-registration is required.
Join us for a six-part monthly virtual reading group series that celebrates the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations!
Each month, Sarah Skwire and Janet Bufton (creators…
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858
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Pre-registration is required.
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858 were a defining moment in American political history, bringing the issue of slavery’s expansion to the forefront of national debate. As Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas clashed over moral…
One Fell Swoop: Reading All of Shakespeare Plays: All's Well That Ends Well
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Pre-registration is required.
All’s Well that Ends Well has defied categorization for centuries. The winning of a reluctant husband by an over-eager bride, and the subsequent bed-trick that secures their continued marriage are morally complicated in ways that…
Wealth of Nations: A Six-Part Series - Book Four
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Pre-registration is required.
Join us for a six-part monthly virtual reading group series that celebrates the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations!
Each month, Sarah Skwire and Janet Bufton (creators…
Wealth of Nations: A Six-Part Series - Book Five Part One
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Pre-registration is required.
Join us for a six-part monthly virtual reading group series that celebrates the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations!
Each month, Sarah Skwire and Janet Bufton (creators…
Wealth of Nations: A Six-Part Series - Book Five Part Two
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Pre-registration is required.
Join us for a six-part monthly virtual reading group series that celebrates the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations!
Each month, Sarah Skwire and Janet Bufton (creators…
Past Sessions
Understanding Reconstruction - the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
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The era of Reconstruction is among the most consequential—but also misunderstood—periods of all American history. Using exclusively primary source documents, this seminar introduces participants to the purpose, implications, and…
Foundations of Modern Environmentalism
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Environmental activism, despite its omnipresent placement in our news feeds, is really nothing new. Thinkers back to (at least) John Locke and John Stuart Mill have expressed concern for the natural environment.
Join us for three…
Bruno Leoni: Freedom and the Law
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After WWII, classical liberal thinkers attempted to develop a new version of classical liberalism, more attuned with the needs and issues emerged through the century. Virtually all of them played a special attention to the law.…
Oakeshott's Moral Vision
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Michael Oakeshott offers his readers a striking description of what it means to be conservative—in politics and in moral life more generally. His vision is connected to a particular view of liberal education. This VRG will…
The Messiness of Progress: Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and David Hume's Essays and Histories
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Hilary Mantel’s modern masterpiece Wolf Hall tells the story of the rise of Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII’s notorious minister and fixer. Usually cast as the villain in Tudor historical fiction, Cromwell instead emerges from…
J.S. Mill “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion"
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Mill's On Liberty provides readers with a ringing defense of free speech as a crucial component of a free society. This VRG will consider the effectiveness of Mill’s argument on its own, and in the light of today’s…
Classical Tragedy and the World of Ideas
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What can tragic dramas from the ancient world have to teach us today?
Join us to explore classic works by Sophocles and Aeschylus to explore the individual and philosophical implications of the tragic choices they portray.
The Election of 1800: Jefferson v. Adams
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In our current political climate, America can appear more divided than ever before. Politicians and pundits rage at one another, utilizing personal attacks, and each party seems to believe that the other side will destroy the…
