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Liberty Matters

The OLL brings people together to debate and discuss important texts and big ideas about liberty.

Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

By: David Womersley, Mark Packer, Freya Johnston, Brian Young, and Béla Kapossy June 15, 2026

Arriving in 1776, as the Declaration of Independence gave birth to a new nation and Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations gave birth to a new discipline--modern economics, Gibbon’s Decline and Fall explored the enduring significance of one of the most influential works of historical scholarship.

Compounding Interest: Revisiting The Wealth of Nations at 250

By: Eric Schliesser, Maria Pia Paganelli, Dennis C. Rasmussen, Brianne Wolf, Jacob T. Levy, and Craig Smith March 9, 2026

Arriving in 1776, as the Declaration of Independence gave birth to a new nation and Gibbon’s Decline and Fall gave birth to a new approach to history, Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations gave…

Women at War

By: Claudia Williamson Kramer, Jayme Lemke, Joshua D. Ammons, and Abigail R. Hall September 16, 2025

Traditionally war was thought of as a man’s domain. The authors in this series know better.

The Legacy of David Boaz

By: Andy Craig, Ilya Somin, Tarnell S. Brown, Aaron Powell, and Jonathan Blanks June 2, 2025

David Boaz (August 29, 1953–June 7, 2024) was one of the most influential libertarians of the 20th century, and a driving force behind The Cato Institute for many decades.

Jefferson in Time: Perspectives through His Eyes

By: Cara Rogers Stevens, Todd Estes, Christine McDonald, and Hans Eicholz March 20, 2025

Thomas Jefferson was born April 13, 1743 and died on July 4th, 1826. During his 83 years Jefferson saw and brought about dramatic changes in law, slavery, and religious toleration. His efforts were imperfect but he did, throughout…

Early Spanish Empire in North America

By: Paul Schwennesen, Gabriela Calderon de Burgos, and Henry T. Edmondson III February 18, 2025

Did a Spanish Enlightenment predate and influence later English and Scottish Enlightenments?

Ancient Legacies: Democracy v Republic (Greece v Rome)

By: Ioannis D. Evrigenis, Marco Romani, Carl Richard, and Charlotte C. Thomas January 14, 2025

American revolutionaries looked to the past for lessons about constraining the individuals who would serve in future governments.

Contrasting Views of Liberty in Hume and Rousseau (November 2024)

By: Maria Pia Paganelli, Aaron Alexander Zubia, Edward Harpham, and Elena Yi-Jia Zeng November 12, 2024

David Hume’s skepticism and rigorous empiricism confront Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s idealism and passionate romanticism in this series about their perspectives on liberty. Hume and Rousseau were two of the most notorious and…

Oakeshott and Liberal Education (October 2024)

By: Elizabeth Corey, Ella C. Street, Eric S. Kos, and Elaine Sternberg October 8, 2024

Michael Oakeshott was an English political theorist and philosopher who is admired by many conservatives and classical liberals. In this Liberty Matters series, Elizabeth Corey relates Oakeshott's ideal categories of civil and…

Classical Liberals on Race (August/September 2024)

By: Rachel Ferguson, Marcus M. Witcher, Angel Adams Parham, Timothy Sandefur, Lucas E. Morel, and Sanford Ikeda August 20, 2024

Many classical liberals have been silent or passive when it comes to racism’s pernicious effects. Others have twisted or misunderstood classical liberalism to justify racist words and deeds.

The Rebirth of the Austrian School and the South Royalton Conference: Marking the Fifty-Year Anniversary (June 2024)

By: Richard Ebeling, Mario J. Rizzo, David R. Henderson, and Geoffrey Lea June 4, 2024

The first Austrian Economics conference was held fifty years ago in 1974 in South Royalton, Vermont. In this Liberty Matters online discussion the authors share their recollections, thoughts on the fifty years since, and their hopes…

Harriet Taylor Mill on Marriage and Divorce (March/April 2024)

By: Giandomenica Becchio, Helen McCabe, Sandra J. Peart, and David M. Levy March 28, 2024

In this Liberty Matters online discussion we assess the ideas of Harriet Taylor Mill and her partnership with John Stuart Mill. The authors often draw on Taylor Mill and Mill’s correspondence, edited by Friedrich von Hayek in 1951.…

Systemic Racism in Crime and Housing (February/March 2024)

By: Ramon P. DeGennaro, Claudia Williamson Kramer, Wilfred Reilly, Craig J. Richardson, and Harold A. Black February 13, 2024

A previous set of essays explored systemic racism as a potential cause of racial disparities in education and healthcare. This set focuses on similar disparities in housing and crime.

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