Liberty & Society

• Overview
• A Typical Day
• Faculty
• Readings

An intense, interdisciplinary exploration of classical liberal and libertarian thought for undergraduates, recent graduates, and early graduate students familiar with the libertarian perspective.

Go beyond the basics of free markets to explore more sophisticated arguments for liberty in the humanities and social sciences. Stay up late discussing the ideas of Hayek, Nozick, Mises, and Adam Smith with your peers and seminar faculty. Delve into classical liberal perspectives in difficult areas such as the nature of social order, 'spillover effects,' the self-perpetuating nature of government intervention, and historical episodes such as the Great Depression. Grapple with tough policy questions as we examine how the philosophy of liberty provides answers to enduring social and political issues.

Some of this summer’s topics:

• Public Choice and Government Failure
  Government interventions are often rationalized by saying the market has failed. Do government programs fare better? What incentives do policy makers face, and how do these incentives influence the programs they design? Do we get the government we expect and deserve?

• Spontaneous Order and Social Change
  Defenders of freedom claim societies are self-ordering within a set of rules, and this spontaneous order benefits all. Yet racism, sexism and oppression persist throughout history. Should government play a role in ending these injustices.

• Markets and Morality
  How does living in a market-ordered society influence our morality? Does free trade degrade morality? Should the government try to promote morality? What does it mean for government itself to be moral?

• Liberty in Times of Crisis
  What happens to individual liberty in times of social crisis? Is there anything so permanent as a temporary government program? Who really benefits from government interventions?

• Lessons from the Great Depression
  What caused the Great Depression and what ended it? Did the New Deal speed recovery? Can government create jobs? What lessons from the past can inform the current economic situation?

“The seminar was a great opportunity to deepen our insights, improve our understanding of markets and meet others with similar ideas.” – James Lawson

Already have a thorough understanding of classical liberal thought? Consider our advanced seminar that delves into the challenges and tensions in the classical liberal perspective: The Tradition of Liberty: Advanced Studies.