A look at the ideas, battles, and legacy of the most important 19th and 20th century champions of liberty such as Mill, Mises, Hayek, Friedman, Rothbard, Rand, Nozick, Buchanan, and Tullock. How did these thought leaders advance liberty in the face of violent totalitarianism and creeping statism? How did they address their challengers like Keynes, Rawls, and Cohen? Finally, who will carry their legacy into the 21st century? This seminar is ideal for IHS summer seminar alumni and students who are familiar with the libertarian conceptual framework.
- Overview
- A Typical Day
- Location
- Faculty
- Readings
Freedom Renewed: Libertarian Visionaries
The “Freedom Renewed: Libertarian Visionaries” seminar is one of the offerings in our "Champions of Liberty" summer seminar series. This seminar focuses on major figures, intellectual currents, historical events, and important critics from the late 19th century through the present. The week’s lectures and discussions also will examine threats to freedom over the past one hundred years and the renewed vigor of some of the most important architects of modern libertarian thought in response.
The seminar’s multi-disciplinary curriculum will demonstrate the importance of liberty from multiple angles, and draw lecturers and students from a variety of disciplines. Ideal candidates will have a mastery of the principles of liberty and a curiosity for a deeper and more challenging exploration of the questions, issues, persons, and problems in the rich heritage of liberty.
Participants will develop a nuanced understanding of classical liberal thought from philosophical, economic, political, and historical vantage points.
Topic Sampling
- Utility and Liberty: The Impact of Bentham and Mill
- Mises and Economic Calculation
- Hayek Against Scientism
- Rothbard’s Science of Liberty
- Buchanan and Tullock’s Constitutional Moment
- Alchian, Coase, and Property Rights
- Keynes, Samuelson, and the Economics of Control
- Rawls and Egalitarianim
- Nozick on Justice
- Friedman and the Rise of Modern Conservatism
- Individualism, Liberty, and Communitarian Critics
- Objectivism’s Relationship to Liberty
Faculty
Featured lecturers hail from a range of disciplines including economics, history, philosophy, and political science. Read about the speakers at this seminar.
Students are responsible for travel costs; IHS covers program costs, books, housing, and meals.
