Libertarianism.org Guides
73 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 7 years ago - ★★★★★ - 18 ratingsLibertarianism.org is the Cato Institute’s resource for exploring the theory, history, and practice of liberty. Taught by top professors and experts, Libertarianism.org Guides introduce the basic ideas and principles of a free and flourishing society. The core of each guide is a series of short lectures given in a small seminar setting accompanied by book, very often from the Libertarianism.org Introduction series. Guides also serve as a path to further learning. If you’d like to dig deeper, each Guide’s homepage offers reading lists, essays, and links to other helpful materials. Access and watch Libertarianism.org Guides anytime and anywhere, and all for free, at www.libertarianism.org.
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Episodes
Foundational Concepts in Economics: 12: The Importance of Economic Liberty
May 15, 2017 20:58 - 33 minutes - 45.4 MBBaetjer illustrates the harmful effects of economic regulations and argues that we ought to instead prefer economic liberty.
Foundational Concepts in Economics: 11: Free Market Incentives Foster Service to Others
May 15, 2017 20:49 - 27 minutes - 37.2 MBBaetjer argues that the incentives inherent in market institutions outperform the incentives inherent in state institutions in getting people to properly consider the well-being of others when they act.
Foundational Concepts in Economics: 10: Profit and Loss Guide Entrepreneurial Discovery
May 15, 2017 20:41 - 23 minutes - 31.5 MBThe trial-and-error based profit and loss mechanism, says Baetjer, is an indispensable tool for guiding discovery and innovation in the economy.
Foundational Concepts in Economics: 9: The Problems with Price Controls
May 15, 2017 20:34 - 21 minutes - 29.6 MBContinuing his discussion of prices, Baetjer explains what can go wrong when outside interference prevents genuine market prices from emerging.
Foundational Concepts in Economics: 8: Prices Communicate Dispersed Knowledge
May 15, 2017 20:26 - 19 minutes - 26.2 MBPrices, explains Baetjer, are a powerful tool for getting people the knowledge they need to cooperate with one another in the market.
Foundational Concepts in Economics: 7: Supply and Demand Together
May 15, 2017 20:10 - 18 minutes - 24.8 MBHaving discussed supply and demand separately, Baetjer explains how, together, they describe the way markets operate.
Foundational Concepts in Economics: 6: Supply
May 15, 2017 20:05 - 14 minutes - 19.4 MBBaetjer explains the “supply” half of “supply and demand.”
Foundational Concepts in Economics: 5: Demand
May 15, 2017 20:01 - 19 minutes - 25.7 MBBaetjer explains the “demand” half of “supply and demand.”
Foundational Concepts in Economics: 4: Comparative Advantage and Division of Labor
May 15, 2017 19:56 - 29 minutes - 39.5 MBBuilding on the concept of opportunity cost, Baetjer explains how specialization and trade make us richer.
Foundational Concepts in Economics: 3: Marginal Thinking
May 15, 2017 19:45 - 28 minutes - 38.1 MBAll economic behavior occurs at the margin. The decisions of economic actors are “bit by bit” decisions, not all-or-nothing ones.
Foundational Concepts in Economics: 2: Scarcity and Opportunity Cost
May 15, 2017 19:40 - 21 minutes - 28.2 MBBaetjer explains scarcity, the problem that any given good of finite supply can only ever be put to some of the many ends for which we might use it, and opportunity cost, the concept that taking one option costs us the benefit we would have gotten from taking the next-best option instead.
Foundational Concepts in Economics: 1: Subjective Value and Trade
May 15, 2017 19:34 - 22 minutes - 31.3 MBHoward Baetjer outlines some basic concepts essential to understanding economics, including the natures of wealth and economic value.
Libertarian Public Policy: 12: Conclusion
June 28, 2016 21:14 - 19 minutes - 26.9 MBWhat would a libertarian society look like? Which changes in that direction are most important?
Libertarian Public Policy: 11: Economics and Public Policies
June 28, 2016 21:14 - 28 minutes - 39.4 MBDr. Miron briefly discusses criminal justice, intellectual property, scientific research, risk management, campaign finance, abortion, and behavioral economics.
Libertarian Public Policy: 10: National Defense
June 28, 2016 21:13 - 17 minutes - 23 MBNational defense is a legitimate function of government, but military spending and the scope of military action tend to grow to excess.
Libertarian Public Policy: 9: Macroeconomics
June 28, 2016 21:12 - 19 minutes - 26.2 MBPolicies aimed at economic stabilization do more harm than good. Macroeconomic policy should be focused not on stabilization, but on economic growth.
Libertarian Public Policy: 8: Redistribution
June 28, 2016 21:11 - 22 minutes - 30.7 MBThere’s a plausible case, though not a fully persuasive one, for redistributing income to relieve poverty. Other forms of redistribution should be eliminated.
Libertarian Public Policy: 7: Health
June 28, 2016 21:10 - 18 minutes - 25.2 MBGovernment intervention has lowered the quality of medical care and made it more expensive.
Libertarian Public Policy: 6: Capitalism
June 28, 2016 21:09 - 22 minutes - 30.2 MBEven though markets aren’t perfect, most regulations end up being counterproductive. Other regulations, like contract enforcement and rules against fraud, help.
Libertarian Public Policy: 5: Discrimination
June 28, 2016 21:08 - 23 minutes - 32.6 MBMarkets have been shown to be effective to a degree in combating certain types of discrimination. Anti-discrimination laws have drawbacks we shouldn’t ignore.
Libertarian Public Policy: 4: Marriage
June 28, 2016 21:07 - 18 minutes - 25.1 MBIf government provides marriages, there’s no reason to allow only opposite-sex couples to marry. A libertarian legal order could have a variety of marriage types.
Libertarian Public Policy: 3: Education
June 28, 2016 21:06 - 26 minutes - 36.1 MBIt’s doubtful whether any government involvement in education is a net good, and it would be better for the state to finance vouchers than to run schools itself.
Libertarian Public Policy: 2: Vice
June 28, 2016 21:05 - 19 minutes - 26.5 MBThe policy “cures” for a variety of putative social ills—drug use, gambling, sex work, gun ownership, etc.—are worse than the “diseases” they purport to treat.
Libertarian Public Policy: 1: Introduction
June 28, 2016 21:03 - 18 minutes - 25.8 MBMiron’s “Consequential Libertarianism” holds that on a rigorous, broad understanding, the costs of restricting liberty outweigh the benefits.
Introduction to Political Philosophy: 11: Market Failure vs. Government Failure
February 12, 2016 23:37 - 7 minutes - 9.52 MBBrennan discusses the intersection of political philosophy and political economy in this conclusion to our Guide.
Introduction to Political Philosophy: 10: Labor Ethics
February 12, 2016 23:35 - 13 minutes - 828 BytesAre sweatshops a least-bad choice for the third world? Brennan applies the foregoing discussion of political philosophy to the case of labor ethics.
Introduction to Political Philosophy: 9: Immigration Rights
February 12, 2016 23:32 - 15 minutes - 21.3 MBWhat are the economic and moral cases for allowing more immigration? Do immigrant workers depress native wages? Do they sully native culture? Commit more crime?
Introduction to Political Philosophy: 8: Democracy and Voting
February 12, 2016 23:30 - 16 minutes - 22.6 MBIs democracy a means to an end, or is it valuable in itself? Jason Brennan discusses democracy and voting.
Introduction to Political Philosophy: 7: Political Authority
February 12, 2016 23:29 - 13 minutes - 17.9 MBJason Brennan examines a key question in political philosophy: what, if anything, is the difference between the government and ordinary people?
Introduction to Political Philosophy: 6: Skepticism About Distributive Justice
February 12, 2016 23:25 - 10 minutes - 13.9 MBThe libertarian philosopher Robert Nozick offered important criticisms of pattern-based theories of distributive justice and offered his own alternative framework.
Introduction to Political Philosophy: 5: Rawls's Distributive Justice
February 12, 2016 23:22 - 14 minutes - 19 MBJason Brennan explains the political thought of John Rawls, one of the key figures in modern political philosophy.
Introduction to Political Philosophy: 5: Rawls's Distributive Justice
February 12, 2016 23:22 - 14 minutes - 19 MBJason Brennan explains the political thought of John Rawls, one of the key figures in modern political philosophy.
Introduction to Political Philosophy: 4: Why Property Rights?
February 12, 2016 23:03 - 12 minutes - 16.8 MBJason Brennan considers property rights: what they are, what justifies them, and what sorts of social problems they help avoid.
Introduction to Political Philosophy: 3: What Are Rights?
February 12, 2016 23:01 - 12 minutes - 17 MBJason Brennan discusses what rights are and contrasts rights-based thinking about ethics with utilitarian thinking.
Introduction to Political Philosophy: 2: Liberty: Who Needs It?
February 12, 2016 22:57 - 8 minutes - 11.2 MBWhat does “liberty” mean in a philosophical context? Jason Brennan parses out how the word is used.
The Cato Home Study Course: 15: The Modern Quest for Liberty
January 20, 2016 21:02 - 3 hours - 168 MBThe final course in this curriculum examines the rebirth of libertarian thought from the 1940s onward.
The Cato Home Study Course: 14: The "Austrian" Case for the Free Market
January 20, 2016 21:00 - 2 hours - 162 MBThis audio course explores the contributions made to the understanding of liberty by the “Austrian” economists, mainly Ludwig von Mises and F. A. Hayek.
The Cato Home Study Course: 14: The "Austrian" Case for the Free Market
January 20, 2016 21:00 - 2 hours - 162 MBThis audio course explores the contributions made to the understanding of liberty by the “Austrian” economists, mainly Ludwig von Mises and F. A. Hayek.
The Cato Home Study Course: 13: The Achievements of Nineteenth Century Classical Liberalism
January 20, 2016 20:59 - 3 hours - 174 MBThis audio course shows how classical liberalism developed in Europe and America in the nineteenth century.
The Cato Home Study Course: 12: William Lloyd Garrison's The Liberator
January 20, 2016 20:56 - 1 hour - 61.7 MBWilliam Lloyd Garrison said that slavery violates the fundamental right of all individuals to be free, and he dedicated his life to abolishing the practice.
The Cato Home Study Course: 12: William Lloyd Garrison's The Liberator
January 20, 2016 20:56 - 1 hour - 61.7 MBWilliam Lloyd Garrison said that slavery violates the fundamental right of all individuals to be free, and he dedicated his life to abolishing the practice.
The Cato Home Study Course: 11: Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience
January 20, 2016 20:54 - 1 hour - 56.4 MBHenry David Thoreau sought to live as a wholly free person in a world that was not wholly free. Learn more about his life in this audio course.
The Cato Home Study Course: 11: Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience
January 20, 2016 20:54 - 1 hour - 56.4 MBHenry David Thoreau sought to live as a wholly free person in a world that was not wholly free. Learn more about his life in this audio course.
The Cato Home Study Course: 10: Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
January 20, 2016 20:52 - 1 hour - 78.3 MBThis course explores Mary Wollstonecraft’s arguments for the equal treatment of men and women by the state.
The Cato Home Study Course: 10: Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
January 20, 2016 20:52 - 1 hour - 78.3 MBThis course explores Mary Wollstonecraft’s arguments for the equal treatment of men and women by the state.
The Cato Home Study Course: 9: John Stuart Mill's On Liberty
January 20, 2016 20:50 - 1 hour - 69.5 MBThis course discusses the issues of equal rights, especially with reference to the flourishing of individuality and pluralism in a free society.
The Cato Home Study Course: 9: John Stuart Mill's On Liberty
January 20, 2016 20:50 - 1 hour - 69.5 MBThis course discusses the issues of equal rights, especially with reference to the flourishing of individuality and pluralism in a free society.
The Cato Home Study Course: 8: The Bill of Rights and Subsequent Amendments to the Constitution
January 20, 2016 20:48 - 2 hours - 135 MBThis module explains the background and meaning of each of the amendments in the Bill of Rights, as well as the debates over their ratification.
The Cato Home Study Course: 7: The Constitution of the United States of America
January 20, 2016 20:46 - 2 hours - 131 MBThe historical background to the United States Constitution, the text of the Constitution itself, and the struggle over its ratification are discussed in detail.
The Cato Home Study Course: 6: Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, Part 2
January 20, 2016 20:42 - 2 hours - 141 MBThis course continues the introduction of Adam Smith’s investigations of the natural laws of exchange in light of the “marginal revolution” of the 1870s.