What authority should government have over our actions?
The ability to interact peacefully and voluntarily provides individuals a better quality of life.
01 April, 2020
- In classical liberal philosophy, voluntary action says the scope of legitimate government authority is extremely narrow.
- While not all classical liberals agree on immigration policy, the question remains: What right does a government have to stop someone from moving to another country should they so choose?
- As an immigrant, himself, Georgetown University professor Peter Jaworski invites us to consider the freest countries in the world and examine the economic freedom and civil liberties their citizens enjoy.
The tech shift: Push politicians for answers, and develop your digital literacy
Tech is rising and America's middle class is vanishing. Here's what to do.
28 March, 2020
- The rise of new technologies is making the United States more economically unequal, says Professor Ramesh Srinivasan. Americans should be pushing the current presidential candidates hard for answers on how they will bring economic security and how they will ensure that technological transitions benefit all of us.
- "We are at an inflection point when it comes to top-down control over very many different aspects of our lives through privatized corporate power over technology," says Srinivasan. Now is the time to debate solutions like basic income and worker-owned cooperatives.
- Concurrently, individuals should develop digital literacy and get educated on the potential solutions. Srinivasan recommends taking free online and open courses from universities like Stanford and MIT, and reading books and quality journalism on these issues.
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How far does individual freedom reach?
The costs of prohibition are great, but can people be trusted to make the best decisions for themselves?
25 March, 2020
- Classical liberals favor democracy because it operates as a ruling of the people by the people, rather than rule by someone else.
- This lends itself to the concept of negative freedom, or freedom from being compelled by the state or other authority to do something. So Daniel Jacobson, professor of philosophy at University of Michigan, raises the question: Do we have absolute sovereignty over our bodies?
- The crucial point for liberalism is that liberty ought to be the default. It shouldn't be easy to justify compulsion.
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How will COVID-19 impact the economy?
Economics professor Stephen M. Miller shares his insights in this exclusive interview.
25 March, 2020
Image by ffikretow on Shutterstock
- Stephen M. Miller, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, gives insight into how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts American economies.
- Calling it a "trade-off between public health and economic health," Miller explains why social distancing is a necessary measure to avoid a total crash of economies.
- The SIR model, which is a guide to assessing how much of the population is actively infected, shows what could happen if the active cases of infection goes above 10% of the population.
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Can foreign intervention lead to peaceful solutions?
Despite potential good intentions, interventionist policies are often viewed by classical liberals as violations of individual freedoms.
18 March, 2020
- Intervention covers a range of activity broader than just war. Some interventions have more humanitarian aims, such as disaster relief and development aid.
- Oftentimes, the drive behind many instances of intervention involves some form of political, economic, or social outcome.
- There are important questions to consider regarding knowledge, goals, incentives, and unintended consequences. The answers to these indicate whether an intervention is necessary and appropriate.
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