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State Education and the 19th Century Voluntaryist Movement
George H. Smith was formerly Senior Research Fellow for the Institute for Humane Studies, a lecturer on American History for Cato Summer Seminars, and Executive Editor of Knowledge Products. He authors a weekly essay series, Excursions, at Libertarianism.org.
In this lecture from a Center for Libertarian Studies conference in 1981, Smith shares with the audience his discovery of an entirely new body of libertarian literature: the writings of the 19th-century voluntaryists in England, particularly their insistence on a separation between the church and the state and their writings about resisting a British state education system.
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Six Stages of the Libertarian Movement
A prolific author and Austrian economist, Murray Rothbard promoted a form of free market anarchism he called “anarcho-capitalism.”
In this video from the first Libertarian International World Libertarian Convention in 1982 in Zurich, Switzerland, Rothbard gives a lecture on what he identified as the six stages of building an independent libertarian (or any philosophical) movement. Rothbard identifies possible growing pains associated with the growing popularity of libertarianism but ultimately concludes that such risks are necessary because “Libertarians, it seems to me, are not content with contemplating justice, contemplating truth, goodness and beauty, we’re not playing intellectual games — we mean to change the world. We want to put this thing into reality.”
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Historic Moment for Drug Policy Reform Movement
By Tim Lynch
The momentum for drug policy reform continues to gather strength and is now undeniable. Voters in two states–Colorado and Washington–have now approved marijuana legalization under state law. This represents a historic moment in the drug reform movement. Rejecting the hard-line ‘lock’em up’ mentality that has dominated U.S. drug policy, two states have now broken rank and will now try a new approach.
Legalization means adult marijuana users should not be treated like criminals. Legalization means police should spend their time more wisely–focusing on violent offenders, not people who choose to grow and use marijuana. Federal law remains in effect, but the Obama administration should allow the states to chart another path. One of the benefits of our federal system is that states can experiment with different policies so we can learn what works well and what does not.
It should also be noted that voters in Massachusetts overwhelmingly approved an initiative that would legalize medical marijuana, which continues the liberalization trend in that area. Several cities in Michigan–most notably Detroit–voted to decriminalize marijuana for adults.
From the west coast to the east coast, the political climate for drug policy reform is getting better and better.
For related Cato work, go here and here.
Historic Moment for Drug Policy Reform Movement is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
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Roy A. Childs, Jr.: A History of the Libertarian Movement
Roy A. Childs, Jr. was an essayist, lecturer, and critic. He first came to prominence in the libertarian movement with his 1969 “Open Letter to Ayn Rand,” and he quickly established himself as a major thinker within the libertarian tradition. Childs edited Libertarian Review from 1977 to 1981 and was a Cato Institute scholar from 1982 to 1984. He wrote and edited hundreds of book reviews for Laissez Faire Books from 1984 until his death in 1992.
In this lecture from a 1983 Cato Summer Seminar at Dartmouth College, Childs gives the history of the modern American libertarian movement from the 1920s to the establishment of the Libertarian Party in 1971 and the publication of Anarchy, State, and Utopia by Robert Nozick and the establishment of the Cato Institute in 1974. Other highlights include Childs’s thoughts on the lives and works of great 20th century libertarian thinkers such as Rand, Mises, Hayek, Friedman, Rothbard, Nock, Reed, Paterson, Lane, Chodorov, and many more.
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Leonard Liggio on the Rise of the Modern American Libertarian Movement
Leonard Liggio is currently the Executive Vice President of Academics at the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, a Distinguished Senior Scholar at the Institute for Humane Studies, and a Research Professor at George Mason University’s School of Law.
In this talk, given at a Future of Freedom Foundation event in 1995, Liggio recounts the story of the modern libertarian movement in America, beginning with the resistance to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal programs in the 1930s and continuing through the 1940s and 1960s with the founding of think tanks like the Foundation for Economic Education and the Institute for Humane studies. Liggio talks about the impact of certain individuals on the libertarian movement during this time period, including Leonard Reed, William Volker, Milton Friedman, Baldy Harper, Henry Hazlitt, Loren ‘Red’ Miller, Murray Rothbard, Frank Chodorov, George Stigler, and others.
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