The medieval thinker John of Salisbury explored the relationship between virtue and the state, concluding that the good life requires freedom.

Is history education, before an advanced mental age, really just a propaganda problem? The way out is creative, individualist history.

The Ancient Roman Cicero’s idea of natural law has much to teach us about the evolution of liberty

Confused about where Jordan Peterson fits into the political landscape? Just ask F.A. Hayek.

Smith explains the thinking of James Birney when he liberated his slaves.

Democratic socialism isn’t the same as autocratic communism, but there are problems with socialism that democracy can’t solve.

Smith discusses Birney’s eventual opposition to the American Colonization Society and why he embraced abolitionism instead.

The modern state is a contingent historical development, born in blood—not a permanent or inevitable feature of human society.

The annual event throws the differences between libertarian and conservative thinking into sharp relief.

Smith discusses the interesting case of James Birney, who freed his slaves and became a prominent abolitionist.

Pining for a golden age of liberty that never existed is analytically and rhetorically disastrous.

It may be doing more harm than good.

Smith explains the crucial role of rights in political theory.

Smith discusses the common argument that natural rights will lead inevitably to anarchism.