A founding influence of the Austrian School of economics, Carl Menger predominantly wrote on the subjects of prices, marginal utility, and money. 

Meyer was a major advocate of the right-wing fusionist movement, which attempted to unite elements of libertarianism and traditional conservatism.

John Stuart Mill was a philosopher best known for his contributions to a free-market, more freedom-oriented view of utilitarianism.

Best known for the epic Paradise Lost, Milton was an active voice for republican government and individualism during the English Civil Wars.

Ludwig von Mises was one of the most influential economists of the Austrian School, focusing among other issues the failures of central planning.

Michel de Montaigne was a French writer who popularized the reflective essay and contributed several essays on individualism and humanistic thought.

Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, wrote a theory of limited government that inspired American constitutional design and philosophy.

Charles Murray’s work has questioned the effectiveness and implications of the American welfare state and promoted individualist solutions instead.

Tonie Nathan was the running mate of 1976 Libertarian presidential candidate John Hospers and the first woman to receive an electoral vote.

Nozick’s work, especially his book Anarchy, State, & Utopia, re-interested many people in political philosophy and libertarianism.

Franz Oppenheimer, a German sociologist, wrote a comprehensive explanation of the history of the state as a history of conquest.

José Ortega y Gasset was a philosopher who wrote on the evils of state power and the way society grew and changed after the Industrial Revolution.

A well-known novelist and essayist, George Orwell’s social criticisms against totalitarianism still remain relevant today.

Thomas Paine was a political agitator who wrote to empower people to replace their existing tyrannical governments with liberal republics.

Isabel Paterson was one of the first well-known libertarian women of her era. She wrote in avid support of minimal government and the free economy.

Ron Paul was the 1988 Libertarian Party presidential nominee and is a public figure who has helped bring libertarianism to political attention.

Karl Popper’s theory of knowledge and writings on social philosophy helped to shape much of today’s methodology of social science.

Richard A. Posner is a judge and legal theorist whose work was the foundation for the law and economics movement, which approaches law through economics.