Debate: Be Optimistic About the World
Can we relearn how to leave each other alone?
Philosophy
Libertarian History/Philosophy
Andrew Koppelman: 'Delusion and Greed' Have Destroyed Libertarianism
The Burning Down the House author says the shift from Hayek's classical liberalism to Rothbard's anarcho-capitalism is a moral and practical disaster.
Russ Roberts: Why Economists Suck at Explaining Life
The EconTalk host and Wild Problems author talks about the limits of cost-benefit analyses.
Russ Roberts: Why Economists Are Irrelevant
The host of EconTalk and author of Wild Problems says our biggest decisions don't submit to easy cost-benefit analyses.
Public Schools Will Always Be Political Battlegrounds
Families should be able to put energy into educating kids rather than fighting over what is taught.
Must Libertarians Care About More Than the State?
The tension between two libertarianisms in the big tent
It's the End of the Neoliberal Era, and We Still Don't Know What Neoliberalism Is
Politics is filled with words that mean different things in different mouths, but "neoliberalism" is an especially tangled case.
Against Champagne Socialists
Why Bernie Sanders, Hasan Piker, and Elizabeth Warren should open their wallets before they open their mouths.
Mindfulness Is What's Missing From the Political Arena
Politics isn’t going away, so we can at least try to make it less bad.
False Nostalgia
The "good old days" weren't all that good—but they're still messing with politics.
Foucault in the Panopticon
How Michel Foucault's encounters in Poland's heavily policed gay community informed his ideas
The French Dispatch Is a Profoundly Great Film About the Nature of Art and Freedom
A twee, fussy, brilliant movie from a pathologically twee and fussy director.
Steven Pinker: Rationality Has Made Us Richer, Kinder, and More Free
The Harvard linguist says Enlightenment reasoning and critical thinking are behind massive increases in material and moral progress.
Is It Time for a Boston Tea Party for Vaccines?
Would vaccine vigilantes be justified in stealing and distributing AstraZeneca doses locked up by order of the government?
Happy 100th Birthday, John Rawls!
Today is the 100th birthday of the most influential political philosopher of the second half of the twentieth century.
Libertarian History/Philosophy
Charles Koch and Brian Hooks: Believe in People
The libertarian billionaire and the head of his foundation discuss their new book, leaving partisanship behind, and learning from their critics.
Libertarian History/Philosophy
Charles Koch and Brian Hooks on Learning From Your Critics
The libertarian philanthropist and CEO of Stand Together on their new book, Believe in People: Bottom-Up Solutions for a Top-Down World
Why the "No True Scotsman Fallacy" isn't Always a Fallacy
Philosopher Aeon Skoble provides a helpful explanation.
Is Postmodernism Marxist or Libertarian? A Soho Forum Debate
Thaddeus Russell and Stephen Hicks debate human nature, moral relativism, and the nature of truth.
Do Free Societies Need Postmodernism? A Debate
Thaddeus Russell and Stephen Hicks debate human nature, moral relativism, and the nature of truth.
Nick Gillespie and Skeptic Magazine's Michael Shermer on Postmodernism, Rationalism, and The Intellectual Dark Web
Tune in to Reason's livestream conversation between Gillespie and Shermer.
When Nonviolence Isn't Enough
Does the right to self-defense apply against agents of the state?
For a Less Divided America, Let People Pick Their Own Laws
It sure beats endless battles over who gets to stuff their preferred governance down the throats of the vanquished.
Libertarian Postmodernism: A Reply to Jordan Peterson and the Intellectual Dark Web
Reason's Nick Gillespie defends Foucault, Hayek, and an "incredulity towards metanarratives."
Debate: Libertarianism Is About More Than the State
Must we have cultural commitments as well as political ones?
Steven Pinker Wants Enlightenment Now!
Pope Francis is part of the problem, nuclear energy is part of the solution, and libertarians need to admit that not every regulation will turn us into Venezuela.
Is Selfishness a Virtue? A Debate With Yaron Brook and Gene Epstein.
"The Christian morality of sacrifice and altruism is wrong," says Brook, executive chairman of the Ayn Rand Institute.
Avoid the Deadly Isms
The binary "us vs. them" approach in politics abets the loss of freedom.
Are Free Minds and Free Markets Compatible With Christianity?
A baker's dozen Christian libertarians weigh in
What Do We Mean When We Talk About Equality?
The idea of equality is bandied about on the campaign trail.
On the 'Invasion' of 'Libertarianism,' Pope Francis' Ignorance Is Showing
We're not all the egoistic Ayn Rand acolytes the Catholic pontiff imagines.
Optimism or Pessimism? Let's Try Realism
The point isn't to see the world though rose-colored glasses or through a dirty windshield, but to see the world as it actually is.
Tibor Machan, a Founding Editor of Reason, RIP
Refugee from communism, academic philosopher, Objectivist, popular columnist brought precision and clarity to Reason's early years.
Libertarian History/Philosophy
It's Time To Embrace Free-Market Existentialism!
Capitalism provides the most choices and opportunities for philosophical self-definition.
When Courts Compete for 'Business,' Liberty Wins
Those who insist that market anarchism cannot work because it lacks a monopolistic court of final jurisdiction are wrong.
Why I Am a Pro-Life Libertarian
Rand Paul gets attacked for being pro-liberty and anti-abortion. But there's nothing inconsistent about his view.
As Long as Government Exists, Our Freedom Is Insecure
The only way for the state to truly respect our liberty would be to dismantle itself.
Libertarian History/Philosophy
Lessons for the Liberty Movement
Patience and empathy are key to presenting the freedom philosophy effectively.
There's 'Just Lip Service to Free Speech' on College Campuses
Philosopher Colin McGinn on ideological witch hunts, the marginalization of academic philosophy, and the limits of human reason.
Dragon Age: High Fantasy Meets the Security State
A video game that shows the corrupting influence of power.
