The Digital Library of Liberty & Power
incorporating the Guillaumin Collection of the Great Books of Liberty
2026 is the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence from the British Monarchy and Empire. After a successful war of independence it was followed by the creation of the American Constitution which was a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to limit the power of the state and to keep it limited for an … Read more
Introduction: 50 Years and counting 50 years ago I first came across the theory of anarcho-capitalism when I was in my last two years of high school (1973-74). I read everything I could get my hands on and I still have most of those books still in my possession, although they are a bit worse … Read more
The Institut Coppet has recently published volume 9 of the Œuvres complètes (Complete Works) of Gustave de Molinari, thus completing the first 10 years of his long and very productive life. Only 60 more years to go! See a comprehensive (though probably still not complete) bibliography of his works which consists of 73 Books, Printed … Read more
A group of founders and early supporters of Australia’s first “libertarian party” – provocatively and toungue-in-cheek perhaps called the “Workers Party” – are getting together later this month for a “Reunion”. To encourge discussion and reflection on those tumultuous years nearly half a century ago I have listed below some of my recent blog posts … Read more
Introduction There was a sizable swing in the 2022 Federal election to the DNV (did not vote) camp as well as the “informal” vote, though this is less marked with the revised updated results than with the early and incomplete result I used in my earlier post. I now calculate that the total number of … Read more
[Honoré Daumier’s “Le Défenseur (Council for the Defense),” c. 1862-1865.] Note: This is part of a collection of posts on “The Current State of Liberty and the Threats it faces”. In this post I want to discuss the following issues: the multi-dimensional nature of Liberty requires a multi-dimensional approach to arguing for it the main … Read more
[James Gillray, ”More PIGS than TEATS, or the new Litter of hungry Grunters sucking John Bull’s old Sow to death” (1806)] Note: This is part of a collection of posts on “The Current State of Liberty and the Threats it faces”. In Part 1 I discussed state expenditure now and historically in “The Threats to … Read more
[The British Atlas holding up the Political Establishment.] Note: This is part of a collection of posts on “The Current State of Liberty and the Threats it faces”. This is part 2 of a two-part post on “The Big Picture”. See part 1 7.) We need to show the public in a more convincing way … Read more
[Australia peeping through the clouds.] Note: This is part of a collection of posts on “The Current State of Liberty and the Threats it faces”. This is part 1 of a two-part post on “The Big Picture”. See part 2 Below is a sketch of what I consider to be the “Big Picture” of where … Read more
[Titian, “Sisyphus” (1548-49) – Sisyphus is pushing a boulder up to the summit in punishment for bringing enlightenment to the people. It might also represent classical liberals and libertarians pushing the boulder of liberty up the mountain of statism, only to see it roll back down again before they ever reach the summit.] Updated: 11 … Read more
[Building the “beacon of liberty” (1876)] Where now is “the beacon of liberty”? The problem for a small, remote, and relatively insignificant country like Australia is to figure out what it can do to contribute to the broader, international liberty movement and where it fits in. One possibility is for it to become a “beacon … Read more
Table of Contents (1.) The threats which confront the liberty movement (2.) The task ahead (3.) Looking for the “Golden Thread” to unravel justifications for state intervention (4.) Choosing the right kind of arguments to use (5.) Where we are now and what we need to do next (6.) Conclusion (1.) The Threats which Confront … Read more
[Note: This post is part of a series on the History of the Classical Liberal Tradition] Some conservative/liberal groups in Australia have adopted a slogan first used in the US, namely the “Australian Way of Life” modeled on the notion of the “American Way of Life”. It implies that such an “Australian” way of life … Read more
For over twenty years I have been working on making “the great books of liberty” (or “GBL”) accessible and more widely known . These GBL are a subset of the larger “great books” program pioneered by the University of Chicago under the direction of Mortimer Adler (1902-2001) back in the 1950s. Like many people growing … Read more
Further research into the origins and meaning of the national anthem, “Advance Australia Fair” (henceforth AAF), is revealing some interesting facts. The Author: Peter Dodds McCormick (c. 1834-1916) The author Peter Dodds McCormick (c. 1834-1916) (his nom de plume was “Amicus” – so shouldn’t this be “nom de tune”?) was a Scottish immigrant who came … Read more
“Lord Acton” (John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton) (1834-1902) believed that historians should make moral judgements about the actions of the people they studied, in particular political and religious leaders. His best known statement of this view can be found in a series of letters he wrote to Bishop Creighton in 1887. They contain some of his … Read more
I would add a few more conditions to the very useful list Don drew up yesterday. These are the principle of proportionality the principle of consistency the principle of the “unseen” and unintended consequences of this intervention the principle of the impossibility (or great unlikelihood) of rational economic calculation by government planners the “precautionary principle” … Read more
An outstanding resource for students and teachers of the classical liberal / libertarian tradition is the Cato Institute’s Encyclopedia of Libertarianism (2008) which, in its 600 pages of double-columned type, has articles on the key ideas, important figures, and historical movements of this tradition. After a very long wait it is available online. The Encyclopedia … Read more
When I think about the great free trade movement in England in the 1840s, what drove its supporters to oppose protectionism was not a deep knowledge of the intricacies of comparative advantage or the geographical specialisation of production, but a moral sense which we lack today. This moral sense cuts in two different directions. On … Read more
The Cover Art of Boétie’s Discourse I was drawn back to Étienne de la Boétie’s wonderful essay on “Voluntary Servitude” (written c. 1550, published 1576) because of recent events. Boétie asked perhaps the most fundamental question of political theory, namely, why does the majority allow itself, even asks for it , to be ruled by … Read more
While I was researching Murray Rothbard’s theory of class for a monograph I am writing on The Libertarian Theory of Class Draft I came across some of his other writings on the strategy/ies needed to bring about a free society, which I thought would be useful to gather together for further analysis and discussion. Some … Read more
The Mises Institute has made available an electronic version of Rothbard’s important “newsletter”, called The Libertarian for the first few issues, and then afterwards The Libertarian Forum, which played an important role in the early years of the modern libertarian movement. It can be found at its website in ePub and facsimile PDF versions here. … Read more