How to Change: Your Mindset and Our Country
It is necessary to consider separately these two hypotheses, each of which has a distinct branch of the argument corresponding to it.
Essays
Democracy Belongs on the List
Classical liberalism has sometimes been suspicious of democracy. But it shouldn’t be.
Liberalism Under Threat
Militant democracy proposes to save liberalism from its foes. Can it work as promised?
Tribes, Coalitions, Parties
A theory of how political organizations form, cooperate, rise, and decline.
Not So Obvious, Not So Simple
When you hear that good politics is always simple, think twice.
Can Democracy Survive if We Stand on Different Foundations?
Characterizing conservative and liberal beliefs should be just the start of a much larger conversation.
Who Owns That Bat?
When conservation goes beyond carbon, local knowledge is the key.
The Ghost in the State
Knowing an individual's will is easy. Knowing the will of a collective is like chasing a ghost in a machine.
Conservative Values, Trust, and the Prospects for Democratic Renewal
A new study offers insight into the values of ordinary conservative voters.
A Liberalism of Principle, Not Program
Slavery’s opponents knew how to keep things simple. Today’s liberals should do likewise.
Lessons on Liberal Balance from Brazil
Recent events in Brazil may hold lessons for other countries with presidential systems, including the United States.
Public Choice: Politics without Romance
We choose in groups because we value being united. Public choice economics seeks to make sense of what happens next.
Civic Education for Liberal Freedom
To address our civic disintegration, we must reprioritize a civics of reflective patriotism: grateful for America, while perpetually questioning and arguing.
Liberalism’s Uneasy Relationship with Democracy
Liberalism can’t do without democracy. But sometimes, democracy errs. What then?
The Liberal Spirit of System
The “man of system” is a famous figure in the work of Adam Smith, and not in a good way. And yet we all think in systems. They can be both beautiful and helpful. What gives?