Portraits of Liberty

Unlike their monarchical neighbors, the 17th-century Dutch Republic was a tolerant capitalist society amid a Golden Age of exploration, commerce, and science. The most outstanding defenders of this out of place, yet highly successful republic were the De La Court brothers, two radical writers who become precursors to the most radical elements of Enlightenment thought in favor of commerce, tolerati...

Born in Germany in the first half of the 20th-century, Sophie Scholl witnessed the rise of the Nazi party and state throughout her childhood. By the time she was a student at the University of Munich, she could not stand idly by as the Nazi war machine raged. Scholl joined the peaceful activist group known as the White Rose and tried to shine a light on Nazi Germany's evil crimes. For her activism...

Born in England while Puritans were persecuted, Williams hopped aboard a ship to America in an attempt to find a place where freedom of religion was a guaranteed right. Unable to find a home free of religious persecution, he founded his own colony, now known as Rhode Island, one of the first places ever to establish absolute freedom of religion with no ifs or buts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p...

Mustafa Akyol joins Portraits of Liberty to discuss the life and thought of the famous Andalusian polymath Ibn Rushd. Born during what is called the Golden Age of Islam, Ibn Rushd was one of the earliest thinkers in the Middle East to articulate what would later become the core values of liberalism. His influence stretched into the western world, where his translations of Aristotle caused an intel...

A lot of people talk about abolishing the state, but can it be done? Often the status quo says no. Founder of the Brehon Law Academy, Kevin Flanagan, disagrees and explains that Ireland was a stateless society for hundreds if not thousands of years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the death of his father and the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Huang Zongxi began to contemplate how things had collapsed. He began to think that governments were the problem. Those in power only served themselves. Huang proposed his solution to the chaos in his book Waiting for the Dawn, where he argued for a government that served the people and protected property. The government's power would...

Living in the 17th-century, John Lilburne )or as he was more commonly known Freeborn John) was imprisoned at a young age for distributing a banned book. From this point on through the English Civil Wars and the turbulent days of the English republic, Lilburne was a fierce advocate of civil liberties, what he called the rights of freeborn men. He inspired the Leveller movement and colonial governme...

Born into the tumultuous final days of the Roman Republic, Cato made a name for himself as an honest, humble, and dedicated politician. Cato fought against the tyranny of Julius Caesar. Though Cato was on the losing side, his character and conduct became legendary, especially amongst the Founding Fathers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bartolomé de las Casas was only a child in 1493 when Christopher Columbus returned from the New World and passed by his hometown of Seville. Seeing the riches up for grabs, Las Casas traveled to the New World and became a wealthy landowner with multiple slaves. But through a series of revelations, Las Casas came to realize the evil of slavery and conquest. He dedicated the rest of his life to beco...

Joined by leading expert Anthony Comenga from the Institute for Humane Studies, in this episode, we discuss the Locofoco movement. Active from 1820-1870, the Locofocos represent a radical version of classical liberalism that attacks corporate privileges and monopolistic laws. Though often forgotten, they are a unique voice in the history of classical liberalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...

In the early 20th-century liberal ideas were in danger of becoming extinct with the rise of extreme ideologies such as fascism and communism in Europe and the massively expanding state of the New Deal era. Perturbed by the ever-increasing government, Isabel Paterson wrote her magnum Opus God of the Machine about how free and creative individuals bring about progress, not the state. Hosted on Acast...

In the 17th-century, many young noble girls were forced into nun convents by their fathers. In 1620 Arcangela Tarabotti was forced to stay in a convent until the day she died. Tarabotti dedicated herself to writing against the mistreatment of women and argued against the misogyny of her day. She believed women, like men, possessed free will, the God-given gift of choice. Because of this, no man ha...

Discussions of Buddhism typically revolve around lofty topics like reincarnation and the nature of the self. Policy debates about tax rates and international trade seem to be outside of the Buddhist focus. Aaron Ross Powell joins to discuss how the ethical principles of Buddhism apply to the world of politics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writing during the calamitous Warring States period of Chinese history, Mozi was unlike any of his contemporaries. He was ardently opposed to wasteful government spending, loathed aggressive foreign wars, and believed government positions should be held by the best for the job, not just those with familial and political connections. His political philosophy can be characterized as the first-ever f...

For too long history was just the study of great men, but with the rise of intellectual history we have focused more on how people have changed their ideas over time. In another sense, studying history is about studying the struggle for power. The host of Portraits of Liberty, Paul Meany, joins the show to highlight historical thinkers who may not have been strictly libertarian, but argued for a&n...

Growing up in a black self-governing town, Zora realized the myth of race and that black Americans were just as capable citizens as their white counterparts. Battling through poverty and discrimination, Zora became one of the foremost figures of the Harlem Renaissance, but unlike her fellow intellectuals, she loathed any form of socialism or collectivism, preferring the greater gift of individuali...

At it's lowest point in the early 20th-century, classical liberal ideas were in full retreat with the advent of extensive state interference in the economy. Rose Wilder Lane reignited a passion for liberal ideas in her numerous columns alongside her master work The Discovery of Freedom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Few philosophy curricula today cover the writings of eastern philosophers. Even though his teachings are over two millennia old, the work of Mencius covers many liberal themes. Mencius argued for a state which promoted both virtue and prosperity through a policy of non-interference. He staunchly opposed wars aimed at expanding state power and argued in favor of deposing rulers who did not fulfill...

The 12th-century clergyman John of Salisbury has been relegated to obscurity today. This is a great shame because his treatise on politics entitled Policraticus despite it's medieval trappings articulates a love of freedom, a respect for free speech and most controversially, discussions of when it is morally permissible to kill a tyrant. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today Cicero is often read-only by classical scholars and reluctant students which is a great shame because his life and philosophy reflect a sort of proto-liberalism that came to influence a wide variety of thinkers such as John Adams, John Locke, Adam Smith, Voltaire, and Montesquieu. His life and works have echoed throughout the western tradition of political philosophy. Hosted on Acast. See ac...

Coming from the humble position of a rural clergy member, the Swedish Anders Chydenius shocked his contemporaries with his radical arguments in favour of the free market and a minimal state. Anders dedicated his life to defending the economic liberty of the least represented in society. During his life, he repealed backward economic policies, protected religious minorities' rights, and played a cr...

In 17th-century England, where the divine right of kings was being questioned, Algernon Sidney was one of the most ardent republicans who detested unchecked monarchical power. He spent his life fighting for a political order that kept those in power accountable to the people. Due to his stubborn sense of honor and a lifetime of rebellion against tyranny, Algernon became a household name during the...

John Stuart Mill is one of the most influential liberal philosophers who ever lived. But Mill did not write alone, through his letters and autobiography he extensively praised his wife Harriet Taylor Mill who he considered an equal partner and co-author. This episode covers Harriets often forgotten importance in the history of liberalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information...

Despite his humble origins as the son of a failed farmer, Cobden became a celebrity within his life as both a politician and activist. Cobden spent much of his career attacking the Corn Laws, a set of restrictive policies that dramatically increased the price of food in Britain. But an often overlooked aspect of Cobden's career is his staunch opposition to British wars abroad. He saw no benefit fo...

Bastiat began his foray into politics as an advocate of the free market, but he quickly realized that the principles of freedom ought to be applied to all aspects of life. Bastiat believed the state was often used as a weapon by some against others and so the solution was to limit the state radically. Today, Bastiat is rightly remembered for his entertaining, witty, and memorable writings, which t...